Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Bert Jansch

Definitely one of the more interesting figures to emerge from the 60s folk revival. Bert Jansch is as authentic a rambling bluesman as the British Isles ever produced. Hailing from Scotland, he spent several years traveling and busking for a living, developing his folk-blues songwriting style and perfecting his unique approach to the guitar, before a bout of dysentery in Tangiers forced him back home. He took part in the budding London folk scene of the mid-60s, recording his first album at friend’s home and selling it to Transatlantic Records for £100 (it went on to sell 150,000 copies). Several albums followed, including Jack Orion, his first serious foray into traditional folk material. That record featured fellow acoustic guitar luminary John Renbourn, with whom he would found the short-lived but groundbreaking jazz-folk band Pentangle. He’s been steadily releasing solo records ever since, highlights including the upbeat Birthday Blues, the uncharacteristically gentle and largely instrumental Rosemary Lane, which was recorded at his country home, and the 2006 guest-star-laden comeback record The Black Swan.
Jansch’s voice, though pleasant, is of kind of an acquired taste. It’s the guitar playing that really stands out on his records. His love of jazz and non-Western music is apparent in the complex chords and unusual time signatures he regularly employs. He’s also got a unique way of playing simultaneous, contrapunctal melodies in the upper and lower register, making it sound as though there are several instruments playing at once. If you enjoy stuff like Nick Drake, or any kind of folky music really, be sure to check him out.


Bert Jansch (1965)












http://www.mediafire.com/?mudvym0tmze



Jack Orion (1966)












http://www.mediafire.com/?wtzvjzzmto3



Birthday Blues (1969)












http://www.mediafire.com/?zm0znvdeizd



Rosemary Lane (1971)












http://www.mediafire.com/?cnlommzjyg1



The Black Swan (2006)












15 comments:

  1. Great nselection of early Bert Jansch thank you for posting

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  2. This is AMAZING! Thanks so much for all this great Bert Jansch. Although the Rosemary Lane.rar is broken. Can you please reup? That would be awesome. Thanks again. Your blog is THE BEST!
    <3

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  3. Thanks man. Glad you're enjoying these. I gave the link a try and it seems to be working now. Give it another shot. Here's another link, just in case: http://rapidshare.com/files/167012805/Bert_Jansch_-_Rosemary_Lane__1971.rar

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Thanks a lot, really great stuff, but what I think ghost mc is saying is that it's not the link but the Rosemary Lane.rar file is corrupted - track 07 doesn't unzip due to a CRC error.

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  6. Fixed. Thanks for clearing that up.

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  7. Thanks for fixing this for me. You are a saint. <3

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  8. thanks for all those nice Jansch albums.

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  9. incredible thanks

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  10. Classic guitar player--I also just reviewed his debut over on my blog. Thanks for posting!

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  11. R.I.P. and don't forget to say hello to the rest, Bert

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  12. Definitely one of the greats. Renbourn in my opinion had the technical upper hand but Jansch had this other, more spirited element to his words and music - more heartwarming...

    Thank you for sharing

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