Reckless Abandon, Bandit In a Bathing Suit (Remastered)

“We’re all in danger, oh yes, we’re all in danger,” wails David Bromberg on the leadoff song from his 1977 album Reckless Abandon. “I Want to Go Home” captures the era's foreboding transformations—but true to his persona, Bromberg confronts those changes with an inimitably wry sense of humor and splendid musicianship. Paired with its sequel—1978’s Bandit in a Bathing Suit, also released on Fantasy—Reckless Abandon touches on churning funk (“Bandit in a Bathing Suit”), acoustic melancholia (“Ugly Hour,” “Child’s Song”), and spiky blues (“What a Town”). But even in an era of paranoia and debauchery, Bromberg always found solace in folk and country music. The three bluegrass medleys here feel less like hokey celebrations than they might have in the early '70s. Instead, they function more like rituals of comfort and redemption in a rapidly changing music industry. The festivities close with a burping, triumphant rendition of Willis Alan Ramsey’s “Northeast Texas Women,” whose mix of pathos and farce is a perfect reflection of Bromberg at this stage of his career.