AMG Review of Early Sessions

Jim Smith
All Music Guide

These songs from the mid- to late '50s are taken from the albums Elliott recorded with banjoist Derroll Adams while on a six-year tour of Europe. The two performers had a legendary chemistry, taking the continent by storm and affecting a profound influence on the British music scene. On this mix of gospel, blues, and traditional folk melodies, one can hear what all the fuss was about. Beginning with the Woody Guthrie classic "More Pretty Girls Than One," the two run through their favorite songs with the slipshod energy that was to define all of Elliott's later recordings. There are many moments to treasure here, from the humor of "Talking Blues" and "Cigarettes & Whiskey" to an unadulterated version of the Carter Family's "Worried Man Blues," a song which Elliott would later say was defiled by many a well-meaning British folkie. The artist may have made tighter recordings in later years, but his spirit and earthiness was never better than here, and as a place to hear the legendary Derroll Adams, this disc is a must.