Reviews (page 4 of 7)
The missing link between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Not sure how I’d never heard of him before. I’d rather listen to Woody Guthrie…
It’s a good listen but feels lesser than his contemporaries
An easy-to-listen-to collection of "old time gooders".
This is an interesting album. It's not really something I would get into, but it was a fun listen. I can definitely see the influences that this had on early '60s folk rock.
Give the floor back Jack, you big rambler.
ran out of cash
decent album, very minimalistic with basic sound that was good for the era it was composed and performed.
soothing yodeling folk music that unfortunately isn't on spotify in its entirety but is still nice and peaceful.
Although absolutely far from my comfort zone, it's easy to spot its influence on modern music. It deserves its space on the 1001 list.
It was OK
You can hear where early Dylan stole all his moves from. Pure, in your face, lo fi recording on folk songs with little spoken intros each. The songs are like little peeks behind the curtain of the old America. Life sure was tough. Best Tracks: San Francisco Baby Blues; The Boll Weevil; Cocaine
This is fine. Basic coffeehouse folk.
Æi, hvað skal segja? Maður, kassagítar og Americana. Jújú, ágætt fyrir það sem það er.
Good
Not the best old country music, but I love old country music enough to like this.
If i were a carpenter
Cool for a few songs before it gets boring
Good blues.
If you're interested in the history of American folk music begin with Woody Guthrie and proceed ahead Bob Dylan in the early 1960's, but to help connect the dots between there was Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Released in 1958, Jack Takes The Floor, he yodels and rambles on and on, yup, just Jack and his guitar. This is bare bones, raw music that would be considered demos nowadays, with a campfire singalong quality that is both charming and authentic with songs of everyday life from the time. Sure, this could be considered essential historically, but after the first side or so, it becomes a bit hard to take and begins to sound like "anyone" hacking around on the guitar. A good listen, but once or twice is really all you need to hear.
I surprisingly really enjoyed this album. Heart warming and catchy tunes, with a nice/random female vocals song in the middle.
Country. Ni fu ni fa.
cool to hear something from a relatively long time ago whose influence you can hear on so much that came later. not the most exciting, though. the audio quality was distractingly uneven.
Rambling’ Jack is great, the go-between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan
ramblin' for sure, but would love to sit around a campsite listening to this
This guy was so enamored by cowboys he became one. I loooove gay people
Decent folk music
Whilst it doesn’t really stray past the boundaries of a small collection of folk songs, it is a great collection at that. Listening through is a similar experience to as if Elliott was performing these songs in the room with you. It’s never emotional, but it is often intimate and homely. And for that I can commend this beyond just a collection of folk songs. But not much beyond, as I’m sure this is another throwaway album with a mixture of originals and covers of traditional songs. Nothing extra special, but certainly not mundane.
Classic American folk from the late 50s. Quite simple songs and minimal accompaniment, enjoyable enough but wouldn't sustain my interest beyond one play
Mola
I wasn't really expecting to like this one, but I mostly did! There were a couple tracks that veered too country for me (I'm not a huge fan of the yodeling), but by and large this was a pretty good album!
Album 508 of 1001 Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Jack Takes the Floor Rating : 5 / 5 I really like this album. An interesting moment in music. There is a fun duet with Woody Guthrie. We also get "Salty Dog". Good stuff.
Ok stuff, good singer. Rides that Bob Dylan line of vocal affectation that isn't quite faking an accent. I don't understand why this one's on the list, what's the place in history? The writeup sure doesn't say much. I'd downgrade it if I didn't like folk singer stuff more than I ought to.
I like the format of this. Some guy giving his take on folk songs and telling you where he heard them. Hard to tell how legit it is, but hey I’m not the arbiter of that.
I'd never heard of Ramblin' Jack before - he was sort of mid evolution figure in folk music from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan. Early folk's Charmeleon or Wortortle, if you will. This is a plucky collection of traditional tunes about traditional topics: animals, insects, cocaine, etc.
L'album d'un être écorché, qui nous met presque au défi de l'écouter et qui ne voile aucune misère, dans les textes comme dans la voix. Profondément intime, un brin frondeur
I've been listening to Ramblin' Jack for years and like it - mostly because the songs have historical significance for modern music.
I can see where the folk explosions came from with this!
I find these old folk songs are sorta comforting. A mythologized past that probably didn’t exist, but that nevertheless are pleasant. Jack has a nice voice. This is simple guitar music. Nothing that I go crazy for but fine. 3/5
Steady listen
He takes the floor with a lot of energy in his folk songs and performance. Nice one!
More music white people stole from black people but while that’s nothing new I did begin wondering at what point music like this started being cliche since no one really thinks of any 50s music being tired and cliched. Like at what point did people get tired of hearing yet another ___ ___ Blues song? It was still good with Johnny cash in the 60s but this feels so much less inspired than that. This is a pretty long way to say that I thought this album was lame despite liking this type of music but I had to think of something while the “o brother where art thou” version of elevator music was playing.
a bit too twangy for me
Was pretty good.
Well, as someone who is not much of a folk fan, I like that his version of folk a bit. Liked some of the songs and can now understand his influence, as well as his importance, being a connector from Guthrie to Dylan. But I could never listen to 11 songs like this in a row. Had to break it into two listens.
Favorite Track: Salty Dog
Was a nice listen. Almost felt conversational, with a friend talking to me as he played his guitar. This might be the first time I wished an album was longer, because it felt way to short. Wish I could hear more. Top tracks: Ol' Reily, New York Town, Cocaine
This might be less country and more hillbilly hill music (saying that in the best possible way). New York was not bad, but the yodeling on Mule Skinner's Blues was just bad. Reading about him, he is influential in that he changed every expectation life would have set for him and became a singing cowboy. Good inspiration to try something totally outside of your comfort zone if it is what you truly love!
Ol timey songs about bedbugs and boowevils. Interesting stuff.
Despite being born into a Jewish doctor’s family in Brooklyn, this man sure seems to have the heart of a cowboy. He apparently had a huge impact on Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which is pretty neat considering I had no idea who he was. This album is a little strange and the song about bugs made me laugh, but I appreciate the old timey vibe and the creativity. He should leave the yodeling to the Swiss though.
6/10
Day 31 - July 2nd, 2024 Not my thing, but not awful. 3/5
Not on Spotify which is annoying, but kind of fun folk album.
I like San Francisco Bay Blues, Boll Weevil, I kind of like Brother Won’t You Join the Line, There Are Better Things to Do, East Texas Talking Blues, Bed Bug Blues, New York Town, Salty Dog, I almost like Grey Goose, Mule Skinner blues
These old folk albums set off entire movements. Dylan took his while persona for the first album off recordings like this. Doesn't quite get to good "album" status for me. It's a collection of songs that were great to learn from, steal, and pass on. But there's none of the continuity I want if I'm gonna sit down and spend the time.
Pretty good album but I prefer Townes van zandt. Also many borrowed songs that didn’t sound too different from the originals.
An interesting little vignette
From a musicological standpoint, I have great respect for the 50s-era folk-revival musicians. From a pure musical-enjoyment perspective, there's a lot of other stuff I'd rather be listening to.
A fine and pleasant addition to the list and a good yardstick for decent folk of this vintage. Pales into comparison with some of its more illustrious peers but nothing wrong here.
A good album, I enjoyed San Francisco Bay Blues and Grey Goose.
This is cozy and feels almost like a casual conversation. I wouldn't pick this over other folk singers from that era, but it's nice enough.
tsarmia, tsarmia purskuaa miehestä!! niin komea nuorimies.. heh.. varmaan naapurin tytöt haaveilee kitaraveikosta... perkele ei ehtinyt sotaan niin ei oppinut masennuksesta mittään... btw on vielä elossa ja 92 vuotiainen... yhä nuorimies HEHJ.. kiva tietää että kaikkia maailman artisteja on influoinut tämä suhteellisen tuntematon mies, juuri tämä henkilö on vastuussa esimerkiksi rolling stones sekä grateful dead onnistumisista.. 5 biisin nimeä on ____ blues. pikkuisen joutuu pettymään kun kalpeanaama loppujenlopuksi, nautiskeltavantavaa musiikkia kuitenkin, tykkäsin. mule skinners siniset
Enjoyable music, influential on a lot of imitators since
good. classic.
Woody Guthrie vibes, nice and rustic.
Not my favorite to listen to, but the archival nature of Elliott putting all these songs he learned from others on a recording is interesting from a cultural perspective.
In all its simplicity, I find this very pleasing
3/5. A lighthearted, yet sad, country folk album, kind of feels like I'm sitting around a fire with Jack to drink and chill for the night. I do feel like I might fall asleep during some of the songs, which benefits the vibe but not the listening experience. There are some songs that are well written but definitely not all of them (I'm looking at you Goose). I would recommend this though to anyone looking for a more relaxing listening experience, plus it's funny sometimes too. Best Song: Ol' Riley. Mule Skinner Blues, Dink's Song
Can really hear the influence on bob Dylan. Woody Guthrie did it better but still solid 3.5*
Hadn't heard of Ramblin' Jack before, but this is very nice, inoffensive music. He doesn't rise to the same level as Woody Guthrie and others, but he's very talented. Would've loved to see this live.
I can imagine this blew people's minds back in 58. Jack Elliott seemed to be one of the staples of country music. You can hear his influence even more than 60 years after its release
Meh. Not really for me.
hahaha oke also er redt basically eifach chli ER GSEHT JA MEGA CUTE UUS mega schöni stimm "they all go quak quak" tattoo-würdig wnl es passiert nöd vill aber er verzellt mier echli vom lebe und das findi sehr cute nochli jodeltiiime also sin gsang hetmer mega gfalle, mega abwechsligsriich aber ja
I don't know what to say about this. It's super old school country. Not my genre but wasn't bad.
Back when country music was about real shit... like getting eaten alive by bed bugs and coke.
i mean it's not gonna be in heavy rotation for me by any means, but I'm always gonna be a sucker for this sort of thing to a certain extent. also you can't not laugh when it's a guy named "Ramblin' ______" and half his songs are about bugs and cocaine
augljóslega áhrifaríkur. flestar ábreiðurnar betri hjá öðrum en samt skemmtilegt. 3,5.
Worth hearing and knowing, but not all that entertaining unless one is deeply into boll weevils and bed bugs.
Country Old
Surprised how much I enjoyed this album, not a fan of country music
Simpler times here. Just a guy and his guitar singing prison love songs, songs about bugs, and one that he learned from Rev Gary Davis, a blind street singer in Harlem, about cocaine. I had heard of Ramblin' Jack as he's a well known influence cited by many "bigger" artists but don't think I have listened to much (or any) of his music so I was happy to see this pop up. The picking and guitar playing is great. The overall sound of the recording has a wonderful old timey feel to it where you can sort of hear the air in the room he's playing in. But the lyrics are pretty vanilla and Jack's vocals are more ramblin' than singing. While I enjoyed it and am glad to have finally listened to Ramblin' Jack, I don't think this is one I'll be revisiting
San Francisco Bay Blues 3 Ol' Riley 2.8 Boll Weevil 3.2 Bed Bug Blues 3.1 New York Town 2.9 Grey Goose 2.6 Mule Skinner Blues 2.9 Cocaine 3 Dink's Song 2.8 Black Baby 2.8 Salty Dog 3 Score: 2.918181818
Western und Country Songs mit Blues Einfluss aus den 50‘er Jahren. Es klingt so als wenn der Malboro-Mann musiziert. Nicht schlecht aber auch nicht überdurchschnittlich. Kein Song sticht wirklich hervor sodass ein erneutes Hören nicht absteht.
Do you think Jack was born a ramblin' man? I want to criticize this album, but I think he's just trying to make a living and doing the best he can. I mean, there's nothing here that we haven't heard by some of Jack's contemporaries (or idols in the case of Woody) that they weren't doing objectively better. But this album is solid roots folk that'll make any Gen Z Lana Del Ray stan cream their pants I guess.
Humble, honest, workmanlike early folk played with deep respect for the enduring American tradition.
Für Country-Blues echt cool!
Eccentric collection of songs, that makes a mostly enjoyable listen. The low-quality recording makes it feel older than 1958 to me. Didn’t expect the Boll Weevil song today, my dad played the Brook Benton version to me as a kid Also why tf is “Dink” censored on Apple HL: “Boll Weevil”, “New York Town”, “Dink’s Song”, “Old Blue” (bonus)
A decent collection of old folk tunes. Cool by me.
Album not available on Tidal. Found playlists that contained many of the album songs.
I enjoyed it but nothing stood out to me.
He probably smells like whisky and cigarettes
Great classic country folk. Not the most impactful, but still a good listen.
I listened to the playlist compilation of this album on AM. Not sure it counts as the actual album. It was chill.
Best song: Ol' Riley (also San Francisco Baby Blues / Mule Skinner Blues) Vibes: appalachian campfire show Themes: working class / prison blues
There are some songs I liked to some extent, but the performance and presentation makes them feel more like a bar performance than listening to something being recorded for more active listening. I am happy recordings like this exist, so that these old folk and field songs are not lost to the ages, but it doesn't make it great listening today. I feel these songs are something historical that you'd listening to in a museum context more than modern songwriting made for the type of listening or artistic expression we are used to today.
The 1950s feels like a very different world to the 2020s, but Ramblin' or not these songs are pretty evocative of a seemingly simpler epoch.
Some woody guthrie shit. Pretty good.
"Jack Takes the Floor" by Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a straightforward, no-frills folk album that showcases Elliott's talent as a storyteller and interpreter of traditional folk songs. Released in 1958, the album captures Elliott's authentic and gritty style, with his distinctive voice accompanied by acoustic guitar. While the album offers a glimpse into the folk revival of the late 1950s, it may feel somewhat dated to modern listeners. The recording quality is also not up to modern standards, which can detract from the overall listening experience. Despite these drawbacks, "Jack Takes the Floor" is a solid effort from Ramblin' Jack Elliott and provides a snapshot of a bygone era in folk music. Fans of traditional folk music and Americana will appreciate the album for its historical significance and Elliott's genuine approach to the genre.
Important transitional figure between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan.
Perfectly okay. Some of these are fun. But it's mostly just a bunch of American folk singing and blues. Not my jam.
6/10 - 3/5 Skimmed it, it was just not my style.
Ramblin' is certainly right! I dig this kind of folk/country a lot more than the kind of folk that came up in the '60s. It's more raw.
an early, early folk album, just a simple guy with a simple ol' guitar singing campfire stories to anyone and everyone. it has charm, but it's mostly simple in terms of what the songs are about and how they're played. i just can't be too harsh on it.
1958! Johnny Cash-like. Dunno if he was an influence or this was just the style of play of the day. I'm guessing the "Ramblin" is his story telling. Enjoyable, different.
Oddly enough, I could have used a little more ramblin'. But I still appreciate it's inclusion here because it's so of its time and that period should be documented.
Lives up to his name, but some good classic country here.
Interesting album, although not my kind of music.
Not bad, Real throw back to some good Folk music.
Ok. 3/5.
Fun, old-timey country album. Was definitely worth the listen.
Blues country? Idk what the genre was but it was nice
Kinda rambly, kinda funny, kinda charming
Ok not really my type of music.
Fairly boring folk music. Not for me but i get it
Enjoyed this album. Folk not my favorite, but liked the stories!
Decent singer performing some old western songs he didn't write.
I enjoyed the storytelling here, easily transporting you to a different time and place. However, some of the people who followed him improve on this formula. I can't see myself going back to listen to this when Townes Van Zandt also exists. Still, enjoyable.
You know this was not a difficult listen, lots of talking blues and guitar picking in an early Bob Dylan style. Jack is a more straightforward proposition, perhaps why he ended up nearer LLewelyn Davis than global megastar.
decent
Definitely the inspiration to some later folk music. Still has the real country kick to it.
de unaa, 7/10
Country
One extra star for being old as fuck
Fun!
Hauska. Viihdyin, mikä varmasti on päämäärä, raikulimusaa kun on. Ramblin tosiaan.
Some good folk music here and an enjoyable listen. I'd listen to more!
Loved. If he didnt yodle that one time
Aptly named. An interesting collection of songs likely to grow on replay.
Not a bad album, I didn't find it too engaging though. However, the influence he would have had on acts like Bob Dylan is very clear.
Not totally my style, but really just some good classic folksy country.
i liked it and i like his stage name.
A few cool prison songs!
Perfect for Sunday morning.
Not sure if I got the right album - wasn’t exactly on spotify - but liked what I heard. Cowboy blues
I enjoyed the lightness of the guitar and vocals. Wouldn’t choose to listen to it, but I felt like I got a good little snapshot into mid-late 20th century rural country music.
I wouldn’t choose to listen to something like this but I actually enjoyed it, he just talked most of the time it was great
There's comfort to be found here. Sometimes it's nice to sit back and listen to a man with his guitar playing some other person's songs. Kick back, relax, and enjoy a pleasant voice. He might not be that great, he might not play that well, he might not be all that, but who cares? Life ain't all that bad.
I can see the seeds of influence this album has on a lot of music. I think there are albums very similar to this that are much more polished.
Still feeling fairly ambivalent about American folk and not well equipped to rate it. I guess folk of this style is like a storehouse for American mythologies of rambling men and the frontier spirit, etc. Even when the singer is the son of a doctor from Brooklyn. It's a curious style of American storytelling but I can't say I find the music, vocals or lyrics particularly gripping. I also suspect this was chosen just because it influenced Bob Dylan and other later artists. 3*
Good
This Poser born in Brooklyn, but he fooled me. I appreciated San Francisco Baby Blues track and the Boll Weevil song. I also appreciated that this was really short. The Grey Goose song was terrible.
Interesting folk country jazz sound
Pretty good, but I’d prefer Guthrie.
Folksy... boring, although not bad, nothing is really happening. Not really sure why this is here.
Cowboy sounds
This is my preferred type of country. Folk based and sung with a passion not often seen in the genres modern equivalent. Jack might be rambling’ but it’s choice ramblin’. Simple guitar and vocal folk/country. Really easy to like.
Not my style of music, really. Sounds a lot like Hank Williams. Production is bad, even for 1958. But it was OK. I'll be generous and give it a 3/5.
An important figure in the early folk scene, connecting the dots between Woody Gutherie and Bob Dylan. Much of the music doesn't hold up as well against those heavyweight names but there's some impressive performances on here. It's certainly noteworthy as a document of that era.
Hard to track this one down, couldn't find it on Apple Music in the US. But there's a sort of rerelease album called "Muleskinner" with all the same tracks, so I listened to that. I like this style, it's like archival blues/folk music, definitely appreciate an album like this. Makes me think of Lead Belly, an even earlier blues musician responsible for some of the earliest recorded music in the genre. Lead Belly recorded albums as early as 1939! Lord knows the British bastard who made this list doesn't know about American blues like that, but I would absolutely add one of those in a redo of this list. This one's pretty good though, too. Favorite tracks: East Texas Talking Blues, Old Blue, Salty Dog. Album art: This one on the website is just a picture of the guy, it's pretty low-res, nothing much at all to it. The Muleskinner repackage album has a cool scribble-drawn portrait, I do like that one quite a bit. 3.5/5
Solid
It’s not my scene but i enjoyed it
I like it. Reminded me of Saturday mornings at my dad's house. He'd get up and make coffee and it'd be cowboy music hour on public radio.
Maybe it was C's reaction but I expected this to be horrendous, and it was surprisingly good. Not anything I'd choose to listen to regularly, but not unpleasant. Liked New York Time, Muleskinner Blues, disliked Grey Goose.
Some lovely cowboy music that! I do enjoy the speaking over the top of acoustic guitar styley, the recently deceased Rodriguez did this in a few of his songs and I find it very impactful.
Yep, that's some mid-century folk music alright.
Could be nice to have live in a bar.
Pretty good classic country, nothing too special but Jack’s lyrics can be pretty funny sometimes
Country. Ni fu ni fa.
It's nice to hear something new... or rather old on this list. Taken at face value, the album isn't incredibly special but I suspect it's included on this list as a bridge between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Overall a collection of nice folk tunes. It's clear Jack walked so Bob could run.
Nice!
Some of the songs are more folky than others. But overwhelmingly, it is very country and that is not for me. Spotify does not have the complete album on there but there is a playlist was created to mimic it.
Just a nice chill old bag of blues. Bonus points for two tracks in a row being about bugs and a track about the borax mines. It sounds more timeless than a lot of tosh from the 50's and I like how it sounded like just him, his guitar and a mike. Woodie Guthrie has a very strange speaking voice
Again, another album that is pleasant enough, but doesn't really seem to warrant inclusion on its own merit. Sure, maybe it did influence a lot of other albums that are included in the list - Dylan et al - but in it's own right..........? Hard to see why personally.
ramblin man with a guitar and what seems like an unusual interest in household insects
The country girl in me loves this. Makes me think of 4th of July on the lake with my family. San Francisco Bay makes me want to learn how to line or swing dance. Honestly love the yodel/folk/bluegrass vibes. So fun. Obsessed with the harmonica. We need more harmonicas in music.
Welp this things has finally taken me to the other side of the tracks where I've never wandered before. Apparently Muleskinner is the same album plus two songs. San Francisco Bay Blues starts off the album with a sparse arrangement of plucked guitar melody with some spoken word overlay. Opens up about halfway through into a pretty traditional sounding Blues song. I'm into it -- seems like the sort of stuff that the Dead inspired a lot of their Workingman's Dead era songs from. The Boll Weevil and Bed Bug Blues are both super folky. Feels like a natural precursor to Dylan (side note: apparently they were friends). I kind of tuned out after this point and let the album fall into the background. This is fine, but not great folk music. I can see where it was ahead of its time in some respects, but its not something I would come back for repeated listens to. Soft 3/5.
I think I expected to like this album more than I did. I generally like older American music from a history standpoint. While I enjoyed listening to the album from that perspective, I was never too invested in the music itself.
The Boll Weevil song is a jam. Oh hell yeah 2 songs about bugs in a row I had no idea what to expect with this album and what I really didn't expect was a song about woof to end it
Inspired by Woody Guthrie, traditional folk country, good story telling. Simple music with just guitar and voice and the occasional harmonica.
I liken this to the Robert Johnson recordings. It's a very simple recording: the man and his guitar. That doesn't mean the recording themselves are simple. There's not much to add to what Elliott puts into it. The sparseness of the songs really doesn't matter. The album is only 30 minutes long, which I think was probably the sufficient length. Anything longer would start to be a bit much. I liked the album for what it was, a simple blues album. Once I realized what it was going to be I was not expecting it to be more than that.
Yeah Jack Elliott rambles alright. Each song has a meandering and possibly unnecessary intro from Elliott (and Woody Guthrie to boot). Then again, it's kind of the charm, giving the album a feel of a live performance and letting him put his own twist on the songs, which are rarely his. I don't mind his simple plucking and playing but I'm not rushing out to find more of it either. Next.
A pleasant fireside guitar-pickin peach of a recording.
I listened to this like Mr. Rogers was cosplaying as a cowboy, which made this more enjoyable.
Serves as an interesting document of early American country/folk, but not particularly accessible.
Like the songs better than the singer, but after listening to the Cars and TLC and the Hives finally one I could enjoy.
Calm country music
I get it, like it’s kinda cool but not for too long 3/5
6/10. Good old-timey fun.
I liked some of the guitar but it was pretty boring. 5/10
Música country americana de las primeras épocas. Voz un tanto grave y profunda. Para muy entusiastas del género, aunque se escucha bien
I'm giving this a slightly higher mark, because I love folk music. It has a kind of "documentation of the times, representing the underdog," vibe about it. Unfortunately, he feels like a low rent Bob Dylan and the most memorable part about it was that I live an hour away from where on of the songs is set.
This is one of those cases where I wish the Wikipedia entry had more information about the significance of this album. Jack Elliot, and particularly this album seems to have been highly influential on a number of genres during the decades after its release. The recording quality is pretty poor, but the songs are good. It's not particularly my genre of music, but it's easy to see why people like it 3/5
Well, his voice does not grate my ears, the guitar works are nice, it's not overblown or overproduced. So while it sounds a bit generic, it's pretty good for a standard folk album.
Nothing special, but easy enough to listen to.
This album is older than me! Historic slice of American folk-blues.
Very important recording in American music. Ollllld school folk from the 50s. This is the stuff that inspired Bob Dylan. Can’t go wrong.
Classic folk/country. Probably won’t listen to this album in the future, but appreciate what it did for folk/country.
I'm just loving this site!
It was cool to listen to it once for historical reasons. It must have been very influential 70 years ago
Lite Woody light, men ok då.
Ramblin' Jack Eliott est-il l'ancêtre de Johnny Cash? Je vais tâcher de mener l'enquête de mon côté, je vous tiendrai au courant des avancées de mes recherches.
This is pretty cool old blues and folk.
A good representation of country folk
Shocking he’s from Brooklyn. Not a bad sound, but a bit dull when you compare Elvis and Buddy Holly from that time, and the stuff from Bob Dylan to come shortly after.
Enjoyable and barebones early country folk album without any real highlights
Wholesome C&W from a man and a guitar. Its a slightly ropey recording but I like the way he introduces each song. The 30 min experience just kinda washed over me but its always good to hear someone new. ( if you know what I mean)
This sounds like early Bob Dylan to me, but Dylan definitely developed more.
This wasn’t as bad as I anticipated but it still wasn’t for me.
som bem das antiga, countryzao
I mean... it's a good listen and there's a neat spookiness to these old bad recordings. Something fun in the simplicity of these songs. And Cocaine I have a weird long history with, where I think I heard it first as a young kid because I left a radio playing and woke up to it in the middle of the night once. I don't fell particularly moved by any of it, though.
The bridge between the likes of Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, and the Sixties folkies like Dylan. Elliott does a fine impersonation of Guthrie on 'New York Town', but is also responsible for some rotten yodelling on 'Mule Skinner Blues'. Strange sounding album for a fella from Brooklyn. I like it well enough, but Elliott isn't as charismatic as Lead Belly, nor as wry as Guthrie, so this evens out around three stars. 'Grey Goose' is fun.
Bijzonder, deze man kende ik nog niet. Ik ga hier nog eens goed naar luisteren, ook zijn relatie tot Woody Guthrie en Jack kerouac.
I expected to despise this but something got me to actually listen to it. quite like the cocaine song.
Old school folk/country. Kinda fun but a bit too hokey
3 This album is an enigma. Having never heard of the artist, the Wikipedia page only offered me five brief, matter of fact sentences (one of which mentions its inclusion on this list), and even more strangely, while the album is nowhere to be found on Ramblin’ Jack’s Spotify page or through in-app lookup, a Google search reveals the album does in fact exist on Spotify and is fully listenable. What are you hiding, Jack?? Further research into Ramblin’ Jack’s career reveals a deeply rooted Woody Guthrie idolization (his first studio recording was even a Guthrie cover album), and a quick listen to any given track on this album basically confirms that. Yet despite that, and despite me being ready to write him off as a glorified fanboy, I actually really enjoyed my listening. Sure, it’s not the most distinct thing I’ve heard, and no, Ramblin’ Jack doesn’t come off quite as versatile as his hero or contemporaries like Bob Dylan, but I had fun. And you know what? Sometimes that’s what it’s all about. Makes me want to play some Red Dead. Favorite songs: San Francisco Bay Blues, The Boll Weevil, Cocaine, Brother Won’t You Join in the Line
Äkta lande musik 🤠
Nice lo-fi aesthetic and sparse arrangement
Ok
Folkity folky folk. Not much more to it than that.
Surprisingly not bad.
Avausraita vahva ja muutenkin ajan hampaan kestänyttä folkia. 3/5.
Dunno, sleep in, good run, really sad, like tearing up at the mems which is frustrating, swann dinner, tired
Stripped down songwriting that bridges the Depression -era folks tradition and the new troubador movement of the 60s and beyond.
Pretty classic folk. Dug it.
Alright, nothing great, nothing bad. 3/5
Jack do be Ramblin' Im lying face first in a giant field after a big shootout finale to a western listening to this
Je suis partagé sur celui-là. C'est de la bonne musique et c'est très viscéral, mais c'est à un niveau trèèès southern folk qui devient lourd à la longue.
As cowboy albums go, this one is alright. Just a guy and his guitar, singing repetitive songs. I can tell he puts his whole into each performance though and that's nice.
San Francisco Bay Blues is a banger. Everything else though is unfortunately very bland. I bet it was great fifty years ago but it's very dated now.
I enjoy me some old fashioned country but I feel like I should have enjoyed this a lot more. I agree with a lot of the sentiments done by the other users written here. 2.5/5
Short and sweet and some good fun songs. The beauty of the opener cover though shines a spotlight on how Jacks own songs are a bit plain compared the richness of others of the genre. Doesn’t make it less fun though - just frames the album into the context of others and hence why although I had a good time listening to it it’s simply 3 stars.
Good stuff! Quite the variety of blues, folk, country, and even some jazzy type stuff. Obviously very influential. 3 stars.
Country blues í anda Johnny Cash en ekki alveg jafn gott.
Was okay, personally not the biggest fan of country music
3.75
It's okay, probably a 2.5, but just not enough to my taste to roll it up to 3.
26th July 2022 Listened while prepping sandwiches for the day before going down to the river. Read in the evening while mum, dad and kids went to carrefour. Classic country and blues, always great storytelling and Jack seems to be one of the best. Loved the humour throughout too. 3.5 if I could.
Lightweight, kinda cool but mostly corny cowboy jingles.
How can you have this on the list, but not the singing postman? Ha ya ma gor a dickie bor?
This was an enjoyable listen. Simple, bare bones, good humored folk. I really like Elliott's laid back, slightly sweet vocal style, and his guitar picking is solid. Fave Songs: Salty Dog, Boll Weevil, New York Town, Mule Skinner Blues, San Francisco Bay Blues, Cocaine
Thanks to the kind person who made a playlist of this album on YouTube, as it was not available on Apple Music in the USA. This album was kind of amusing and felt very, very American. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't songs about bed bugs, boll weevils, and cocaine. I felt the same as most other albums on this list: I liked it, but I probably wouldn’t listen again. I had never heard of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott but I can see how and why his music was influential at the time.
3.5 - I'm sitting in my jammies, putzing around before bed and this record is right now a terrific companion. I'd also enjoy hearing this in the background at a used bookstore with a curled up cat dozing in a sunny corner. Standouts: "Mule Skinner Blues", "Cocaine."
Grey Goose!
Ljúf plata með tónlist sem er einhvern vegin i dnainu eftir mjög mikla Bob Dylan hlustun á unglingsaldri.
Genre: Contemporary Folk 3/5 Well, I'll give it this: this is folk music, for real. Fuck that phony Bob Dylan shit, fuck any of that goofy UK shit that followed him (except for Donovan, he's cool), this is real down-home cookin', dust bowl whirlin', foot tappin' folk music. Jack Elliott, his guitar, his harmonica, and his roaring voice, which can even be stretched to yodels whenever necessary, make for a pretty darn good little album, albeit quite dated and a bit repetitive. This whole album felt like it was ripped directly out of O Brother, Where Art Thou. Jack Elliott is a goofball, and you feel his sense of humor throughout this album. Some of the songs stray away from your average lost-love, hard-times blues tune (Cocaine, Ol' Riley), and you get goofs like Bed Bug Blues and New York Town, which are sweet little nuggets of music that help cut through the straight folkiness of it all. All in all, really not as bad as I had thought it would be, but only because its authenticity is apparent. Good stuff from Jack.
Basic stuff, but still enjoyable.
A man, a guitar and that's it. With all the modern means of production that we hear on today's albums, a return to basics is often very pleasant. Ramblin' Jack Elliott not particularly hooked me, but I'm happy to know him better now!
Like the background story on Ramblin' Jack. Had never heard of him before. Not my typical music but I did find it enjoyable. I like the folksy sound. 3/5
Pretty minimal
Orrefors hade fel jag tycker detta var bra.
It was good. Ain’t Dylan or other famous folk, but solid.
Some rather simple, rambling songs, nothing I will revisit.
A notably critter-centric album. Critters include the human kind and reinforce the humanity of the music. Ups, downs, echoes make me happy I listened.
Solid twanging.
A nice bluesy album with a little country/folk twang thrown in for good measure. However, listening to this album straight through has it all sounding like the same song.
Kind of no-politic Guthrie
Yep. It's an interesting song. And when you have songs about the boll weevil, bed bugs, and cocaine, it's a recipe for high bugs? I do like the simple tones accompanied by a guitar. I wonder if these are the songs Walker sings in Yellowstone. Either that or Walker doesn't have the copyright to sing anything else. As I ramble I'm reminded that I'd probably listen to this again, given that this is the very first time that I've listened to it.
An interesting flashback to a more traveling folk singer vibe... particularly with interesting perspective songs like Boll Weevil and Mule Skinner Blues. Was cool to listen to.
listenable, but you know, o.l.d.a.s.f.u.c.k.
Enjoyed the start of the album but some songs were questionable towards the end.
This is the kind of album I'm doing this for. Not much chance I'd have given this a listen if it didn't pop up in this list. The more sober / serious songs were great, and I really liked this rendition of Cocain Blues. However, I could be doing with less of the comical tunes. Grey Goose is truly awful
Gently rolling country folky fun
This was good, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.
Not my favorite classic western album of all time, but some tracks were pretty fun.
very stripped back and bare but what can you expect from a 50s country rock album. very easy listening
I liked a couple of songs, but the album on the whole was pretty average.
Surprisingly fun to listen to. None of the songs seemed too high caliber in terms of skill or talent, but I could see myself singing along around a campfire or something. Folksy and catchy, but nothing stood out as very great.
Marty Robbins doc Watson esque. Pretty decent story telling
God gammel folk, meget simpelt, men også hyggeligt nok
they gave me the wrong song at one point
Rating: 5/10
Old school folk/country album met prachtige stem
With no previous knowledge of Ramblin' Jack, when the first tune started, my first reaction was that this was pretty fun. As the album progressed, it did not hold my attention, however. There were a few other upbeat moments of interested that grabbed me, including the last tune, but overall I was not all that into it.
This isn't exactly my type of music and not the kind of thing I'll play often, but I'm very glad to have listened to it. At times the recording were a bit muddy, but the simplicity of the arrangements - a guitar and a voice - made this less of an issue. The album is under "Compilations" in Apple Music and this certainly feels like a compilation rather than a cohesive album to me. The songs deal with lots of subjects – old dogs, boll weevils, bed bugs, dogs, cocaine, 20 mule team borax, love, prison... My favorite songs: The Boll Weevil, Old Blue (from the reissue) Not adding this to my library but a pleasant listen!
Easy to hear the influence on Dylan's early records. Bob invited him to take part in his Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the mid 70's and he's pretty hilarious whenever he's on camera (in the Scorsese documentary)
This is kind of hilarious. Definitely not my standard kind of music at all but I .... weirdly enjoyed it? Not just a little reminiscent of Stompin' Tom Conners. The "Ramblin'" part is what makes it for me - it's totally silly listened through a modern lens...his low-key folksy chatting to the audience before each song as he's strumming a few chords... but I think that's what draws me in. Probably wouldn't like much more of this and definitely not a repeat spin but for a quick half-hour it's worth the simple and fun look back at raw mid-20th century country-folk. 7/10 3 stars
This was a welcome change, didn't expect to like any folk that is pre-Dylan but I enjoyed it
Just a folksy dude singing folk standards. He started out as a busker, and once you learn that, you can't unhear it. Woody Guthrie makes an appearance, leading me to wonder, "Couldn't I just be listening to Woody Guthrie instead?" Best track: New York Town
Un bon album dans le genre mais ne m’a pas inspire. Je connais meilleur dans le style. 3.25
Sono abbastanza in difficoltà con il giudizio di questo album. Da una parte c'è veramente poco, le registrazioni sono certe volte a malapena intellegibili, i pezzi non è che abbiano questa grande varietà e lui direi che ha azzeccato il nome con Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Dall'altra parte però nonostante fossi prevenuto verso la seconda meta/due terzi dell'album mi sono accorto di aver un po' più intuito il senso, doprattutto con il pezzo in chiusura There are Better Things to Do che è secondo me il migliore dell'album. Mi sono sentito un po' come ascoltare una cena tra amici dove a fine serata qualcuno prende la chitarra e fa qualcosa non solo per intrattenimento ma anche per comunicare qualcosa agli altri ma recuperando un aspetto un po' primordiale della musica che in realtà è sempre stata parte integrante dell'espressione umana quotidiana. Che dire musicalmente secondo me è tipo un 1.5, però lo voglio premiare per questa piccola epifania e gli dò un 3 inaspettato.
definitely some interesting songs here. Ultimately not the style of music that I enjoy but I think that the historical significance is inescapable. Seems like a 3.5 star for me.
Some funny songs. Dust bowl type jams
If Sam Elliot could sing.
I thought this was ok... definitely could hear the influence it might have had on other singer songwriters of subsequent era. Nothing mind blowing.
Important link in the folk tradition. To me this music is like vegetables that are good for you on a crudite plate and not like a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza. This analogy depends heavily on your opinions of vegetables on a crudite plate vs cheeseburgers and pizza but I think the analogy still holds up regardless of differences of opinion.
I am pretty ignorant of folk, so I'm glad this was in the list since it led me to read up on Ramblin'Jack Elliot and by extension, Woody Guthrie. I find the music kind of quaint, kind of cute, and very nostalgic. Not what I'd throw on, but if someone really dug it and wanted to listen to it, I'd have no qualms.
Yeehaw! Some good old country blues, and he definitely earned the Ramblin’ title. Not much of a country guy but this was a pretty good time.
doet me denken aan woody guthrie, soms ook wat cashy. kzen fan, ma weet niet of ik dit album vaak ga luisteren. grey goose is wel goat lyrics
3,5 Makes me wanna move to a ranch in the USA, sip whiskey and get my vibes on! Leuke listen
Proto-oogle?! I like it
This album harkens back to a time in which country and the troubadour songwriter movements were not so far apart. Jack Elliott finds his voice and helps establish the stronger roots of older country.
3.5
Folksy
Niet al te speciale muziek, goed voor op de achtergrond
old old country music
never heard of this guy before but he basically sounds like early Dylan. Fun stuff
Solid but didn’t grab me
The first few songs were a bit of a strain (on my ears) due to his raw voice> he sounds like someone you'd hear on a Tuesday night in a local bar. The yodeling and harmonica playing in Muleskinner Blues was an improvement. I was curious about the fake duet with Woodie Guthrie so I did some research. It appears Jack is an influential figure in the making Woodie's material known to the "younger generation" and since Woodie isn't on the 1001 list....
I actually liked it ngl. The first two tracks are amazingly just nice and relaxing, just feels like you're just chilling with the boys by some piece of nature. There are a handful of tracks that I could just play while working as background music which is a very specific and good role to play. High key wanna learn the guitar for some of these songs which is it's own compliment Favourite Tracks: San Francisco Baby Blues, Ol' Riley, Cocaine, Salty Dog
Different. Liked it. Proper inbread hick stuff.
American roots album. The Boil Weevil is a good tune. New York Town with Woody Guthrie is a great tune.
Boll weevils, bed bugs, and cocaine: this album covers all the scourges of the 1950s mid west. Lyrics with more flavor than black jam tortellini
Not my style of music, but can see why it would be popular with people who do.
Was fine. Not my style.
ahoooooooooooo
It's not exactly my thing, but there's a lot of really good choruses here, and Woody Guthrie showing up for a song or two was really cool! :)
This is a great folk album. I love the stories, and the songs are funny.
Very entertaining. Singing Cowboy...
Well ol Bob Dylan certainly copped his style.
i don't have much to say about this one. it's decent country-ish folk music with some yodeling. very Smithsonian Folkways. not really a standout in that field though. deserves to be one of the 1001? folk revival is important to have on here but i don't know if i'd put this on over a Joan Baez or a Dave van Ronk or a Woody Guthrie or a Pete Seeger. would leave this behind i reckon.
Similar to Woody Guthrie, but not quite as exciting.