Ramblin` Jack`s in a league of his own

Original soundtrack from the motion picture "The Ballad of Ramblin` Jack"; Ramblin` Jack Elliott; Vanguard. "He`s got a song and a friend for every mile behind him," says Johnny Cash on the intro to this album, the soundtrack off of the much-lauded Ramblin` Jack Elliott documentary.

In 12 words, Cash perfectly captures the essence of Elliott. Ramblin` Jack (as he`s called) has been on the move since 1946, when he left his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y., to become a cowboy, and then found himself hanging around with Woody Guthrie. Elliott is a self-proclaimed Guthrie devotee, and some of the earlier recordings on the album sound like almost perfect Guthrie imitations. However, Elliott`s is no mere derivative act.

His music has a sweet authenticity all its own. About half the songs on the album were recorded on Elliott`s 1998 tour (Elliott is still touring today), others are culled from live performances and old album tracks. Some were written by Elliott, others by Guthrie and Bob Dylan, and there are some traditional American folk songs. All together Elliott`s ramblings paint a picture of a rural American countryside that`s largely missing from current popular culture, except maybe in satirical form, say, on Fox`s "King of the Hill" series.

Unlike a lot of the folk music that came out of the `60s, Elliott`s songs aren`t overtly political. Elliott comes across as a happy wanderer. He`s the cowboy on the move, the trucker on the lonely highway: a weathered American with a guitar by his side and a song at the ready. And he`s funny. In "Cup of Coffee," recorded live from a 1980 Texas performance, Elliott drives his truck out to a rest stop, gets a cup of coffee laced with moonshine and winds up passed out in a flower bed. He`s got a knack for making fun of himself and remaining perfectly charming.

Elliott has the respect of some true American folk/country heroes. There are duets here with Cash, Guthrie, and Dylan. "Acne," a duet with Dylan performed live in 1961, is wonderfully fun. Elliott sings, "You said you`d ask me to the senior prom/ found out I had acne now you won`t ask me/ cause I have acne." Through the older and more recent tracks, you get a sense of Ramblin` Jack`s evolution from Guthrie fan to revered artist in his own right, and the album probably would work better if it followed a chronological order. Then again, it`s just the sort of skipping around one expects from this ramblin` fellow.

"Horrorscope"; Eve 6; RCA records.

Listening to this album is sort of like going to see a good friend`s band perform. You understand that he has some talent, but you also realize the music`s not quite ready for prime time. While parts of "Horrorscope" demonstrate a mature pop ability, some confused lyrics and derivative sounds stymie the album.

For starters, there`s the album title. Is it an attempt at irony or just completely inappropriate? The songs on the album are of the pop-rock variety, and with a retro-`80s twist, rarely does horror come into play. As for the astrological reference, well that`s not quite working, either. The only inkling of a horror is in the Japanimation image that illustrates the liner notes.

The current single off the album, "Promise," is the sort of simple pop-rock effort you`ve heard from lots of bands - think Savage Garden meets Matchbox Twenty. But again, Eve 6 proves puzzling. In the song, Max Collins sings "I promise not to try not to f--- with your mind," invoking a double negative that could be clever but doesn`t key with the absolute sincerity of the rest of the song. Despite the confusion, there`s still something promising about Eve 6, especially when the band gives in to its harder, more punk side.

The high-speed riffs on "Amphetamines" and "Nocturnal" leave you wanting more. And some clever lyrics in "Sunset Strip" bode well for the group: "His friends think that he`s lame when he tells them he`s got game / shops around for shiny clothes / strikes a super player pose." Also interesting is Eve 6 unabashedly `80s-era sound, complete with easy-listening guitar riffs appropriate to, say, a Heart or Glenn Frey song complete with ultrasimple drum tracks. Songs such as "Rescue" and "Here`s to Night" demonstrate this retro feel best, but again, it is hard to know if Eve 6 is purposefully invoking the decade or the band has just stumbled upon its sound. Either way, the young group still has some growing up to do.

(c) Copley News Service

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Emily Friedlander