Greg Brown – If I Had Known: Essential Recordings, 1980-1996

“If I had it all to do again, I’m not sure I would play the poet game,” sings Greg Brown on one of the best tracks on this superb retrospective disc. Notwithstanding that proclamation (which was probably a fleeting sentiment, anyway), Brown has, for the past two decades, been one of roots music’s most poetic practitioners. Wryly observant, and foregoing the facile introspection that’s the bane of the modern singer-songwriter, Brown is the folk music equivalent of the canary in the coal mine, continually testing the air of contemporary culture. The fact that he’s never succumbed to cynicism testifies to the resiliency of spirit about which he sings as well.

As its subtitle implies, If I Had Known serves as both a primer for Brown’s work up to and including his 1996 semi-commercial breakthrough, Further In, and as a portrait of his dazzling versatility as a songwriter. Arranged without regard for chronology, the set doesn’t so much chart Brown’s evolution as an artist as showcase the high standard to which he’s adhered through the years. It’s telling to note, in fact, that the oldest song here (1980’s “Downtown”) and one of the most recent tracks (1996’s “Two Little Feet”) both bring to mind Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks — an album that, for Brown, seems to have been a seminal touchstone.

In addition to the songs mentioned above, high points include the weepy country lament “The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home”, the calypso-tinged “Good Morning Coffee”, and a jazz vamp titled “You Drive Me Crazy” that could’ve sprung from the pen of Dr. John. The best moment, however, is “Driftless”, a hymnlike ode to faith in oneself that sends the album off on a particularly powerful note. Beautifully remastered, and supplemented with a limited edition 1993 DVD documentary, If I Had Known is the perfect launching point into the work one of American’s most gifted songwriters.