RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT
The Ballad Of Ramblin' Jack (Vanguard)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This disc is the soundtrack from a new movie by Ramblin' Jack Elliott's daughter Aiyana. The movie, as much a tale of a woman's search for a relationship with a vagabond father as the story of the father himself, is making the rounds and worth searching out, but the CD stands on it's own as a remarkable roundup of the talents of the man who Woody Guthrie once said played and sung more like Woody than Woody did himself.

Along the way, Ramblin' Jack has played and sung some songs Woody never imagined and developed a style all his own, but he's still the foremost interpreter of America's premier folk poet, and there are examples of that here, including a duet performance of "Railroad Bill" with Woody. He's been an inspiration for a couple generations of performers, evidenced here by more duets with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Whatever kind of father he might have been, he became a self-made American treasure, and this CD is a treasure chest of American folk music.

Track List:

Introduction by Johnny Cash * Muleskinner Blues * Cuckoo * Hard Travelin' * Railroad Bill (duet with Woody Guthrie) * Buskin' * Pastures Of Plenty * Rake & Ramblin' Boy * San Francisco Bay Blues * Candy Man/ Talkin' Sailor Blues * Acne (duet with Bob Dylan) * Don't Think Twice * Take Me Home (duet with Johnny Cash) * If I Were A Carpenter * Car Song * 900 Miles (Odetta) * Cup Of Coffee * Introduction by President Clinton * 1913 Massacre * Cuckoo (reprise)

© 2000 - Shaun Dale