Bert Jansch [1969] Birthday Blues

[01] Come Sing Me A Happy Song To Prove...
[02] The Bright New Year
[03] Tree Song
[04] Poison
[05] Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell
[06] I've Got A Woman
[07] A Woman Like You
[08] I Am Lonely
[09] Promised Land
[10] Birthday Blues
[11] Wishing well
[12] Blues



amg: It's no accident that Jansch's 1969 album sounds like a modified version of the Pentangle. He was a member of the great British folk-rock group at the time of this album's release, which was produced by Shel Talmy (who also worked with the Pentangle). And he's backed by the group's sterling rhythm section of Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), with occasional touches of harmonica (played by British blues singer Duffy Power), alto sax, and flute. The effect is akin to hearing an unbalanced Pentangle, with no John Renbourn on dueling guitar or Jacqui McShee on vocals. That's not at all a bad thing — Jansch was one of the group's main motors, and can still be a compelling writer and performer on his own. All of the cuts on this LP are originals, showing the artist leaning a little more toward bluesy styles than usual, though the mood is predominantly British folk. It's a pleasant effort, but not his best work, either as a solo performer or within a group context.
(amg 9/10)

Bert Jansch [1965] Bert Jansch

[01] Strolling Down The Highway
[02] Smokey River
[03] Oh How Your Love Is Strong
[04] I Have No Time
[05] Finches
[06] Veronica
[07] Needle Of Death
[08] Do You Hear Me Now
[09] Rambling's Going To Be The Death Of Me
[10] Alice's Wonderland
[11] Running From Home
[12] Courting Blues
[13] Casbah
[14] Dreams Of Love
[15] Angie



amg: Recorded with a portable tape player on a borrowed guitar in the kitchen of his London flat, the impact of Bert Jansch's debut has been somewhat blunted by time, but it was a vastly influential work. His masterful acoustic picking, which blended elements of traditional British folk, blues, and jazz, inspired not just other folk players, but rockers who frequently used acoustic guitars. Specifically, Jimmy Page and Neil Young have gone on record as noting their heavy debts to Jansch's early material. He was also a talented songwriter, and all but one of the 15 tracks on his debut was an original composition (the set closes with his version of the instrumental "Angi," originally performed by fellow British folk guitarist Davy Graham, and popularized by Paul Simon). The artist sounds quite close to early Donovan with his Scottish inflections, though he is darker and less pop-oriented; indeed, Donovan recorded a couple of early Jansch tunes, and wrote a couple of songs directly inspired by the artist ("Bert's Blues" and "House of Jansch"). Jansch reflects a rambling, beatnik sort of lifestyle with his compositions on this album, which includes one of his most famous tunes, the somber "Needle of Death" (about the heroin-induced death of one of his friends).
(amg 9/10)