Leon Redbone was half a decade shy of fame when a Buffalo, N.Y, college radio station recorded a batch of his songs. It was 1972 and Redbone, wearing an old suit and a thrift store hat, was part of an undercurrent of nostalgia for the pre-rock ’n’ roll era. He was, at the same time, a decent bluesman, picking at his acoustic guitar, funning with a kazoo and singing in a gruff old-time voice that could have crackled from a scratchy 78. His repertoire on Long Way From Home encompasses a wide swatch of the 1930s from Robert Johnson to Irving Berlin and Jimmy Rodgers.
