50 Years of Ramblin' Jack in The American Century
Frederick | Petaluma, CA | 08/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ramblin' Jack has outdown himself, or lets say his daughter has by putting together this collection, the choices, and the voices along the way. This is true Ramblin' Jack, capturing him at various stops in more than 45 years of recording. The duet with a young Bob Dylan is a rarity. The 1998 versions of great Ramblin' Jack often performed songs (this time live at New York's Bottom Line) such as "1913 Massacre" and "Don't Think Twice" along with songs captured at the 1998 Elko, Nevada Cowboy Poetry Festival, "If I were A Carpenter" and "Cuckoo" are among the best he has ever done. This sound track to the film documentary now at theatres (read Stephen Holden's fascinating review in the Wednesday, August 16, New York Times) produced by Alyana Elliott is a must for anyone interested in folk music, or American music, in the 20th century. If you have never heard of Ramblin' Jack, now is the time. If you are already a fan, this is yours. What were we doing last century? Listen to Ramblin' Jack, it will help you in the 21st Century."
Ramblin' Jack, great American
Jerome Clark | Canby, Minnesota | 10/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ramblin' Jack Elliott's recorded output has been as wild, woolly, and uneven as the man himself, but this retrospective -- capturing him through a long career from the young, Guthrie-besotted singer/guitarist to his present status as revered elder statesman of American folk music -- is simply wonderful. The duet with Woody Guthrie on "Railroad Bill" (not "Hard Travelin" as the Amazon review has it) is itself worth the price of the disc. It is one of Guthrie's last recording sessions, moving for that but musically appealing as well. Elliott's astonishingly affecting reading of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice," like so much of his distinctly finite repertoire, has been recorded before, but its reappearance here is no less welcome for that. Late in life, through the documentary for which this is the soundtrack and through sheer perseverance, Ramblin' Jack steps out of the long shadows cast on him by Guthrie and Dylan -- the first the man from whom he learned, the other the boy whom he taught -- and proves himself, for yet one more time, to be indispensable, a personality different from but as uniquely American as Guthrie's. Over the years I've heard a lot of Ramblin' Jack records, but I'm hard-pressed to think of one as thoroughly engaging, and as fully satisfying, as this one. Miss it at your own peril."
The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack
Chesley M. | Indian Wells, CA United States | 08/15/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a living American legend, and "true music" doesn't get any better than this album. Spanning a lifetime of experiences with some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, Jack's impact on the music world is unmistakeable. His music will remain forever young."