Jack Takes the Floor

It is almost impossible to talk about Ramblin' Jack Elliott without mentioning Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger. It's true that they were contemporaries of Elliott's, but this album shows that they maybe weren't equals in the creative sense. Guthrie and Seeger are often cited by a wide range of musicians as stylistic influences, while Dylan transcended his genre to become one of the greatest songwriters of the twentieth century. Elliott is different in the sense that he doesn't seem burdened by ambition, nor particularly interested in crafting original compositions, making him quite a throwback, albeit a pleasant one. His introductory musings prefacing certain songs are inoffensive and accessible. However, the songs themselves, although delivered in a slightly tongue-in-cheek manner, just don't have the depth to appeal. Without the drive to create original compositions, the interpretational troubadour has to lend some of himself to the song, which is exactly where this record falls short. Johnny Cash and Elmore James were masters of it, their souls sang other people's lyrics. Elliott merely uses his mouth, admittedly with the authentic scrap of tweed in the corner of it. His adherence to the singing cowboy gimmick is admirable, but he's going through the motions. This is nowhere near a Rory Gallagher roaring out Pistol Slapper Blues, more of a competent and highly likeable folk fan performing Sunday evening open mic. It's nice background music for folk enthusiasts, but falls flat as a record due to shallow material and poor continuity. Not bad, but far from a meaningful endeavour.

Have just embarked on the Ken Burns country music documentary in an attempt to resolve my deep seated hatred for the fiddle and banjo. Will report back in 16 hours.

Oh, I like this. I like the style of music, the quality of his voice, and his ramblings. His folksy country-boy persona comes across as kind, gentle, and authentic. This despite his being raised in Brooklyn, his first exposure to rodeo being in Madison Square Garden of all places (according to Wikipedia). He sounds to my Wyoming-raised ears just like a genuine cowboy. I enjoyed this a lot.

Jack Elliot sounds like Woodie Guthrie. Bob Dylan sounds like Jack Elliot. He did the whole "pretend to be a country bumpkin though really from a privileged upbringing" before John Fogerty did it. Can definitely see why this album is in the book even though I'm not a huge folk fan. If you like folk, this is a classic. If you don't, it will be grouped w/ Dylan and you'll rate it the same.

He does ramble, I'll give him that. I really don't understand why this is worth listening to though.

I see now why he is called RAMBLIN' Jack Elliott. He also drawls, howls, yodels, and warbles. Definitely not my thing. It was bearable for 30 minutes, but just barely. I would argue that I could have gone without hearing this one before I die.

Feels like an intimate concert around a campfire with an old friend. Somehow it feels like he's performing just for you.

Ramblin Jack's the shit. In the opening to the first song it’s obvious why he was nicknamed  “Rambling” . This is a man and his guitar providing an onslaught of wonderful music and storytelling.  Jack sure does know how to pick. If an album recorded more recently had a singer  who was picking so well, we could be 99% certain  the guitar and singing were recorded separately. With Ramblin Jack I doubt that's the case.   When I listen to the intro to Salty Dog I can't help but think how stylistically similar those opening licks are to those in Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant. I guess Jack and Woody hung out a lot and Arlo picked up the style by osmosis. 

Folk music- never new but it never gets old. Some weird arrangements (I feel like Dink's Song was mislabeled)

While the songs themselves weren't blatantly BAD, they also weren't awesome. I get that Ol' Jack was in the mix with influential people but I just can't get past the fake, put-on southerness. You're from New York, sir. Don't tell me you've ever actually seen a boll weevil, you poser.

Ok, hear me out… Jandek Takes the Floor. A full cover of this record as performed by Jandek. I’m not crazy, right? There’s something there? Like it could definitely work.

Cool, authentic sound that eventually gets boring, which is striking given how short this album is. The dude is aptly named, just kinda talks his way through much of this. Songwriting rarely seems original, too, and my favorite song was literally just Sarah Vaughan singing Liked: San Francisco Baby Blues*

Not for me but I can see where Boring Dyling got his inspiration from.

Well, it does ramble.

If this is the music playing around the campfire, I best be hurrying on back to my tent!

Superb folk tunes from one of the best of his era

Blues

good old fashioned country tunes love it

Really enjoyed this, solid folk country.

I liked

Interesting 50s honky tonk with some interesting bug blues

Brilliant. Raw, "real" and Woody Guthrie!

This was a fun story-time romp which had me laughing out loud at times!

Buen country

I can not compare jack with Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger，but just love the ramblin country vibes!this is what i call the digger's delight!

cool

I like this Folk shit. Sue me.

Another great country/folk album. Ramblin' Jack Elliot has simple yet earnest style. On this album, we are treated to a feature by Wood Guthrie himself, a mentor of Elliot. Jack Elliot himself went on to have a massive influence on artists such as Bob Dylan, and Woody's son, Arlo Guthrie. Jack Elliot is a living line directly to Woody himself.

I have now been indoctrinated into folk. This is all I want now. 5/5 Favorite song: San Francisco Baby Blues

I love stripped down folk country. This sounded like it was recorded at open mic night with the song intros and the live, “first take” quality of the music. Sounds like this was a pretty heavy influence on Arlo Guthrie (East Texas Talking Blues v. Alice’s Restaurant). And I had no idea Jackson Browne didn’t write Cocaine! Neither did Elliott, but at least he credits Rev. Gary Davis introducing the song. I will absolutely listen to this again.

Oh fuck yeah. Jack outdylans dylan all over the place. Muy autentico.

A fascinating little slice of history. Weird to think that this album was released closer to when Marco Polo discovered America than today.

Could t find the actual album but listened to a bunch of other stuff

Wild!

I’ve seen him in person several times. Ramblin’ is an apt name. He talked more than sang & most of what he said made little sense. I do like his music, his style.

This is why I am listening to this list. Every once in a while a record like this comes along that based on my usual listening I have no business enjoying but that really grabs me. From the first track to the last I was listening intently.

Speaks to my soul.

Excellent

Best album yet! I love cowboy music and this album has so many classics.

really pleasantly surprised, short one too, 11 tracks in 32 minutes

4 stars for the 40 seconds he ya-hewed!

Simple, pleasant country songs filled with authenticity, harkens to Beat Generation aesthetic of fast living in a dressed down manner

I love this - the country/folk mix coupled together with that 50's recording quality makes me feel like I'm playing New Vegas.

I have no complaints

folk gostosinho. chora bobo dylan

Amazing storytelling, so so cool

Yep, I dig this sort of folksy rambling gubbins. Very pleasant! Fave track - "Grey Goose".... HONK!

Some great songs on here, but the Mule Skinner Blues made my ears bleed. It was terrible, but the rest was good.

This was fun to listen to.

Yeehaw!

I love this, folk music. The stories are so great.

I enjoyed this album. It's not perfect, but I liked it - I prefer this kind of old-school folk to the Bob Dylans of the world.

yihaaaw baby lekker hoor

Great tunes love the style

Couldn’t find it

Ramblin' Jack Elliott meriterebbe un 4 solo per la simpatia. L'amore è sbocciato con OI'Riley, da li ogni brano mi ha dato motivo per sorridere. Un po' mi ricorda la versione bianca e meno spirituale di Mississippi John Hurt. A pelle lui è un 3.25. Ma devo dargli 4 perché lo trovo geniale a modo suo, spesso ho avuto l'impressione che non canti ma canticchi, perdendoci in tecnica ma guadagnandoci molto come interpretazione.

Great, should be a 4.5

This was fun. You gotta love an album where the singer tells you it's yet another one of them East Texas prison songs. I love his introductions to these very earthy songs about insects, dogs, prison, hunting, and, naturally, cocaine. He obviously has a love for this music and a desire to share it. He finds interesting connections between American folk subcultures jumping from Texas to Harlem, all sounding raw and soulful.

Proto Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, etc. Good for what it is. Ahead of its time. Succinct. The Sarah Vaughn thing threw me off. But yet another album that is so old I’m not going to rate it a 5 but in its time it was probably due a 5.

Well this was a fun album. Folk music as it was meant to be presented, simple, unencumbered, great stories told simply and succinctly. I enjoyed this album very much. 4 🌟

1/12/22

Banger

Jag gillar

Very quaint and intimate.

I sometimes feel like I succumb to the “authentic therefore good” reasoning with this kind of thing. Is it that great? Is it authentic even, I suppose, this Brooklyn-bred child of a well-to-do professional. On the other hand it’s safe to say running off at 15 to join the rodeo wasn’t some stunt to develop a good backstory for his later music career. I didn’t mind this at all though this kind of deep roots country is not a music I go to as a rule. But I’ll defer to Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash to tip the scale on this one.

Fun cowboy stuff with plenty of heart.

Hard album to find cause I guess it's not on any streaming but thanks to illegal YouTube uploads I got it. This album is so very good. It feels like it's like a crowd of 10 or 15 people just sitting around listening to this musical traveler. He's got songs from all over and he's just the voice passing them on. Excellent all around

This one caught me off guard. Definitely one of the founding fathers of the folk/protest movement of the 60s along with Dylan. Surprisingly good stuff.

This must have been a pretty wild recording back in 1958. I really like the guitar.

Bed bugs!!!

ok

Really enjoyed this

love the commentary between tracks

Liked the sound of the guitar. Stories were kind of funny too. Woody Guthrie surprised me.

A must have for any road trip

Excellent

4.5 excellent

This was a cool album. Really enjoyed the guitar work and the vibe of it.

Been a good week (musically only)

Un disco que pinta un paisaje y epoca exquisitos. El folk hace que te sientas en casa y ese sonido viejo de mal grabado aportan a la sensación. a pesar de que pinta el paisaje de manera literaria, no es más que eso y el album se queda un poco liso en eso, por es que el disco es un 8/10.

Listening to Mountain Stage the other night, I realize how limited my knowledge of traditional American music is (folk, blues, etc). Guess this is a good jumping off point. Very by the basics, but you see where American music gets the jumping off point from recordings like these. While I'm here, how is there no Woody Guthrie album on here? He has recordings. Favorite tracks: "Boll Weevil", "New York Town", "Dink's Song", "Salty Dog"

So happy to listen to this. I did need to find this on vinyl preferably a little scratched up, get a heavy pour of cheap bourbon and sit back and enjoy.

Country 50's

Loved this. Didn't know this guy but read about him. Good mates with Woody Guthrie, as we know from that one song, and certainly sounds like him. Very good stuff.

At first couldn't connect with this music but it got better as it went on I thought salty dog was fun -kinda kinky Liked 'brother won't you join in the line' the best

This was so wonderful!! Salty Dog was a fun highlight and also the tracks with what I think was a woman's vocals? Really nice vintage country vibes. Never heard of Jack Elliott before but all of the Spotify suggestions after the album were corkers too so that's always a great sign!

I listen to a good bit of folk music but I’ve never really listened to any this old before besides covers. Really interesting comparison. No particular favourite song but I liked the album.

It is 2023. Bob Dylan is referred to as this guy’s musical “son”. Dude knew Woody Guthrie and taught Woody Guthrie’s songs to his son Arlo. Johnny Carson thought that this guy knew everyone and had a song for everything. And he’s still alive! It’s 2023. This dude is a living musical history treasure trove.

Good stuff, different from what I usually see on this list and better for it. 4/5

The recording is bad, but what can I ask for from 1958. I like the guitar playing a lot. Ramblin’ Jack has a decent voice too.

3++

it’s nice it’s a nice blue album. I knew some songs. I liked the one about big bad bugs and cocaine.

actually kind of enjoyed this surprisingly. liked the casual nature of it, just chatting with friends and jamming. felt like home.

Fun listen.

Un increíble álbum de Folk, con canciones del imaginario norteamericano de principios del siglo XIX. Las interpretaciones de Jack Elliot son emotivas y sumamente cautivantes. Recomendado para cualquiera que disfrute del género.

A good ol' time with some good ol' boys. Ramblin' and hollerin' country folk music. Anyone who is a friend with known communist and fascist hater Woody Guthrie is a friend of mine.

Looks like country but it's very much folk. Songs are simple and reflective of the time where they came from. Elliott learned folk the folkiest way possible: on the street. He would later learn under Woody Guthrie and began spreading American folk music to the UK and Europe. Elliott's vocal stylings would influence the great Bob Dylan so his work is the blueprint for a lot of great contemporary folk music in America.

I love cowboy folk music. awesome album!! personal top3 in no order: The Boll Weevil Bed Bug Blues Salty Dog

I really enjoyed it a lot. Definitely my kind of folk/blues I enjoy. And Black Baby has aged really well.

Just an excellent early record from an incredible americana folk musician.