CD Review - From The Living Tradition Magazine, UK, March 2009
(Issue 82)
Dave Ruch (it rhymes with 'Luck') is a singer/instrumentalist from Buffalo, New York State, and a great proselytiser for the folk songs and lore of that area. As proof of that we have here his album of 'Traditional Songs and Tunes from New York State' His notes to the album contain the statement 'I'm fascinated by this music of daily life, circa 19th and early 20th century.............and I'm still kind of amazed that such a vibrant tradition existed in my home state'. The sheer pleasure in making music he shows on this CD bears out the truth of that statement.

The geographical restriction doesn't prevent him from producing an album of varied content either; we get songs of loggers, canal men, (known upstate as 'canawlers') and some nifty tunes, expertly played on guitar and mandolin with never a false note. On the humorous 'Bald Headed End of a Broom' he plunks very merrily on tenor banjo, following it with 'Roslyn Castle', a mandolin solo played first slowly then up-tempo, an impressive track.

Songs like 'Blue Mountain Lake' and 'Shove Your Grog Around' hit the spot via his sincere performance and clear warm-toned voice. My own favourite is 'Wisconsin', a duet with Alison Pipitone, being a dialogue between an ambitious farmer who wants to move on, and his wife who does not. It's a fine track, wistful and charming, and typically classy on this impressive album. Dave Ruch has plans for a UK tour in the autumn of 2009. On this evidence he'll be a welcome guest. — Roy Harris