The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is an above-average soundtrack to a revelatory documentary about folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott, made by his daughter Aiyana Elliott with Dick Dahl. Now any time one reads about this Ramblin' Jack Elliott character, it has to somewhere state that Elliott is "the link between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan." And there certainly is truth to this--he was the last traveling companion of Guthrie and taught Dylan much about folk music. Two of the most interesting cuts on the disc are "Hard Travelin," sung with Guthrie (the first known recording of the two together, discovered while preparing the CD) and "Acne," a playful, previously unheard doo-wop parody with Dylan recorded live on the radio in 1961. The duet with Johnny Cash is rough but pretty great too. But the real import of this disc (and film) is to show Ramblin' Jack as a distinctive, itinerant musician firmly at the center of folk-music history. When he toured the U.K. in the 1950s he single-handedly introduced traditional American folk stylings to a nation wrapped up in the whiffy-twee fad of skiffle music. His nimble flatpicking, strong voice, and unstoppable storytelling are in evidence on his covers of songs by Tim Hardin, Jesse Fuller, and Guthrie. All the rare and unreleased cuts make Ballad a no-brainer choice for die-hard folkies. For neophytes who can stand audio quality that leans toward the archival, the disc also stands as the finest introduction yet to R.J.E.'s entire oeuvre. --Mike McGonigal

Tracks:

Introduction By Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash
Muleskinner Blues
Cuckoo
Hard Travelin'
Railroad Bill
Buskin'
Pastures Of Plenty
Rake & Ramblin' Boy
San Fransisco Bay Blues
Candy Man/Talkin' Sailor Blues
Acne
Don't Think Twice
Take Me Home
If I Were A Carpenter
Car Song
900 Miles (Odetta)
Cup Of Coffee
Introduction By President Clinton
1913 Massacre
Cuckoo (Reprise)

Amazon.com

This is an above-average soundtrack to a revelatory documentary about folk singer Ramblin' Jack Elliott, made by his daughter Aiyana Elliott with Dick Dahl. Now any time one reads about this Ramblin' Jack Elliott character, it has to somewhere state that Elliott is "the link between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan." And there certainly is truth to this--he was the last traveling companion of Guthrie and taught Dylan much about folk music. Two of the most interesting cuts on the disc are "Hard Travelin," sung with Guthrie (the first known recording of the two together, discovered while preparing the CD) and "Acne," a playful, previously unheard doo-wop parody with Dylan recorded live on the radio in 1961. The duet with Johnny Cash is rough but pretty great too. But the real import of this disc (and film) is to show Ramblin' Jack as a distinctive, itinerant musician firmly at the center of folk-music history. When he toured the U.K. in the 1950s he single-handedly introduced traditional American folk stylings to a nation wrapped up in the whiffy-twee fad of skiffle music. His nimble flatpicking, strong voice, and unstoppable storytelling are in evidence on his covers of songs by Tim Hardin, Jesse Fuller, and Guthrie. All the rare and unreleased cuts make Ballad a no-brainer choice for die-hard folkies. For neophytes who can stand audio quality that leans toward the archival, the disc also stands as the finest introduction yet to R.J.E.'s entire oeuvre. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

Ramblin' Jack, great American.......2000-10-03

Ramblin' Jack Elliott's recorded output has been as wild, woolly, and uneven as the man himself, but this retrospective -- capturing him through a long career from the young, Guthrie-besotted singer/guitarist to his present status as revered elder statesman of American folk music -- is simply wonderful. The duet with Woody Guthrie on "Railroad Bill" (not "Hard Travelin" as the Amazon review has it) is itself worth the price of the disc. It is one of Guthrie's last recording sessions, moving for that but musically appealing as well. Elliott's astonishingly affecting reading of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice," like so much of his distinctly finite repertoire, has been recorded before, but its reappearance here is no less welcome for that. Late in life, through the documentary for which this is the soundtrack and through sheer perseverance, Ramblin' Jack steps out of the long shadows cast on him by Guthrie and Dylan -- the first the man from whom he learned, the other the boy whom he taught -- and proves himself, for yet one more time, to be indispensable, a personality different from but as uniquely American as Guthrie's. Over the years I've heard a lot of Ramblin' Jack records, but I'm hard-pressed to think of one as thoroughly engaging, and as fully satisfying, as this one. Miss it at your own peril.

50 Years of Ramblin' Jack in The American Century.......2000-08-18

Ramblin' Jack has outdown himself, or lets say his daughter has by putting together this collection, the choices, and the voices along the way. This is true Ramblin' Jack, capturing him at various stops in more than 45 years of recording. The duet with a young Bob Dylan is a rarity. The 1998 versions of great Ramblin' Jack often performed songs (this time live at New York's Bottom Line) such as "1913 Massacre" and "Don't Think Twice" along with songs captured at the 1998 Elko, Nevada Cowboy Poetry Festival, "If I were A Carpenter" and "Cuckoo" are among the best he has ever done. This sound track to the film documentary now at theatres (read Stephen Holden's fascinating review in the Wednesday, August 16, New York Times) produced by Alyana Elliott is a must for anyone interested in folk music, or American music, in the 20th century. If you have never heard of Ramblin' Jack, now is the time. If you are already a fan, this is yours. What were we doing last century? Listen to Ramblin' Jack, it will help you in the 21st Century.

The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack.......2000-08-16

Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a living American legend, and "true music" doesn't get any better than this album. Spanning a lifetime of experiences with some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Jack's impact on the music world is unmistakeable. His music will remain forever young.

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