Jack Takes the Floor

This is pretty stripped back and basic in its delivery, but the guitar work is nice, and there's some decent melodies in there, with some soul. This wasn't too bad!

I'll probably never listen to this guy again.

Total cowboy cosplay, but also genuinely great blues folk music. Also, listening to this is how I discovered Ramblin' Jack is still alive!

More like Jack Takes the Piss. Absolutely bloody awful.

Old country where of course the N-word can't miss...

This album has its charms, but feels like it's on the list to represent this era of folk/because of its influence on Dylan rather than totally on its own merits.

Folk from the 50s what more do you expect.

Pre Listen:
I think I've seen this album cover and heard this guys name somewhere before. Maybe he's just got one of those names and one of those faces. Based on the album cover and release date, guessing this is gonna be some old-fashioned Americana.

Notable Tracks:
Cocaine - My favorite track on the album. The guitar melody sounds so sweet an innocent, while the lyrics are anything but.
Mule Skinner Blues - Least favorite track, not a fan of yodeling. Walmart Yodel Kid was more than enough to last a lifetime for me.

Post Listen:
Oh yeah, them's was some cowboy music.

For old South-Western American styled folk music, it was alright. Kinda thing you'd hear at a sleepy bar in the middle of nowhere that wraps up your day in a nice little bow. Jack's voice sounds scarily similar to a guy I know, gonna send him this album and see what he thinks. His guitar work ain't half bad either, pretty solid throughout the album.

I don't really have any major gripes with the album. It's a good length too, I guess it's just missing anything particularly good or even great? It's a bit formulaic for American Folk music of the region and time. You could compare this to other artists from the same genre, time, and place, and I wouldn't be able to pick it apart. I feel very comfortable giving it a 3/5.

Maybe not my favorite collection of Elliott's music, but still very solid.

3.5/5

2.5/5. You can definitely tell the influence Ramblin’ Jack Elliott had on future folk music while listing to this album. When I hear the sing-speak on songs such as the intro track “San Fransisco Bay” I can hear Freewheelin’ era Dylan. However, influence does not equal enjoyment, and though I can appreciate this album in a historical, analytical sense, I didn’t fully enjoy the act of actually listening to it. Part of it is the old production which makes some of the higher notes and yodeling sound a bit grating, but it’s also that this is a case where the things he influenced would go on to just be way better. And even among his contemporaries from this same era, I personally prefer Woody Guthrie, who does kinda make a cameo here on the song “New York Town.”

I kind of have a soft spot for old folk music, but even then I never got into Jack Elliott. He’s fine, but he’s not really a great songwriter nor does he have enough of a personality to make his music interesting to listen to. Still serviceable folk though

I’m at a 2.5 that I’ll bump up to a 3.

I mean, look, this is here for more historical reasons than the actual music itself. This is folk music, with a lot of old standards long lost to the near 70-year timespan since this dropped. Thankfully, music has evolved to be a bit more complex than complaining about bed bugs & boll weevils, or skinning mules & failing to eat too-tough grey geese. This is not an album to listen to for the music before you die, but rather, an album you hear for the novelty of these older tracks & to acknowledge a popular figure in the folk scene before Bob Dylan came along as the voice of a generation. Hell, Jack Elliott sometimes referred to Dylan as "his son" when he sang some of his tracks. As an historical document of sorts, it's got merit for being on the list.

It’s not a very compelling set of tracks, though. A lot of these are meandering, a bit repetitive, and while I admire them for what they are & their historical significance as usually referred to in the track’s opening monologues (adjacent to a radio or TV performance of the time), they just aren’t classics like that. Hell, even in terms of the Great American Songbook or other popular albums, Frank Sinatra had already released both “In The Wee Small Hours” & “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers”, both of which hold up tremendously even today. This is just music that truly feels like it’s from another generation, one that hasn’t really been saved or retained into today. It’s worth listening to from that standpoint, but it’s just not there musically. Hence, a 2.5 that I’ll bump up to a 3. Sort of a respect vote more than anything.

Aujourd’hui, je m’attaque à un morceau d’histoire qui date de 1958 : Jack Takes the Floor de Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Autant vous le dire tout de suite, quand j'ai vu la gueule de l'objet, j'ai eu une sueur froide.

Sur la pochette, on voit Jack Elliott affublé d'un chapeau de cowboy de la taille d'une petite ville du Texas. Mon premier réflexe ? La panique. Je m'attendais à une avalanche de country un peu rance, un truc qui sent bon la bouse de vache et le patriotisme à deux balles, le genre de disque qui te donne envie de t’acheter un pick-up et de mâcher du tabac jusqu’à ce que tes dents tombent. Bref, j’avais peur de m’ennuyer ferme.

Mais dès les premières secondes, le soulagement a été total et mon avis a viré à 180 degrés. On n'est pas du tout dans la country de fête foraine car ce qu'on a là, c'est du folk, du vrai, du brut, du granuleux. On est bien plus proche de ce que Bob Dylan fera quelques années plus tard ou de la pureté de Woody Guthrie que d'un album de country à la Hank Williams. Attention, je respecte Hank Williams, c’est un monument, mais Jack Elliott ici, il joue dans une autre cour, celle des conteurs de bitume et des poètes de la poussière.

Il faut dire que Jack Elliott est un personnage fascinant. Ce type est né à Brooklyn, fils de médecin, mais il a décidé qu'il serait un cowboy itinérant. C'est l'un des plus grands « imposteurs » magnifiques de l'histoire de la musique : il a tellement bien appris le style de Woody Guthrie qu'il est devenu Guthrie lui-même. Et Bob Dylan raconte dans ses mémoires avoir pris une claque monumentale en entendant cet album pour la première fois.

L'album a été enregistré à Londres, chez Topic Records, de manière totalement improvisée, « off the cuff » comme ils disent. Et ça s’entend car c’est brut de décoffrage. Jack nous introduit chaque morceau avec des petites intros parlées, pleines d'humour et de nonchalance, qui valent à elles seules le détour. On a l'impression d'être assis avec lui au coin d'un feu de camp, ou plutôt dans un pub enfumé de Soho, en train de l'écouter raconter ses errances.

C’est un album qui tire ses sources partout : blues de prison, chants de travail, Jesse Fuller ou Reverend Gary Davis. On y retrouve des classiques comme San Francisco Bay Blues ou Mule Skinner's Blues, joués avec une technique de guitare qui était une véritable leçon pour tous les gratteux de l'époque. Sa voix saute partout, elle est vivante, elle n'est pas là pour faire joli, elle est là pour raconter la vie.

Alors oui, au final, on a un très bon album de folk. Mais soyons honnêtes : il aurait bien besoin d'un grand coup de polish. La production est minimaliste, le son est un peu dans son jus. Pourtant, c'est justement ce côté granuleux qui donne ce petit cachet supplémentaire à l'écoute. C’est comme une vieille photo en noir et blanc un peu griffée : les défauts font partie du charme. C'est cette texture un peu rêche qui rend l'expérience authentique.

Ce disque, c'est une bougie d'allumage pour tout ce qui va suivre dans le rock et le folk moderne. Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger ou Keith Richards ont tous reconnu l'influence de Jack. Et rien que pour ça, l’album mérite sa place dans la liste des indispensables.

Même si le cowboy sur la photo me faisait flipper, la musique m’a conquis. C'est une découverte solide, un voyage dans le temps sans le côté kitsch que je redoutais tant. Jack Elliott ne chante pas seulement, il « prend le plancher » (takes the floor) et il ne le lâche plus jusqu'à la dernière note.

C'est brut, c'est sincère, et c'est surtout bien moins « bouse de vache » que prévu. Une très belle surprise pour ce projet 1001 albums.

Як історичний екскурс це було цікаво. Музично - не дуже, залишив собі пісню Mule Skinner Blues. Загалом 2.5

Okay, will be honest…when this came up I wasn’t so sure. Holy moly…this should be required listening for everyone who wants to (or says they already do) understand American music, its history and how rock was formed.

Look, you don’t get much of the American folk cannon here (as opposed to 94 Brit pop albums) so maybe we can take a beat and appreciate just a second.

Ehh this was fine. Sure he rambled a bunch, but I found it kind of endearing.

Clearly see the influence it had on Bob Dylan. Was also interesting to hear the OG version of something from Clapton Unplugged I guess.

But it is not for me.

1.5 rounded up to a 2.

I could listen to this shit all day

1001 Albums Vol. 0027: Jack Takes The Floor
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Introduction: Well, this is quite peculiar, isn't it? An album all the way back from the 1950's. It's the late fifties admittedly, but still interesting. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is one of the oldest albums on this entire site. I'm pretty sure there are a few from a year or two previous to 1958, but this is still ONE of the oldest albums nevertheless. Honestly, the fact that the 1001 books start in the mid-50's is pretty insane in my opinion. There were some seriously influential releases in the 1940's and, arguably, the 1930's as well. Yes, I know that the way albums were sold heavily differed during that era than it did from the mid-50's to today, but you can't convince me that bands like The Ink Spots weren't influential. I mean, even if they didn't have an impact on music, their general appearance in modern media and Fallout alone would grant them a spot on this list had I made it....Anyway, back to this album specifically. Now, this album, Jack Takes The Floor released in 1958 by Ramblin' Jack Elliot, is considered to be a very influential folk album. As for why? I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you why a lot of these albums are considered to be important or influential. The Wikipedia excerpt that the site pulled doesn't really help at all either. Apparently though, this album is considered to be extremely influential due to its aid in reviving folk in the 1960's. This album, and Jack Elliot as a whole, apparently influenced Bob Dyaln as well. Which, I mean, that guy has made some of the best music of all time, so automatic respect to any artist or album that influenced that guy. On top of this, the album apparently took general ideas from Woody Guthrie and merged them with Jack's own ideas to create something that attempted to be new and unique in the folk scene. You know, the typical, genre-blending stuff when it comes to albums on this site. Now, I will be honest, I have barely heard anything from the 50's. I've heard a bit of Little Richard, some Chuck Berry, but the 50's generally marks unexplored territory to me when it comes to music. Folk too is a pretty unexplored genre to me. I actually went through a short phase where I decided I was going to listen to every record released by Bob Dylan, but quit somewhere at Highway 61 Revisited. So, I heard what is generally considered to be Dylan's best and most influential folk work. And I will admit, some of it was pretty damn great. That being said, besides those four folk albums from Dylan, I've not really heard anything else. So, taking these two factors into account, and the thankfully short runtime as well, this album should be a pretty interesting listen whether good or bad. That being said, there's only one way to truly find out.
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Track 1: San Francisco Bay Blues: 6/10
Track 2: Ol' Riley: 4/10
Track 3: Boll Weevil: 6/10
Track 4: Bed Bug Blues: 5/10
Track 5: New York Town: 6/10
Track 6: Grey Goose: 3/10
Track 7: Mule Skinner Blues: 7/10
Track 8: Cocaine: 7/10
Track 9: Dink's Song: 6/10
Track 10: Black Baby: 3/10
Track 11: Salty Dog: 5/10
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Conclusion: Wow...this album was seriously rough. Like, it was SERIOUSLY rough. I really don't know what else I should have expected. I mean, 50's production, folk songs from an era where songs were much simpler, and a singer that sounds so similar to Bob Dylan that I wouldn't be shocked at all if someone got the two of these artists confused. Yeah, again, this album was rough. You wanna know something else that was rough? Even finding this album in the first place was way harder than it should have been. This was the first album that I listened to that actually wasn't on my main streaming service, Spotify. I go and find this guy's profile, scroll through his albums list, and find that it's not there. I double check in confusion because I don't understand why it wouldn't be there. Nope, it's actually not there. Anyway, I go back to the 1001 site and use the Youtube link they provided on the album's page to find a playlist uploaded by someone for the intended purpose of completing the 1001 albums challenge. Wow. Now, obviously finding the album wasn't too bad. It was inconvenient that I had to stream it through uploads on Youtube instead of Spotify, but it wasn't too bad at all. What I found out after listening to the entire album is kinda odd though. I go back through Jack's discography on Spotify and find out that he essentially re-released the entire album in 2021 under the title "New York City Folk". It's the same tracks, different ordering, no remasters, nothing. That kinda just seems like a cheap way to make money in your old age, but whatever. I won't judge. Anyway, I'm really off-topic. I'll go ahead and say that this album is something that I literally never want to listen to again. It has poor 50's production, it's extremely simple, its singer's voice is bad, it has pretty bland and boring lyrics, and it's just overall...bad....Alright? Is that good enough?...No?...Alright. I'll go into a bit more detail. Firstly, the music and production...like I said...it's pretty bland and boring. The music consists of basic, early-folk that you would expect. Simple acoustic guitar, repetitive chords, all of the basic stuff you would expect is here on this album. Hell, there's only one song on the entire album that even contains a harmonica. Isn't that not like...supposed to be a staple instrument of folk or something? That being said, there are some moments of greatness that shine through in terms of the album's music. San Francisco Bay Blues has some pretty fun, fast-paced acoustic guitar playing, Cocaine has an oddly emotional melody, Mule Skinner Blues's melody is just...pretty decent, and so on. For 50's folk, it's not all bad. The music does get extremely repetitive and drawn-out, which is saying a lot since most of this album's songs are around two minutes, but that's not really saying all that much since music isn't necessarily supposed to be the main focus when it comes to folk as a genre. That being said, there are A LOT of better folk melodies you can find out there, some of them coming just a few years after this album's release from a...pretty well-known artist....I wonder who that could be? Anyway, the production does not help this album at all. Now, I will admit, I have actually heard some pretty decently produced songs from the 1950's in the past. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, even Frank Sinatra all have some pretty decently produced songs from this era. Mr. Jack Elliot though...absolutely not. I mean, it's not atrocious, but not anywhere near good either. That said, there isn't really all that much to say about the production level of this album besides that. I mean, I don't really feel the need to describe it any further since I'm sure you already have a pretty accurate auditory image of what it actually sounds like. The production just...sucks...not that much more to say about it. Anyway, what about the lyrics? Folk is known for having some of the best lyrics of any genre of music, surely this album must have great lyrics....Well...(and yes, I did that bit on literally the last album)...not even close. The lyrics, if you can even understand them, should take the listener literally one listen to understand. Part of the reason for that is literally because of the fact that Jack tells the listener what the song is about in the intro of the majority of the songs. Look, I know this was a different era of music, but come on. Telling the listener what the song is about literally takes away the whole point of interpretation, speculation, and many other aspects that make a song relistenable....I just have so many problems with this album, can't you tell? Anyway, the actual lyrics themselves are pretty bad. The first song talks about how sad an abuser is after his woman leaves him, the fourth talks about how bad bed bugs are, and the last talks about how someone would rather be someone's...salty dog than their lover? Yeah...no. Admittedly though, there are some decent lyrical moments on this album. Boll Weevil almost feels like one of those goofy songs that Bob Dylan would write, Dink's Song and O'l Riley have alright messages about freedom, and...uh...that's about it. Yeah...nothing that I've mentioned so far is helped by Jack's voice either. Much like Bob Dylan's, it's pretty bad. In fact, I'd say it's a bit worse than Dylan's. Like I said, the two's voices sound extremely similar, yet Jack's is just slightly worse, at least in my opinion. Now, with all that said, I can at least understand why this album is considered to be extremely influential. I'm sure that it was received in a better light at the time, a light that likely helped push folk back into the mainstream in the 60's. I can basically guarantee that this album, along with some of Jack's other work, influenced Bob Dylan's early work as well. Like I said, any artist or album that influenced one of the best artists of all time deserves some credit. That being said, the fact that this album was influential doesn't save it from being...quite frankly...extremely bad, especially nowadays. It's extremely dated, it's only decently written at best, it's pretty poorly performed, it's extremely poorly produced, and is overall of pretty poor quality. For ALL of those reasons, this album unfortunately receives the lowest score I have given out yet. I typically like to try and see the best in any music that I listen to, but like I said, this album is only decent at best.
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Jack Takes The Floor: 4/10
Song Average: 5.3/10

oh fuck yeah this has fare thee well on it??