Customer Reviews

A Stranger Here

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Ramblin' Jack Elliott has been a major force in American Music for over 50 years. He kept alive earlier traditions of country and country blues singers, and he kept Woody Guthrie's spirit alive to pass on to Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and an entire generation of folksinger/songwriters. He taught several generations of guitar players their chops. He innovated solo acoustic versions of everything from Woody and Leadbelly and Jimmie Rodgers to Ray Charles to Tim Hardin to Mick Jagger.

And now here he comes with another milestone: a concept album of old country blues accompanied by a loose-knit, but highly accomplished band. Like everything Jack does, this has his unique imprint--the soaring, croaking, crooning vocals moving in and out of the melody with just the right mixture of reverence and immediacy. It is a joyful revelation!

He's hot. He's cool. He's got the blues and he's 77 years old. Ramblin' Jack Elliot teams up with producer Joe Henry for this concept album of country blues songs from the Great Depression.

First, the concept--it's not only appropriate for Elliot's weathered voice and experience, but also strangely apropos for our current situation. While we're not in a depression right now, these songs catch those feelings of hardship and empathy incredibly well.

Second--the songs themselves. Nearly all of the tracks are midtempo blues tunes, acoustically arranged, with either piano or guitar anchoring them. Henry arranges these songs with a stark but textured simplicity that shows off the tunes, and provides the perfect bed for Elliot's vocals.

Standout tracks here are "Death Don't Have No Mercy," which sounds like a lost Tom Waits tune, and "Soul of A Man," which has Ramblin' Jack proclaiming the words with a cracked, weathered, passionate voice.

This album can serve as any of three things--an intro to the country blues of the 1930s, an enjoyable exploration of Ramblin' Jack's incredible interpretive skills, or just as incredibly fine, textured, rough-hewn, honest music.

This is rootsy American music at its finest. What is the soul of a man? Ramblin' Jack Elliot's is on display right here. Awesome.

Excellent Blues sound by a vintage voice for this genre. Woody and Blind Lemon would be proud!
EA

I don't expect a golden voice, I don't expect a pop star, but as a long time Jack fan, this one disappointed me. The songs were repetitive, boring, and lacked his normal depth of song quality.