Joni Mitchell Clouds

On the back cover of this two-disc compilation, the word "chrestomathy" is helpfully defined as "a selection of choice passages." The challenge in making such a selection from the recorded work of Dave Van Ronk, who says in his liner notes, "I've lost count of how many records I've made," adding, "(20?)," would seem to be getting permission from the many record companies that issued those records initially, including Folkways, Prestige, Mercury, Verve Forecast, Rounder, and Flying Fish. It's hard to summarize more than three decades in the career of a steadily working musician in less than two hours, even one who recorded in as piecemeal a fashion as this one, but this compilation does a good job.

Collection includes: Espers (2003); The Weed Tree (2005); Espers II (2006) and Espers III (2009).

Frank Sinatra was arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. In a professional career that lasted 60 years, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals despite often countervailing trends. He came to the fore during the swing era of the 1930s and '40s, helped to define the "sing era" of the '40s and '50s, and continued to attract listeners during the rock era that began in the mid-'50s. He scored his first number one hit in 1940 and was still making million-selling recordings in 1994. This popularity was a mark of his success at singing and promoting the American popular song as it was written, particularly in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s…