Bert Jansch
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s debut LP recorded with a portable tape player on a borrowed guitar in the kitchen of his London flat. On this 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).
Birthday Blues
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2001 reissue of Jansch’s 1969 fifth album does not hold back his characteristic moodiness or take itself too seriously. With just enough of a Donovanesque pop sense, Pentangle producer Shel Talmy keeps the recordings fresh, warm and immediate.
It Don’t Bother Me
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s 1965 second album, a step up from the intimate, field-recording setting of his first album, although still not labored over. The lyrics shift vividly between pure poetic imagery and the hollow resonance of pain.
Jack Orion
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s 1966 third LP, with no original compositions. His experimental approach to interpreting traditional folk songs breathes new life into the repertoire through his exploratory use of open tunings and passionate, gritty vocals. In “Black Water Slide,” a haunting ballad he first heard from Anne Briggs, Jansch plants the seeds for future versions by Led Zeppelin and Sandy Denny. Jack Orion’s unique combination of medieval themes and progressive arrangements would pave the way for the next wave of the British folk revival and beyond.
Nicola
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s third solo album, which allows orchestration to be used on five of the twelve tracks, with the remainder are pretty much keeping with the character and high standard of his other ’60s work — nimble guitar work, incorporation of blues, traditional British Isles folk influences into a contemporary style, and Donovan-esque vocals. For the first and only time, Jansch plays both electric and acoustic guitars; it’s also his first work to feature drumming.
Rosemary Lane
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2001 reissue of Jansch’s 1971 LP returns to the intimate economy of his self-titled debut LP, recorded on portable equipment by engineer / producer Bill Leader. Rosemary Lane has elements of many of the styles Jansch covered in his eclectic career — from the folk and blues that were his bedrock to medieval music — yet cuts to the heart of his strength as spell-binding storyteller and empathic interpreter of isolation and want. Occasional instrumentals vary the mood that, like much of his work, is usually somber and introspective. His sparse arrangements seamlessly merge original songwriting and traditional folk songs.