I Stand Alone
Label: Anti/Epitaph
Length: LP
Rated: NONE
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: I Stand Alone
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re either an Elliott fan who wants to learn if this is worth buying, or you’ve already purchased it and wonder what the buzz on it might be. First of all, there is no such thing as a bad Jack Elliott album. Even when Elliott’s six sheets to the wind and playing unworthy material, he’s still entertaining. But he’s neither pie-eyed nor song-poor here, opening with the Carter Family’s ‘Engine 143â?� and closing with a little story about a 1950s trip he and Woody Guthrie took west, called ‘Woody’s Last Ride,â?� the gem of this collection. Along the way are ‘Driving Nails in My Coffin,â?� (a duet with Lucinda Williams), Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Hong Kong Blues,â?� ‘Remember Me,â?� an oldie from Jack’s back catalog, and more.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2006.