The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack (2000)

About this title: This soundtrack to the 2000 documentary film about Elliott (directed by his daughter) also serves as a pretty good career retrospective. The 20 cuts are taken from an assortment of live, studio, television, radio, and film performances from 1953 to 1998. The chief flaw of Elliott's output is that he was not an innovator. He wrote little of his own music (only one of the songs on this release is original), and his competent, homespun brand of folk was similar to, but not nearly as good as, Woody Guthrie's or early Bob Dylan's. The strength of Elliott's music, on the other hand, is that he ... read more

Tracks:

1. Introduction [Cash]
2. Mule Skinner Blues [Rodgers/Vaughn]
3. Cuckoo [Traditional]
4. Hard Travelin' [Guthrie/Traditional]
5. Railroad Bill [Traditional]
6. Buskin'
7. Pastures of Plenty [Guthrie]
8. Rake and Ramblin' Boy [Adams]
9. San Francisco Bay Blues [Fuller]
10. Candy Man/Talkin' Sailor Blues [Davis]
11. Acne
12. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right [Dylan]
13. Take Me Home [Clement/Reynolds]
14. If I Were a Carpenter [Hardin]
15. Car Song [Guthrie]
16. 900 Miles [Odetta]
17. Cup of Coffee [Elliott]
18. Introduction
19. 1913 Massacre [Guthrie/Traditional]
20. Cuckoo (Reprise)

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.