Born in Brooklyn in 1931, Jack Elliot was inspired by the rodeos at Madison Square Garden, and began busking for a living, befriending Woody Guthrie. He travelled to the UK to perform and record in the late ‘50s, establishing his reputation in international folk circles.

This great-value 100-track collection brings together many of his recordings from the early years of his career, mainly from albums but including a few singles and EPs. It features most of the titles from his albums for the Elektra, Topic, 77, Prestige & Columbia UK labels, Bad Men And Heroes, Woody Guthrie’s Blues, Jack Elliot Sings, Jack Takes The Floor, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot In London, Ramblin' Jack Elliott Sings Songs by Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rodgers, Jack Elliott Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Jack Elliott at the Second Fret - Recorded Live and Country Style.

Elliott plays guitar in both a traditional flatpicking style and a traditional fingerpicking style, depending on the song, which he matches with his laconic, humorous storytelling, often accompanying himself on harmonica. His singing has a strained, nasal quality which the young Bob Dylan emulated. His repertoire includes American traditional music from various genres, including country, blues, bluegrass and folk. His long career was chronicled in her 2000 documentary, The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack and he continued performing and is still active in 2023 at the age of 91.

It’s a comprehensive overview of his influential early work, and a great showcase for his talent as an interpretive folk troubadour, bringing old songs to new audiences in his distinctively idiosyncratic way, and underlining why he became such a significant figure in the genre.

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