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Tom Rush is kind of the forgotten man of the folk boom and was instrumental in the origins of the singer/songwriter phase that coursed through American radio in the early seventies. Best remembered now for interpretations of the work of other singers who went on to become more famous, like Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell, he is also a fine songwriter in his own right and a better than average guitarist. In a way he reminds me of Tim Hardin. At one time everyone who was interested in this kind of music knew who he was and listened closely to every new release.

No Regrets is a collection of some of his best recordings and is arranged in more or less chronological order. Comparing his earliest recordings with the later recordings, it’s kind of easy to see why his audience wandered away. Like a lot of people who had a smidgen of success his recordings became slicker and more commercial sounding, but also less individual sounding. The last song on this album was recorded in 1998 just for this release and shows that he is still capable of outstanding work, but the earlier recordings are far and away superior to the later ones. There is an eight minute version of Panama Limited (a combination of two Bukka White compositions, Special Streamline and Panama Limited) that is worth the price of admission by itself. Even aside from its length it is practically a novel in song form. Between that and Galveston Flood, Tom Rush pretty much defined the approach the folkies of the early sixties would take towards the old time delta blues, tackling the songs not with an attempt at what they used to call “authenticity” but as an interpretive singer inhabiting a specific character. That is one of the keys to his success as an interpreter of the songs of fellow singer/songwriters. Even a song like Urge For Going by Joni Mitchell is so closely associated with Tom Rush that it is easy to forget that he didn’t’ write it. Another example of his virtual ownership of another writer’s material is Joshua Gone Barbados by Eric Von Schmidt, a song about workers striking in the cane fields of Barbados. In these songs Tom Rush does what only the very best singers can, he creates a world and puts you in the middle of it.

Just a brief note to end this with, Tom Rush has just released an album called What I Know. I’ve only heard a couple of songs off of it, but it seems to be as good as anything he ever recorded.

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