RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT TO RELEASE A STRANGER HERE APRIL 7 2009
Legendary Troubadour Explores Depression-Era Blues Classics with Producer Joe Henry
Ramblin' Jack Elliott will release his long-anticipated follow-up to his 2006 ANTI- Record debut I Stand Alone on April 7th 2009, entitled A Stranger Here. Working with producer Joe Henry (Bettye LaVette, Solomon Burke, Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint), the 77 year old Elliott sings and plays acoustic guitar, and is backed by a stellar collection of musicians handpicked by Henry, among them Van Dyke Parks and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos).
Revered for his interpretive take on traditional American music, on A Stranger Here Elliott steps out of the country/folk arena that has shaped his legend, 50+ years in the making. Haunting and evocative landscapes crafted by Henry construct a mood that is enhanced by Elliott's world-scarred voice. Together, musician and producer examine a carefully selected number of pre-WWII blues songs in a wholly unique way.
From the liner notes of A Stranger Here, Henry writes: "I pitched the idea that he interpret country blues music from the Depression era of his birth... songs as dark, funny and strange as is he and the times that produced them, and also ones that still resonate in these turbulent days: songs from the blues masters Jack had known during their latter-day resurgence - and his own ascension - in the early sixties (Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis); songs that share shape and subject with many folk songs of the same period but speak with a particular poetry to struggle, love, justice and mortality - off-handedly and all at once... I needn't have pitched so hard. Jack seemed intrigued by the notion from the start, and had no trouble reading the songs as pertinent to him. He pounced on each one as it came up during the four days of recording in my basement studio, gave each a face of suave cunning, and was as unexpectedly arch as Bob Hope might've seemed strolling through a Fellini tableau. He's using an old language but always speaking in the present tense."
One of the great American musical treasures, Elliott has had a rich and storied life. As a budding musician, Jack developed his voice under the tutelage of Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, truck hitching across the country off and on for a couple of years with Woody, carrying "only razors and guitars." The pair eventually landed in the McCarthy-free enclave of Topanga Canyon CA in the 1950s, where Elliott played for James Dean and later married Dean's former flame. On the other coast, Elliott was also a fixture of the Greenwich Village scene, and once spent "three days and a lot of wine" listening to Jack Kerouac read On the Road. But it is his relationship with a young Bob Dylan that Elliott is perhaps most famous for, though back in the 1960s the up-and-coming Dylan was often mistakenly dubbed the "son of Jack Elliott." Today Elliott simply states "Dylan learned from me the same way I learned from Woody."
A Stranger Here promises to be another wonderful tome in the library of Ramblin Jack Elliott, one of the great American storytellers.
Will Scott's new album, GNAWBONE is here!!! The CD is available at CDBaby and other online retailers.
Over three years in the making, GNAWBONE is Scott's fully-produced studio debut and features a crack team of hand-picked musicians as well as guest performances by Jan Bell, Jolie Holland, Samantha Parton, and Preacher Boy (the album's producer).
Hi JACK, Puttin' the final touches on going to Nashville to record my C&W crossover album! All I can say is that I have one of the Greatest Producers alive! I'm very Happy and even more Excited, to say the least! And for all of you out there, YES DREAMS DO COME TRUE! All Peace & Love Lee
Hate gonna get you down. Hate gonna put your face on the ground. Hate gonna let you down. Don't waste your time hating someone.
As long as birds sing in the trees, As long as fish swim in the sea, As long as love is on your mind, I will take you up and leave you high.
Well I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. Freedom means everything to me. I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. Freedom means everything , It means everything to me.
As long as there's meaning in the beat, As long as there's dancing in my feet. As long as peace stays on my mind, I will take you up, and leave you high.
Time gonna let you down. Time gonna leave you hanging around. Time gonna let you down. Don't waste your time waiting on someone.
As long as birds sing in the trees, As long as fish swin in the sea. As long as love is in your eyes, I will take you up and leave you high.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott has been a major force in American Music for over 50 years. He kept alive earlier traditions of country and country blues singers, and he kept Woody Guthrie's spirit alive to pass on to Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and an entire generation of folksinger/songwriters. He taught several generations of guitar players their chops. He innovated solo acoustic versions of everything from Woody and Leadbelly and Jimmie Rodgers to Ray Charles to Tim Hardin to Mick Jagger.
And now here he comes with another milestone: a concept album of old country blues accompanied by a loose-knit, but highly accomplished band. Like everything Jack does, this has his unique imprint--the soaring, croaking, crooning vocals moving in and out of the melody with just the right mixture of reverence and immediacy. It is a joyful revelation!
I send you my brotherly rockin'regards GREAT TRACKS ON YOUR ALBUMS new cd are fantastic, I avery appreciate ...and i love your old lp's 6 cd's I remember you in italy (on particular one night with Joe Henry) and in Switzerland (look picture on my profile)
all the best!! God bless you & your streets one simple ciao from Buscadero,best it rock magazine
'A Stranger Here' has reached Ireland, and it is great! Excellent choice of songs, and really fine singing. Best of luck with this album, Jack! Come back to Dublin soon!
Hi , Thanks for asking and great to have you at myspace! Hey my album is now
available! You can go to my blog for the link! Thanks so much for your friendship & support! All Peace & Love Lee
Frogwomen’s last album is just water under the bridge and only the disrespectful de large could encourage him to create a new one… it is a one-song record which symbolically lasts 66. 6 minutes. Satan worshipping, an overused topic in pop music is just the straw that allowed the struggle between the two artists to begin: a patchwork of microsongs in which each one of them tries to annihilate the other’s style, a record that ranges between love ditties, doom-noise cants, and irreverent & wild tarantellas (ehm.... maybe i’m overstating now). .
Hi JACK, Hey its the weekend! And a great day! Amazon got my album (Lee Silby Songwriter) today! It should be up for sale and down loading (singles & album) in the next 10 to 14 days! Ya! I thank you for all your support! Without friends like you life would be boring! Have an awesome weekend and TEAR UM UP!
All Peace and Love Lee
Online Now!
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