reviews of singersongwriter/guitarist Bert Jansch : review page

Market Square Rec. V.A.: "People on the highway" -a Bert Jansch Encomium- (UK,2001)****

According to my own opinion I believe this is a splendid compilation, not only to get to know Bert Jansch and his songs, but also for a lot of singer-songwriters worth to investigate, as well as for its fine interpretations. The thick booklet provides us good introductions about them too. I asked our specialist in Singer-Songwriters to make a more detailed review :

"Over recent years there have been a plethora of "tribute" albums, most of which turn out to be fawning, self-congratulatory affairs, with artists known and unknown imitating some hero or heroine and producing bloodless copies that leave any discerning listener, seeking out the original artist to renew contact with some essence or spirit that these respectful imitators never quite come to communicate. As far for the course these tribute compilations are usually a failure with only two or three or five tracks that have any convincing or lasting appeal. This was the thought that I came to me when I was presented with these 2 CD Bert Jansch tribute. It was with some trepadition then that I approached the 26 songs presented.

As Colin Harper writes in his booklet notes "Bert Jansch has a style and sound that is instantly recognisably his own". He continues, that "the obvious downside to having such a unique voice is that the material becomes inseparable from the artist, sacrosanct, unbeatable or just plain unimaginable for someone else to cover." This is certainly a comment as which I concur, I thought as I read these lines with some foreboding, I started listening to the CD's.

The first listen revealed a number of gems from stalwarts of the sixties/early seventies folk-club boom in the UK Roy Harper, Al Stewart, Wizz Jones, Steve Tilston, Rob Noaks, Ralph McTell. A couple of subsequent casual listens and a number of old contributions of Brook Williams, Martin Jenkins, Chris Smither, Maggie Boyle grew on me. Finally, one morning I decided to give the whole thing a concentrated listen with headphones and so my resistance was finally blown away by the sheer overall quality of the individual interpretations. The younger ones like Johnny Marr's Healers, "A woman like you", Bernard Butler's "When I get home" Johnny 'Guitar' Hodge, "Step Back" are utterly convincing. Eleonar's McEvoy stark rendition of "Where did my life go ?" is so evocative of, as she puts it "someone who is looking on to their own life like a stranger, and is powerless to change or regain control of that life." A beautiful version. As someone who has diverse listening appetites, familiar but not overfamiliar with Bert Jansch's music trough to his more recent releases, I was pleasantly surprised by the sense of integrity and individuality that each of the contributors brought to these songs.

"People on the Highway" reveals itself as a real labour of affection for an artist who's work has an essential and unique place in music. I should mention that the lost track on the first CD, 1965 by John Challis, although not a Bert Jansch song, but as a John Challis song written in 1970 (is a worthy inclusion) captures something of the spirit of those times when befriended the unknown Bert Jansch. I have name-checked 15 of the 26 contributors, but surprisingly, considering my opening paragraph, I have nothing but praise for those not mentioned all of whom have something to recommend them. As Collin Harper writes in the excellent booklet : "clearly, I am biased on this, but I can honestly say that, to me, every contribution is a good one and some of them great." I hope that another generation of listeners are trown willingly to discover this collection and the music of Bert Jansch, also the contributors involved. A new folk/Singer-songwriting boom anyone ! Now, where's my guitar.." Lawrence Woolfe

label at http://www.themusicindex.com/marketsquare/ with this item here

2002 album of Bert Jansch is reviewed here ; 2006 album of Bert Jansch is reviewed here

Private Cathy Horner : They don't bite (US,1997)***°

I found a beautiful track on an almost worthless radio sampler and checked her at her Web Address. Her full CD show me her guitar finger picking is extremely professional. Her singing was OK but not that incredible as her guitar playing, but most tracks were instrumental. I recognized her talent immediatly and asked our specialist L.Woolfe to check this item out. That's what he wrote :

"I first heard Cathy Horner on a compilation CD and she stuck out like a pearl. Her finger-style guitar playing immediately reminded me of the British guitar playing scene à la Bert Jansch and John Renbourne. And this 1997 CD doesn't disappoint. Eight out of the 10 tracks (all originals) here are guitar instrumentals in the afore-mentioned style and I would think be of interest for guitar players and folk enthusiasts everywhere. Technically impressive the pieces are well played and recorded. In fact the guitar is quite gorgeous throughout. Of the 2 songs of the CD "I am woven" and "Kingfish in the cave" the latter works the best. Neither song sets me on fire but "Kingfish" may grow because it's basically a solo track with vocals and overdubs and other instrumentation by Mark Smoot coming in half way through. I am woven" however is overdone complete with an over the top electric guitar solo. The vocals are not Cathy's strong point, but being young that area may improve in time. In terms of fingerstyle guitar playing however, Cathy Horner is strong and undoubtly gifted. Recommended for reasons already given earlier. I can not think of other any female guitar player who is as good as this." L.Woolfe

Web-Page at http://www.crosslink.net/~jhorner/index.shtml

Contact : jhorner@crosslink.net

Review with sound files : http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cathyhorner

Review : http://www.guitar9.com/undiscov24d.html

Sanctuary Rec. Bert Jansch : Edge Of A dream (UK,2002)***°'

Although Bert Jansch is one the most important English guitarists, I consider this album partly of a singer-songwriter inspiration and thus taking certain style standards to a different level. I couldn’t grab the previous album, “Crimson Moon”, but I could feel and appreciate better what is happening on this one. There are a couple of semi-improvised guitar bluesy duets of Bert Jansch, like with Dave Swarbrick (of Fairport Convention and later fame) on violin, with Paul Wassif on slide guitar. In a way there is a tendency, of sadness, and sorrow falling back on bluesier standards (a bit too automatic on the diary-like last track on the Twin Tower event, and too much of a standard on “walking this road”, but elsewhere when it becomes a personal statement these become a core of strength and inspiration). It is as if this sorrow just takes a few recognisable cores to hang on as an inspiration, to start anew with dignity and quality, consciously feeding the survived elements, with fine results even when not finding more to grab upon than on the symbols of importance (like on “La Luna”, a track with a strong Spanish flavour in the guitar). The titletrack of “On the Edge Of A Dream” is about “rock music”, and combines well the Jansch acoustic guitar style with an electric guitar (by Bernard Butler, from Suede fame), a creative rocking lullaby, an ode to electric rock music, while on “What is on your mind” he combines acoustic and electric guitar himself. A song which keeps itself easily in mind is “I cannot keep from crying”, a return point of being conscious of an in reality often irreversible past. Loren Jansch (or Auerbach, -I heard a never mentioned album of Loren with Jansch which I found the least of his albums, also because of her voice), sings with a slightly smoked voice an old song of Richard Farina, but especially Hope Sandoval (known first from Mazzy Star) takes over Jansch voice with a fresh alternation. In some way the album prepared for a strong come back, only misses a bit the scenes and friendship’s circle to fully expand itself further yet. All the elements that gives rightful foundations for such a start are present.

Homepage entry, with audio : http://www.bertjansch.com/edgeofa.html

(from http://www.bertjansch.com/)

Other reviews : http://www.cfrb.com/album/609645/review

& http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,11712,804043,00.html

Bert Jansch tribute album is reviewed on http://singersong.homestead.com/reviews.html#anchor_33

Bert Jansch latest album is reviewed on http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/folk.html#anchor_92

Drag City Bert Jansch : The Black Swan (UK/US,2006)****°

This year Bert Jansch celebrated his 60th birthday. And while a whole new pile of artists are launched to give a new meaning to folk, luckily they didn’t forget the old heroes. Lots of names with growing public’s interests were into accompanying Bert Jansch on his new album, which is I think the first in 4 years (because he also did some limited releases which I rarely see offered or listed).

Three tracks were just Bert Jansch on guitar/vocals. The album features on the other tracks, Helena Espvall: cello (1) (Espers), Noah Georgeson: percussion (1), bass (9,10) (The Pleased, producer J.Newsom, D.Banhart), Adam Jansch: keyboards (1,9) (son of Bert, who participated before), Beth Orton: lead vocals (3,4,6,) (new singer-songwriter), Otto Hauser: drums (3,4,5,6,7,9) (Espers, Vetiver), Kevin Barker: percussion (4), lead guitar (6) (Curritck County), Devendra Banhart: second vocals (4) (weird folk s/sw), Paul Wassif: guitar (5), slide guitar (7), banjo (11) (solo guitarist), Richard Good: slide guitar (?) (9), Pete Newsom: drums (Pocket For Corduroy) (10), Maggie Boyle, flute (11) (folk singer who recorded with Steve Tilston and solo. She also recorded an album on Runriver Rec., a label run by Michael Klein (see also Bob Theil), as did Bert Jansch).

I'm not sure if Bert Jansch still needs an introduction. His first solo releases from 1965 showed personality and a very distinctive guitar style. With John Renbourne the next year, on “Jack Orion” he uplifted the English guitar style to more heights. Together with jazz double bass player Danny Thompson, Jacqui McShee, on vocals, and Terry Cox on drums the formed The Pentangle, a highly talented folkrock group with a new fascinating style, who were especially interesting from 1967-1985. John Renbourne after The Pentangle continued a style developed from there, first with Medieval and also Rennaissance leanings, where he evolved to present himself more as a guitar player with several fascinating results during his career, while also Jacqui McShee more recently wrote her next steps to her The Pentangle experiences. Bert Jansch continued with his solo career with various results, due to circumstantial control. With this new album, Bert Jansch has his chance to show the public his dignity, and what can represent it better than a black swan ?

“The Black Swan” is a beautiful song as if it were only slow moves which took Jansch to his destiny. The cello of Helena Espvall adds that dignity with a melancholic big "Why now?..".. "High Days" takes a look on days where everything was taken for granted and with perhaps with more indifference, because there were so many continuations, which now are resumed with a certain distance and a viewpoint of a wiser man. Just now, calmed down, Bert is able to look back, and he doesn't regret all the things that happened. While some people came and went, some might not have forgiven things, others did not always give all the efforts that were expected, and everybody just played their own parts in their own way, perhaps they always will, and that's all right. The next track, "When the Sun comes up" with a band, and sung by Beth Orton, reminds me very much of The Pentangle days (and of some song from that period). But Beth Orson has a very different interpretation to it, slightly Americanised, which is interesting to hear. A beautiful love song of someone who wants to pay tribute to love honestly again after having experienced how things failed some times. Also very successful and moving is the traditional "Katie Cruel" with wonderful acoustic guitar, again beautifully sung by Beth Orion, with nicely colouring backing vocals by Devendra Banhart, and some simple hand percussion by Currituck Co.'s Kevin Barker and by Otto Hauser (Espers). The bluesy traditional "My Pocket's Empty" became another brilliant, recognisable Bert Jansch version, as if it was his own inspiration, and his thoughts. "Watch The Stars" is sung by a more smoky voiced Beth Orton in duet with Bert Jansch, sung as if Bert never was away from the scene (we only didn't notice him so much, as being associated with his inner star). Also nice to hear is an old classic of his, "A Woman Like You", a song which gets here a new light, context and arrangement, slightly slowed down, and sung with heart. "The Old Triangle" is another traditional adapted for Jansch's unique guitar style and singing. "Bring your religion" is the first song on this album with a wider social context. The only track done which might be less understandable, is "Texas Cowboy Blues", a very style related track, which is more of a typical choice for smoky bars to attract those people who usually don't pay attention where the song needs more attention. But why not, it's done well, and for those in the American market that needs such a lift from the other songs, I guess this will help. "Magdalina's Dance" is a pleasant trio on 2 banjos (Jansch, Wassif) and flute (Maggie Boyle), which could have been like a memorable live act. The strong closing track is a happy blues track, "Hey Pretty Girl", with a few surprising guitar switches, about a girl who, as a matter of saying, married a rock'n roll band.

A perfect album and starter for the new generation of those who have these new folk interests.

Homepage entry, with audio : http://www.bertjansch.com/edgeofa.html

(from http://www.bertjansch.com/)

Other reviews : http://www.cfrb.com/album/609645/review

& http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,11712,804043,00.html

Bert Jansch tribute album is reviewed on http://singersong.homestead.com/reviews.html#anchor_33

Bert Jansch latest album is reviewed on http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/folk.html#anchor_92