1. San Francisco Bay Blues
2. Ol' Riley
3. Boll Weevil*
4. Bed Bug Blues
5. New York Town
6. Grey Goose
7. Mule Skinner Blues*
8. Cocaine
9. Dink's Song*
10. Black Baby
11. Salty Dog
B+
Well there hasn't been a lot of good guitar on this list so far, but this album more than makes up for it. Jack Elliott plays a wonderful mix of blues, country and folk with remarkable fluidity. The title of this album is pretty apt, as it sounds less like a studio release than a live album minus the audience applause. Elliott introduces the various songs with rambling, humorous little explanations. The only accompaniment is his guitar, and a harmonica on one track. It makes for a very intimate album.
I don't have much to say about this. The song choices are great, ranging from prison music to humorous songs to more modern compositions by Elliott's contemporaries. "The Boll Weevil" is hilarious. "Dink's Song" is heart-breaking. On one track Elliott parodies Woody Guthrie to humorous effect, and then on "Black Baby" he brings things down with a mournful lullaby. There's a great amount of variety on this album.
You can see why folk took off in the 1950s and 60s. The music has an immediacy and a raw quality that stands in stark contrast to all the other albums so far. This is a wandering, imperfect album that works largely because of its sloppiness. Elliott is a great interpreter of songs.
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