image courtesy of Mark Pucci Media

by Eric Harabadian, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Rory Block: Positively 4th Street (Stony Plain Records)

Rory Block is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who was on the ground floor of the folk and blues movement in the burgeoning ‘60s Greenwich Village scene. Both her mother and father were musicians, and her family ran in the same circles as musical icons like Pete Seeger, Maria Muldaur, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan.

Block’s father owned a sandal shop in the Village and a lot of the evolving folk and blues greats would frequent his establishment. Dylan, in particular, hit it off with Block’s family, and young Rory was smitten by Dylan’s poetry and emphasis on maintaining his love of music and artistic integrity.

photo by Sergio Kurhajec; photo courtesy of Mark Pucci Media

As a young teenager Block studied classical guitar and taught herself Delta blues styles. She became so enamored with traditional blues that she left home at 15 to seek out the fathers of Delta blues like Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and Reverend Gary Davis. She eventually wound up in Berkley, California, where she honed her craft in clubs and coffeehouses.

Bob Dylan is America’s poet laureate who, for an amazing sixty-plus years, has been part of the musical zeitgeist and artistic fabric of our society. And, with the addition of the multiple Oscar-nominated bio-pic A Complete Unknown out now, Dylan’s legacy and social impact is as relevant as ever.

The timing to release a Bob Dylan tribute album could not be more perfect. But, again, Block is someone who was there. She witnessed and was a part of the folk incubator that was the ‘60s-era Greenwich Village. This album is as much a love letter to the folk movement as anything else.

photo by David Gahr; photo courtesy of Mark Pucci Media

The very youthful-looking and slender Block is the real deal. And she has chosen nine tracks from the Dylan catalog that blend the big hits with the deeper, more ponderous cuts. A case in point is the very bluesy opening track “Everything is Broken.” Her somewhat smooth, world-weary voice is laced with a touch of humor. She sings the ironic and clever lyrics accompanied by her adept slide guitar work. “Ring Them Bells” follows, done in an original folk-blues style.

Block plays all guitars and drums on the album and the mild groove serves this song well. Everyone knows “Like a Rolling Stone,” and she delivers a reading of it that is pretty spot-on with the original. Another deep cut, “Not Dark Yet,” is significant for its slow and reflective tone. She hangs onto each word where you hear the pathos and raw emotion in her voice.

“Mr. Tambourine Man” has been done by so many artists. Block’s is probably one of the best in terms of really getting back to Dylan’s initial intent. The title track “Positively 4th Street” spotlights some fine slide guitar and rudimentary drums. She really captures the essence and mood of Dylan’s words. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Mother of Muses” are nice back-to-back mixes of Block’s ability to run the emotional gamut from somewhat upbeat to a haunting lullaby.

The finale “Murder Most Foul” is a 20-plus minute treatise on the turbulent ‘60s-era and beyond. It addresses, in many ways, the cracks in our society, particularly in the United States. It’s kind of a combination of rap and monologue that Block conveys in a starkly hypnotic style. Powerful stuff!