Live at the Earl of Old Town
Though the late Steve Goodman is remembered mainly as the writer of "City of New Orleans" (and perhaps also as John Prine's best friend), Chicagoans knew him as the most ebullient performer on a dynamic folk circuit, and one of the best guitarists as well. The Earl of Old Town was Goodman's home turf, where the audience would know his topical "Lincoln Park Pirates" (about a notorious towing company) from its first notes and friends from blues harpist Corky Siegel to venerable mandolinist Jethro Burns would join their friend onstage to offer support. On this 1978 live recording, Goodman's revival of "Red Red Robin" makes for an unlikely showcase of his guitar virtuosity, while "Lost Highway," "Truck Drivin' Man," and "The Auctioneer" show his fondness for classic (and occasionally corny) country. His offbeat sense of humor found a kindred spirit in Shel Silverstein, whose "Three Legged Man" he covers. (Goodman's own "Men Who Love Women Who Love Men" could pass as a Silverstein song.) As the romp through "Rockin' Robin" and the adaptation of "Saints" into "When the Cubs Go Marching In" attest, the main point of a Goodman performance was having a good time. Goodman, his family, and his close friends knew that he had leukemia years before he died of it in 1984 at the age of 36. Yet a performance like this shows how Goodman got the most out of his life, and how his fans got the most out of Goodman.--Don McLeese