CD Review: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - I Stand Alone - Page 2

Even when Elliott isn't literally laughing in the face of death, his voice and guitar picking are in equally robust form; enriched, not depleted, by age. The man who hollers out the lyrics of "Call Me a Dog" like his life depends on them couldn't be a day younger than 75 for experience, but for lung power it's a feat plenty of 25-year-olds would kill for. Elsewhere, Ramblin' Jack brings an eerie celluloid cabaret quality to Hoagy Carmichael's "Hong Kong Blues," his nimble fingers plucking out the "story of a very unfortunate colored man" with enough empathy to obscure the 60-year-old song's glaring Orientalism. And on "Driving Nails in My Coffin," his ragged, confident pipes make the usually shrill Corin Tucker sound downright demure.

The only time when Jack actually sounds old, in fact, is on closing track "Woody's Last Ride": a spooky, atmospheric spoken-word story recounting the last time he saw Woody Guthrie. It's an odd, low-key end to an otherwise invigorating record, and it has a way of both bringing us back down to earth, and bringing Elliott's whole career full circle. He got his start as a solo performer playing traditional songs and telling stories about Woody Guthrie; now, here he is in a whole new century, doing much the same thing for all too brief a time (my only complaint about this album, and it's a selfish one, is that its 16 songs clock in at only 32 minutes total).

The fact that Jack Elliott stands alone, and, to be frank, has been doing so for quite some time, is a sobering reminder that he, and his music, are not long for this world. But should he go the way of either Guthrie or Seeger before we get to hear from him next, then I Stand Alone will make one hell of a last will and testament – for Elliott, for folk music, and for an old, dying America.

Reviewed by Zach Hoskins

Article Author: Modern Pea Pod

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