Jack Takes the Floor

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.

The man did what he came to do I guess but it’s not for me and not original enough for me to rate it higher

He be ramblin'

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.

One of the most boring albums you will ever hear

2.5

Calm country music

Difficult to say. Not exactly much depth to be found here. The only thing I could really comment on is it’s excellent lyricism.

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"

I get it, like it’s kinda cool but not for too long 3/5

the entire album is just this guy jack elliot doing smothers brothers-esque songs until Dink’s Song which is a slow, big band jazz song with a female singer. i don’t know why

6/10. Good old-timey fun.

I liked some of the guitar but it was pretty boring. 5/10

idk what to say

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

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.

Ramblin' all right... This was not my bag, my purse or my cup of tea. I appreciated he kept his rambling brief though, so thank you for that Jack. Low point here was the yodelling, reminded me of my girlfriend's cat asking to be fed every morning only without the tin of tuna to give to him to make him fucking stop. Fun times.

I get what he was going for. I also get that allegedly Bob Dylan patterned his song delivery on Ramblin Jack. But that does not make this a great album.

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.

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.

It’s very meh and boring, not really my cup of tea. It’s pretty repetitive and just VERY boring. Favourite tracks: San Francisco Baby Blues and Cocaine were ok, the rest is meh Least favourite: Black Baby and Mule Skinner Blues. Horrible tracks and Mule Skinner Blues was obnoxious

not for me

Extremely average blues/country licks, nothing special about the vocals either.

Nothing special, but easy enough to listen to.

Along with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, this is an obvious jump point, if not actual influence to Dylan, Byrd's et al. Very rootsy blues/folk. Not a fan of the yodel/howl!

Been a good week (musically only)

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.

Cowboy/hobo Woody Guthrie. Interesting but a lot of songs about bugs…?

This album is older than me! Historic slice of American folk-blues.

This bugged me for a few songs because it sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realised it sounds like Bob Dylan. It pre-dates Bob Dylan, but that's still absolutely no fucking excuse for sounding like Bob Dylan. I thought it was mercifully over at some point because the style changed so dramatically, but no, there's just a fucking show tune halfway through for no reason. It sucked too. Update: just read his wiki, and I'm not American so correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these tunes a little too southern for a New York jew? haha. I almost gave it an extra point for this, but no. 2/5.

Rambling by name rambling by nature, definitely an acquired taste but not for me

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

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

4.5 excellent

Lite Woody light, men ok då.

Excellent

Cet homme est tout ce qu'il y a de plus détestable avec son chapeau et sa façon de parler ridicule. Et ça n'a pas loupé, je l'ai détesté dès la première seconde. Plus jamais tu nous remets ces conneries Robert.

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.

Redneck country

This is pretty cool old blues and folk.

Boring

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

For what it is musically, it's fine, but the co-opting of Southern culture by a Dylan compatriot definitely reads as anything other than genuine. Throw in some off-base bonus tracks meant to lengthen the album for re-release (including a near-orchestral track with female vocals?) and it's hard to feel that this is a passion project more so than money grab.

A must have for any road trip

bof

Too He Haw.

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

love the commentary between tracks

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)

shit

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

Ugh

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.

Folk is just so painfully bad to listen to

He sure was ramblin'

San Francisco Baby Blues- 6 Ol' Riley- 4 The Boll Weevil- 2 Bed Bug Blues- 2 New York Town- 3 Grey Goose- 1 Mule Skinner Blues- 1.3 Cocaine- 3.2 Dink's Song- 4 Black Baby- 4 Salty Dog- 5.4

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.

I might be more in the mood for this someday, but today is not that day. I mean... wouldn't it make more sense to just listen to Woody Guthrie instead of this? Maybe that's too harsh, but it's all I can think at the moment. I'll give him credit though. Apparently "Ramblin' Jack" the country boy is actually "Elliott Adnopoz" from Brooklyn. Takes guts to completely reinvent yourself like this and even crazier to think it actually worked out. Good on him?

I may not have loved it, but a good history lesson.

2.7/5

I would probably never listen to this but it's charming in a way.

Auch eher nur musikhistorisch interessant.

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.

Awful Terrible voice, whiney songs, nothing at all good to say about this album

Boring old country

Meh

didn’t like it. he was ramblin too much. lives up his name

Horrible. How or why this is on this list is beyond me

What a painful experience

Bijzonder, deze man kende ik nog niet. Ik ga hier nog eens goed naar luisteren, ook zijn relatie tot Woody Guthrie en Jack kerouac.

'Cocaine all around the brain'! Als dit een straatmuzikant was, zou ik blokje omlopen om deze mafkees te kunnen ontlopen...

Iets te gedateerd voor mij

Nee ik word hier niet heel enthousiast van.

I expected to despise this but something got me to actually listen to it. quite like the cocaine song.

Dogshit on toast

Really enjoyed this

ok

This was interesting in that this influenced a lot of folk music I guess. I enjoyed it for the most part.

Old school folk/country. Kinda fun but a bit too hokey

Yea, this was just too annoying for me. Hoping this is the last time we see Jack take the floor. Tough one to make all the way through. 0 for me.

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

Bed bugs!!!

Äkta lande musik 🤠

Nice lo-fi aesthetic and sparse arrangement

Ok

Folkity folky folk. Not much more to it than that.

I like this Folk shit. Sue me.

I get it, but I dont like it

I really enjoyed the first few songs but it quickly got a bit too yodelly for my liking

Fun album, bit twangy

cool

Surprisingly not bad.

Vähän tällästä kahden markan Dylania! Ei oikeen oo samaa potkuu ku WG:llä tai BD:llä kyl. 2/5

Sinänsä lämpenen musalle, mutta on tällaista parempaakin.

Avausraita vahva ja muutenkin ajan hampaan kestänyttä folkia. 3/5.

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.

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

Dated country, don't see this as must listen

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.

This feels old and the mixing is quite complex, I mean it's back from the 50s but still, it's pretty nice as country songs but I'm pretty sure better has been done to this day. I guess that would be fine in the far west but yeah, not astonished overall. 2.25 / 5

The album is not that great.... Overall repetitive and the master sounds old (not point taken out but simply feels bad) some tracks are funny to listen to but I would not recommend as an album... 2/5

Country...

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.

Alright, nothing great, nothing bad. 3/5

Nah

Jack do be Ramblin' Im lying face first in a giant field after a big shootout finale to a western listening to this

Not a high point

2.5

No es lo mío. Me aburrió rápidamente, pero hey, descubrí de dónde viene una canción del Unplugged de Eric Clapton que me gusta mucho.

I didn't look into the details of this album yet, but I'm making general guesses about the era. This is less good honky tonk, some of the songs were outright annoying.

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.

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

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.

A poor version of Woody Guthrie (who appears on one track). What makes this worth appearing in the list is unclear. Most of the songs are written by other people, the performance is not exceptional and at times is rather mediocre. Ramblin' Jack Elliot can have been an influence on some, but surely not a strong one

Not for me.

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!

Country blues í anda Johnny Cash en ekki alveg jafn gott.

Was okay, personally not the biggest fan of country music

3.75

Well, not much to say. Kind of country version of Bob Dylan, but not as poetic and maybe subjectively better singer. Songs about hard life in West USA, for sure he had to be some kind of country prototype. As I mentioned couple times already, neither folk, country or bards are my cup of tea, especially that in my opinion Jack Elliott doesn't stand out in any way.

Fun cowboy stuff with plenty of heart.

Buen country

Balls

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.

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

Lightweight, kinda cool but mostly corny cowboy jingles.

Nope.

Pretty solid, if mostly straightforward folk/country record. Always a pleasure to hear a new version of Dink’s Song.

Busker...it sounds like a busker.

How can you have this on the list, but not the singing postman? Ha ya ma gor a dickie bor?

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.

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.

Well, it does ramble.

terminé saltandome las ultimas canciones porque me aburrí de escuchar canciones que son prácticamente iguales una de la otra así que con eso les digo todo

Jack Elliott. I don't know how this is among the 1001 best albums, I doubt it was even particularly significant in 1958. It's very plain country music at best.

Started tedious, and got worse. I did laugh when he did an intro spiel about how people often seek solace in sleep, but that it sometimes made it worse, before launching into a song about bed bugs :D then we have what sounds like a hostage situation with Woody Guthrie to start track 5. Now he's quacking at the end of track 6 (which is about geese, who don't quack. They hiss or honk). Next track wasn't offensive until he started yodelling midway through. Back to inoffensive but interesting for the next couple, then whiny, and then a song that is better than the others but still not good. He just really can't sing very well. 1/5, but only because I can't give a 0. Probably the worst thing we've had so far, but at least he had the good manners to stop after half an hour.

A pretty underwhelming album. A consistent album of short country songs in pretty poor quality. I know the album is old but country music then really was pretty dull. 2.7/10

well this was an album! it had a great sense of authenticity and i liked how unrefined it was. however, it is definitely from 1958 and i don't think i liked it. i could not believe i listened to a song about bed bugs. whoever sang dink's song has the loveliest voice, but i don't think it was mr. elliott.

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.

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.

Mikill áhrifavaldur segja mér menn. En það er bara ekki nóg kallinn minn.

Сижу как-то я у дельты реки где-то в штате Алабама и слышу этот альбом;)

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.

Rudimentary folk/country music from the late 50's. As a whole, this felt like a mess and even at 30 minutes it was a bit of a drag to get through. Sorry Jack. I do love your 2009 comeback though, so I'm still willing to hear your other albums.

Very rudimentary stuff, I almost died of boredom

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!

Very basic

Barn síns tíma, for sure. Áhugaverð hlustun.

Very quaint and intimate.

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

never heard of this guy before, don't have to listen again

Didn’t mind the guitar. Singing and songs were shite.

Not great

It was fine I guess. Guitar was nice. Boring album overall

Pretty minimal

Jag gillar

Banger

Orrefors hade fel jag tycker detta var bra.

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

It was good. Ain’t Dylan or other famous folk, but solid.

This folk album is from Ramblin' Jack Elliott and was released in 1958. It's so old that there is little information on it. The music is alright if you enjoy a single, folksy singer songwriter. I thought this album was forgettable.

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.

Quite boring tbh. Only 1 or 2 songs worth coming back to and one of them was a Sarah Vaughan song (cover?). 3/10

Somewhere between Guthrie and Dylan but not as good as either.

Solid twanging.

Uff ps supongo que fue bueno en los 50s

Not my thing at all - they all sound remarkably similar

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.

mehhhhhh

Enjoyed the start of the album but some songs were questionable towards the end.

Possibly a fine example of C&W music, and fine if you like that sort of thing. Sounds like whining to me.

I've never heard of this man before, but I'm glad to see he's still alive. There's yodelling and songs about weevils - it's hard not to be at least a little charmed. Plus, the recording is *so* primitive and the chat *so* typically old-timey, it has to be the real deal, right? 2.5

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.

Meh. Although I can recognize its importance and understand why it would be included on a list like this, I ultimately found this album unimpressive and pretty average. It is hard to even call it an album as it is more of a collection of random songs Jack Elliott recorded at the time (it doesn't even show up as an album on Spotify; it shows up as a playlist). I'm sure what he was doing at the time could be considered groundbreaking in the folk scene, but I didn't feel the same impact that I do when I hear a rock or blues album from the 1950's in that the songs here are pretty simple and somewhat forgettable. One track that stood out to me was 'Grey Goose', and that is only because it sounds straight up like an Adam Sandler song. Another track, 'Cocaine', I remember for its unique reference to a drug that I'm sure wasn't being done very often, but I cannot tell you anything about the song other than that. Overall, there just wasn't enough depth or emotion here that would make it stand out when compared to other folk artists who came afterwards that were most likely influenced by Elliott. I didn't hate it, but I ultimately found it perfectly mediocre. 2.5/5.

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.

1/12/22

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.

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 🌟

Zupełnie nie trafił w mój gust

5/10

Marty Robbins doc Watson esque. Pretty decent story telling

probably would have enjoyed it more then

Never heard of him before but his music sounds familiar. Either he is doing someone else's style or they are all doing his. Good for what it is. 2/5

This reminds me of some of the stuff grandpa Kenny used to sing/strum, but his voice was WAY better. For me, this has only historical value.

It was a simpler time, I suppose.

Un altre dels discos històrics que ha perdut ja gran part de la seva rellevància. Acòlit de Woody Guthrie i per tant un dels primers mestres de Dylan, els temes sonen ja prehistòrics i cal tenir una gran conciència històrica del folk i la música en general per poder acceptar la seva importància

Im trying to take it for what it is. The point of doing this for all genres is to give it a chance. Its old country blues with a single guy singing and playing guitar. topics include whatever and i mean whatever. a song about bed bugs… still better than the twang but wont relisten … 1 to 2

Ja fint nok. Men lidt ligegyldigt

sygt at det er lavet i 58

God gammel folk, meget simpelt, men også hyggeligt nok

Like a time capsule - interesting, but dusty.

A goofier Guthrie. A cowboy Woody. I can dig it. No doubt Bob D took a page from Jack's book on how to sing through your nose. Compared to those two folk titans Jack seems like a lightweight. Woody had a way of making simple things universal, and Bob is untouchable Bob. Do I need more Oakie Folk in my cereal? Probably not, but Jack's a goofy marshmallow. C. P.S. did Sarah Vaughan randomly drop in the middle of this album for you too?

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.

they gave me the wrong song at one point

Rating: 5/10

Old school folk/country album met prachtige stem

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.

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.

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.

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!

Recognized a lot of these songs. Enjoyable, but not something I’m going to seek out again to listen to on my own.

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)

Pretty samey but Mule Skinner's Blues is a great little ditty.

Not super interesting.

obviously it isn’t my favourite but i didn’t hate it. the talking was a little awkward and there were some like screeching noises? but it’s was funny

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

Brilliant. Raw, "real" and Woody Guthrie!

Jack Takes the Floor by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot (1958) Ramblin’ Jack Elliot is the phony that folks accused Bob Dylan of bein’. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot is the young Bob Dylan without the brains. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot sounds like he came from Missouri, ‘cept he don’t sound like that to people who been there. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot knows how to tune a guitar, but he don’t. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot learnt everythin’ from a Madison Square Garden rodeo clown except how to avoid the bull. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot shares the politics of Woody Guthrie in there somewhere, but it’s kinda hard to find. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot is important for the history of somethin’ that really ain’t that important. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot has fans who know exactly what I’m talkin’’bout. 1/5

Especially i don't like man vocal in a country music

Interesting 50s honky tonk with some interesting bug blues

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

Great, should be a 4.5

Un bon album dans le genre mais ne m’a pas inspire. Je connais meilleur dans le style. 3.25

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.

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.

Non è un album che risentirei, non perché sia brutto, ma non è scattata la scintilla tra me e Jack Eliott. E' un album molto vecchio, 1958, che quindi è anche difficilmente valutabile secondo gli standard attuali però nessuna canzone mi è rimasta nel cuore. Un country folk da 2.5.

Not for me

An incredibly talented guitar player and folk singer. Huge influence to dozens of other famous folkbartists, including Dylan. First song is a folk classic but the rest serve as nothing more than display his talent. This album is probably on this list solely for the first song.

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.

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

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*

Saved Prior: Do I even need to say none for this one. Off Rip: San Francisco Bay Blues, The Boll Weevil, Salty Dog Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Cool that he has so many songs in his repertoire, like a modern day Homer. Not a huge folk guy, so it's more cool in theory than in practice. Also features the most subdued song about cocaine I have ever heard. Plus the Spotify version of this album for whatever reason has a Sarah Vaughan version of Dink's Song instead of the Jack version? Her version can't be found anywhere else?? It just exists under his name on this album???

Is a bit of a slog to be honest. And it’s only a brief album! The most interesting thing is reading about Elliott’s background. Dink’s Song is very pretty. But nobody needs folk songs about Boll Weevils or Bed Bugs in their life.

I personally find this pretty dull but i understand why it has it's place in musical history. Quite liked having it in the background. 2 stars

I liked

Wow. Was good for it's time. Considering the low tech approach still could have been better

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.

Couldn’t find it

Great tunes love the style

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

yihaaaw baby lekker hoor

Really enjoyed this, solid folk country.

Not into it

Proto-oogle?! I like it

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.

I did not care for this album and I do not care for country music.

Pass. Not for me.

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.

Ramblin' is an understatement for the verbal vomit that happens on this album. Every time it would start to pull me in, a monologue, lyrical repetition, or a yodel pulled me back out again.

Rough. Can see the importance, wouldn't listen to it often though.

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.

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

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

Cowboy blues

Not for me. Never heard of him. All sound the same.

Du blues très chiant

3.5

Folksy

Niet al te speciale muziek, goed voor op de achtergrond

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. 

Yeehaw!

Wasn't fully sold on these rambles. Folksy cowboy hat pickins, but I can't identify any qualities that make this stand out from the rest of the genre.

old old country music

never heard of this guy before but he basically sounds like early Dylan. Fun stuff

Sounded a bit screechy and annoying.

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....

3.5

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.