Artist: Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Album: Jack Takes the Floor
Year: 1958
Ramblin' Jack was an artist I knew of in name only prior to listening to Jack Takes the Floor. The only thing I knew about his music is that it was A) folk music and B) a major influence on a young Bob Dylan.
I'm not really sure what separates a good folk performer from an average one, but I'd imagine it has more to do with being able to establish strong rapport with the audience than being a great technical guitarist or having an awesome voice. On this album, Elliott was really effective in that manner. Most of his songs have short introductions where he converses with the audience, humorous little anecdotes that set the framework for his tunes.
Some of this album's tunes are better than others. The opener, "San Francisco Bay Blues" is a good one, a catchy tune about a guy down on his luck after his lover has departed. "New York Town" features American music legend Woody Guthrie sharing vocal duties. The one where he sings about cocaine being all around his brain is pretty amusing stuff. After 7 or 8 of these tunes, the formula started to wear on me a little bit...the last few songs of the 15 song set were a bit boring to me.
I can certainly see how this music could've influenced Bob Dylan. There's nothing too overtly political here, but the kinds of storytelling that Elliott uses here would show up in Dylan's music.
Nothing amazing to be found here, but I'm glad to have taken the opportunity to hear Ramblin' Jack Elliott. I wouldn't call this essential listening, but give it a shot.
Rating: Worth a listen
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