MP3: Cornelis Vreeswijk - Ballad in the dust
Closing out the week and following up on my last two posts, here's a track from the man himself, Cornelis Vreeswijk. I can't speak for his entire vast discography, but from what I've heard, there's definitely a barrier for entry for non-Swedish speaking listeners such as myself. He can be quite verbose too, though it's tempered with a very well-developed melodic sense, not to mention a fine selection of well-respected collaborators such as Jan Johannson (as discussed yesterday), Georg Riedel and Björn J:son Lindh. Fortunately, there are English language tracks such as "Ballad in the dust" for dummies like myself, along with a body of work in his native Dutch should you be curious for more. It's hard to hear this without thinking of John Prine since the delivery and dark, wry humor is so similar, but I think Vreeswijk has a better voice. The words are definitely the focal point though, and on that point he delivers exceedingly well - no small feat for an artist who primarily composed in an adopted tongue (Swedish) before extending himself even further.
As for other Cornelis Vreeswijk stuff to check out, anyone have any suggestions? I'm still a novice, so all advice is appreciated. So far I've only had the opportunity to peruse some "greatest hits" type collections, not individual albums.
Cornelis Vreeswijk - Ballad in the dust