V/A "Gathering at The Earl of Old Town

(Dunwich, 1971) With all the very deserved attention going to the magnificent John Prine after our shitty country let him and hundreds of thousands of other treasures get away, I thought it was worth revisiting the best Prine-less document of the lengthy, important Chicago folk club era. Growing up being into punk and R&B and blues I knew about the Chicago garage rockers and lush horn pop and Chess bluesmen and even about the gospel acts, but really only got a peripheral perspective on how many folk clubs there were in town; how hopping they were; and how much talent this city was nurturing. Despite the title, this was not recorded live at the legendary club, it's a studio-recorded collection produced by former Friend and Lover, future Mark Twain impersonator, and longtime folk mainstay Jim Post (who has a couple of great tracks on this). This album is most famous for Steve Goodman's "City if New Orleans," though his wacky novelty number about outsmarting a narc is the highest highlight of the LP. Ginni Clemmens' rousing cover of "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues" is a close second fave on here, representing what I hope was the spirit, humor, and energy of this scene I never experienced. Aliotta Haynes and Jeremiah (of "LSD" fame)  appear here, as do both of the Holsteins, with Ed's bold "Jazzman" making you wish Carole King had never sullied that song title, and Fred's moving "The Man Who Sings" making a great argument for the power and under-heralded talent that filled a bunch of stages for a bunch of years. I recommend a Gathering (of these songs) at Ear of Head-town.