The Jack Kerouac Collection [Box set]

Jack Kerouac | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 1990)
• Original Release Date: June 26, 1990
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B0000032RQ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,361 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #49 in Music > Miscellaneous > Poetry, Spoken Word & Interviews > Poetry

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. October In The Railroad Earth - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

2. Deadbelly - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

3. Charlie Parker - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

4. The Sounds Of The Universe Coming In My Window - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

5. One Mother - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

6. Goofing At The Table - Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. American Haikus

2. Hard Hearted Old Farmer

3. The Last Hotel & Some Of The Dharma - Jack Kerouac

4. Poems From the Unpublished "Book of Blues"

5. Old Western Movies [#][*]

6. Conclusion Of The Railroad Earth - Jack Kerouac

Disc: 3

1. The Beat Generation

2. Poems (Fragments): San Francisco/Street Scene/Money Honey/Westinghouse

3. Lucien Midnight: The Sounds of the Universe in My Window (Pt. 1)

4. Lucien Midnight: The Sounds of the Universe in My Window (Pt. 2)

5. Fantasy: The Early History of Bop

6. The Subterraneans [Excerpts]

See all 9 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As a reader and performer of his own words, Kerouac wasn't as potent as his beat-generation pals. He lacked the greasy charisma of Allen Ginsberg or the razor squawk of William Burroughs. But what Kerouac did have was real joy, a certain innocence (despite his wild experiences), and an Everyman's charm. This last quality infects these historic recordings, making Kerouac's freethinking, beautiful words and images jump out of the past with as much potency as when he laid them down in the late 1950s. The Collection gathers Kerouac's three albums (which feature the author riffing alongside jazzmen Steve Allen, Zoot Sims, and Al Cohn) and a brace of bonus tracks. The performances are coupled with expansive liner notes, photos, and commentary. This set is required beat listening. --Michael Ruby

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I damn near want to cry when . . ., March 21, 2000

By 

Steffan Piper (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Jack Kerouac Collection (Audio CD)

This set takes me back so far in time, I can hardly consume the oxygen required to revive myself. I bought a copy of this at Cyrano's Book Store in Anchorage, Alaska on tape. I parted with it over the years but it was a mistake.

I re-purchased it the other day, once more; but this time on the crisp delivery of CD. Kerouac's voice to me, is what I imagine the voice of God to sound like. If they would've made track 15 from the first disk available to listen to, you'd buy it too, without hesitation. Hearing Jack read the last paragraphs from On The Road, makes one realize that it stands to be one of the greatest passages ever written in Literature (of any genre).

Jack Kerouac, with voice intact becomes reverent, gracious and invisible all at once. You'll read and hear him say how in his life, he was hated by most he met, even the musicians who play on the disk. Do we have to alienate ourselves so much to really 'see'? I'm just thankful that it took place and was released. I couldn't find a better way to live on.

Hoka hey, Jack.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars joy & sorrow, February 12, 2004

By 

"lewistollani" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jack Kerouac Collection (Audio CD)

The first album in this box set, which contains 15 tracks of Kerouac reciting prose while Steve Allen plays beautiful jazz piano, is dazzling. There is something magical and heartbreaking about the record.. Listening to it makes you feel as if you're sitting next to Jack himself at a bar, drinking, as he tells you these stories and talks to you. For any fan of Kerouac's writing, this album is a must. Once you've heard this, you will read his books knowing the sweet voice that is talking emphatically.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melts your mind into the beat mind-set., January 14, 2003

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Jack Kerouac Collection (Audio CD)

If you are familiar with everything Jack Kerouac ever wrote, then this set is a great memory jogger. If you are new to his work it is a superb introduction. Or perhaps you've tried to read him but never got into his "flow of consciousness" style. Then, these recordings teach you how to hear him in your mind- as one long, sweet jazz riff. Just close your eyes and let him transport you to better times and better places. Of course, Kerouac's America is still out there, here and there, in forgotten corners, in special places and special people.

Kerouac was the soul of his age. Who else but Jack could go from commenting on Dostoeveky one minute, then switch to the Three Stooges without missing a beat? Or just as easily go from Sanskrit to scat. And it works. That is because a great soul can encompass entire worlds without contradiction....