Bert Jansch: Black Swan

Elly Roberts reviews

Bert Jansch: Black Swan
Distributed by
Sanctuary Records

    Cover

  • Released: September 2006
  • Rating: 10/10+

Never one for hogging the limelight, Bert Jansch continues to plough his solitary path, with some additions.

Since his eponymous debut in April 1965, Jansch has influenced musicians allover the world, and enthralled everyone with his guitar wizardry such asLed Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.

For Black Swan he’s enlisted the diverse talents of fansDevendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson, Devendra’s bassist as co-producer/mixerand Brit singer Beth Orton. This superb collection of eight originals andtrad covers is his best in a long time. Recorded at his home studio over2004/5 this wonderful album has all the hallmarks of his penchant stylisticfusions – folk, blues and jazz, as he continues to cast his magic spell at 63.

Black Swan is a clever blend of Jansch ‘gig intimacy’ (that he’s madehis living from for the past 30 years) and ‘enhanced’ gems with an Americanafeel using slide guitar, cello, synths, bass and percussion, featured onatmospheric classic A Woman Like You, which he used to sing in hisPentangle Days.


Best track, jaunty Watch The Stars which he sang (with his girlfriend)when he was sixteen, now has Beth Orton doing the vocals, and it’s amasterstroke.

Duelling banjos by Jansch and Paul Wassif, with Maggie Boyle on Bolivianflavoured flute, turn the sparkling Magdalina’s Dance into an instrumentalwonder.

With all contributors doing a fine job, it’s still the Jansch solo digitalworkouts that never fail to impress – High Days, Hey Pretty Girl andtrad The Old Triangle. Bob Dylan may have influenced Texas CowboyBlues, because sure as hell sounds like him, with rhythm sectionersNoah Georgeson on bass and drummer Pete Newsom providing a neat shuffle.

This year MOJO magazine awarded him the highly prestigious Merit Award forhis awe-inspiring contribution to music. He’s now inspiring a new generationof musicians, and wowing music critics, including me.

Weblinks:bertjansch.com /myspace.com/bertjansch


The full list of tracks included are :

1. Black Swan
2. High Days
3. When The Sun Comes Up
4. Katie Cruel
5. My Pocket’s Empty
6. Watch The Stars
7. A Woman Like You
8. The Old Triangle
9. Bring Your Religion
10. Texas Cowboys Blues
11. Magdalina’s Dance
12. Hey Pretty Girl

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