#295: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Jack Takes the Floor (1958)

Emily: Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an early folk singer in the vein of Bob Dylan, with country undertones that also reminded me of Johnny Cash. Jack Takes the Floor is a bit like At Folsom Prison, due to the spoken introductions to a few of the songs and the live sound culled from performances rather than studios. However, Ramblin' Jack doesn't have the songwriting prowess of either Cash or Dylan. He mainly reinterprets traditional folk songs or presents somewhat humorous observations of everyday life. I didn't find this approach too interesting, but it definitely helped lay the groundwork for the masterful songwriting that later came from the genre.

Favorite Tracks: Cocaine; Salty Dog; Dink's Song

Zack: Ramblin’ Jack Elliott apparently had the same mentor as Bob Dylan – Woody Guthrie, whose works we crossed on Mermaid Avenue – but he’s definitely more of a pure folk artist. Wikipedia describes him as an “interpretive troubadour” compared to Dylan’s independent songwriting, and that description is dead on. Jack Takes the Floor features two covers of even older songs and two renditions of traditional folk songs to go along with seven original songs that all sound like they could have been passed down for decades anyway. Jack Takes the Floor is the type of album that listeners of classic folk or country would enjoy and anyone interested in the history of American music must check out.

Favorite Tracks: Salty Dog; New York Town; Cocaine

#43: Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (1968)

Emily: More often than not, concert albums do not encapsulate the concert experience. Though the tracks are recorded live during an actual concert, the listener doesn't get the sense that they are in the crowd listening to the band perform. The instruments are overdubbed, mistakes are fixed, and stage banter and crowd interaction is filtered out, making it more of a sanitized studio album than a concert experience. I say all this because At Folsom Prison breaks all of these concert album norms. It is pretty much a straight recording from his 1968 concert for the prisoners at Folsom - bloopers, cheers, jokes, and all. It even includes announcements from the prison staff so that concert was kept in order. Cash really understood who his audience was, singing multiple songs about the prison experience and incorporating novelty songs to get the crowd laughing. He ends the concert with something truly unique - a song written by one of the Folsom prisoners. This personal connection from artist to audience is genuine and powerful, and rings true throughout the entire album.
Favorite Tracks: Cocaine Blues; Folsom Prison Blues; 25 Minutes to Go

Zack: Normally, I don’t enjoy country music, but Johnny Cash is iconic enough to earn an exception. In the first handful of tracks on this album, he displays pretty clearly why he is good enough to earn that special status. However, about halfway into the album, right after Orange Blossom Special, comes a section that he describes as full of ballads that is really just quite boring. When he slows everything down, he loses some of the oomph that makes him so entertaining in the first place. Once he gets those out of his system, however, the album picks back up with a pair of duets with June Carter and a few other terrific gems. But the real selling point, for me at least, was the beginning. To be more specific, Folsom Prison Blues and Cocaine Blues simply blew me away. Both songs are heavy on subject matter (a common theme for Cash, especially on this album) and dynamic in sound. Right there, in those two songs, it becomes very visible why Johnny Cash was such an important and influential musician in the first place.

Favorite Tracks: Cocaine Blues; Folsom Prison Blues; Green, Green Grass of Home