42 songs, 1965-72 and then from '85-2001
John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 08/25/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I admit I am a casual rather than fanatical Pentangle fan, and that I picked this up with hopes that it'd expand my knowledge of Jansch's career both before and after the band. It served its purpose, although given the fact that Colin Irwin, who wrote the liner notes, also had issued about concurrently with this CD his biography (unfortunately only published in Britain) of the same title, I expected more comprehensive details on each of the 42 songs. Since Jansch has had many such career compilations, why choose this one?
It is generous--two hours--and gives you cuts from many of his albums to date. Castle label tends to put out a lot of compilations with bargain-rate sound, but I did not hear any poor fidelity here; admittedly however, I have not heard these songs before in another format, except for the two Pentangle tracks. Yet, puzzingly, and perhaps due to licensing problems, the compilation skips from 1972 to 1985 before resuming, leaving out the intervening period. The US version ranks more like 3.4 stars if I could grant this score.
Irwin alludes to the frequent changes in ownership and thus rights granted to quick-cash-in collections of his 1965-71 Transatlantic label work. This compilation as released in the US differs from the British version: it deletes material from four LPs from the 80s and 90s and replaces these with songs from an Australia live record and tracks with Auerbach. Disc one covers 1965-73. I'd be interested in comparing this to the British version, as the Auerbach material here noticeably hinders the effect of disc 2, crippling what otherwise would I guess be a much more cohesive, chronologically more thorough, journey through what in the British CD were songs from 18 of this 21 LPs.
The best material, in my judgement, is when Jansch sounds like himself, rather than Dylan or some bluesman. These occur more often on Disc 1, in his earlier career. The tracks that show him searching about for a style rather than being true to his own talents do weaken the disc one; by the way, I was surprised to only find two Pentangle songs included. Although if there was a lot more overlap I would not perhaps have bought this Jansch CD due to my already owning his band's albums!
Disc 2 leaps out somehow sounding better mastered; two strong songs from 1973's Yarrow LP shine as Jansch incorporates his guitar and vocals into a much richer backing of faux-Renaissance moods from session players that give more depth than many of the more skeletal songs on Disc One and less so on Disc Two. However, this momentum skids to a halt by tracks from Loren Auerbach from the early 80s, in which Jansch (her husband) gives only guitar to her vocals, which while not embarassing do not stand out that much to justify such space of four seemingly endless songs co-credited to her. They are very much of a hippie aura, lyrically and in their delivery. Hearing "Rainbow Man"--well, you can imagine. It sounds curiously as if it was recorded not in 1982 but a decade at least earlier, for what it's worth. Perhaps those with a penchant for the freak-wyrd folk that has emerged twenty years after this may find inspiration in these songs more than I have.
Traditional songs, like "Ladyfair," "Mountain Streams,"and especially the Ornament Tree's title track (aka Bonny Portmore) feature some of Jansch's most distinctive work on this compilation, intelligent lyrics, a nuanced vocal delivery, and solid instrumental foundations. Closing with a wonderful song to Robin Williamson, "October Song," that complements the earlier "The January Man," this compilation does hold its strengths for last along with its less memorable songs. It is uneven, but it's generous in its variety. There's nothing here that sinks dreadfully, at least when Jansch is at the mike playing or singing himself.
Hearing "Needle of Death" after for so long knowing of its acclaim only by hearsay, I must tell you, is powerful, forty years after he first released it. Jansch, as Irwin notes, deserves much wider attention than his peers who often, I think, took his ideas and ran away with them to greater profit. Notably, fans of Led Zep and early 70s guitar legends or later British folkies may want to hear, if they have not yet, "Blackwater Side" as it sounded on Jansch's groundbreaking folk LP from '66, "Jack Orion," before he joined the new Pentangle a few months later."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1