CoronaVinyl Day 334 (R): Tom Rush by Tom Rush

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "R," and I went with Tom Rush's seventh studio album, his self-titled 1970 release, which was actually his second self-titled album (the first was in 1965).

Rush started off as a folk singer in the Boston area in the early '60s while at Harvard.  He was one of the pioneers of the signer-songwriter genre, and not only sang his own songs, but also songs written by others in the singer-songwriter genre, like Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor.

This album is exactly what you'd expect from a folk singer/singer-songwriter.  It's nearly all acoustic.  None of the songs on the album are Rush originals, but many are by acclaimed songwriters, including two songs by Jackson Browne, one co-written by James Taylor, one by the Youngbloods' Jesse Colin Young, and one by Fred Neil (who wrote Harry Nilsson's hit "Everybody's Talkin'."

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Drop Down Mama"
This one was written by Sleepy John Estes, and it's kind of a cool, post-psychedelic folk song.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "These Days"
The most famous version of this song was by German chanteuse Nico on her 1967 album Chelsea Girl -- which was famously featured in The Royal Tenenbaums, as Margot gets off the bus -- and I don't think I had realized this was written by Jackson Browne.  Anyway, it's a lovely song that has been covered by various artists, and Rush gives it a good folk treatment.