CD Review - By Bob Silvestri
bobsilvestri@bestofwny.com

Local folksinger Dave Ruch has traveled many miles across the Northeast to sing his songs. He performs over three hundred dates a year in addition to lectures and workshops for schools , museums, music festivals and just about any place else he can set up shop. On his debut solo CD, The Oldest Was Born First, Ruch who collects and interprets traditional American and New York State folksongs shows that his considerable talents and tastes in music run deep. Using a variety of instruments; guitars, mandolins, banjos, fiddles, spoons and more Ruch achieves a sound very close to the original versions as performed by the immigrants, farmers, families and working people who wrote them. Most deal with the daily trials and tribulations of New York State circa the 19th and 20th Centuries. "The Ballad of Blue Mountain Lake" is told from the perspective of a lumber worker and "Montreal Reel/La Bastringue" is a French/Canadian fiddle tune that features local band Babik backing Ruch. Both songs deal with life in the Adirondack Mountains. A "lost" Erie Canal song, "The E-Ri-O Canal" is sung a cappella with help from Jerry Raven and Judd Sunshine and local great Alison Pipitone duets with Ruch on "Wisconsin". Rob Lynch lends his talent and charm to the tracks "Bald Headed End of the Room" and "Shove Your Grog Around". The disc comes with an extensive booklet that details the source and story behind the songs that helps you to understand and enjoy the songs even more. To find out more about The Oldest Was Born First and Dave Ruch go to www.daveruch.com