Bert Jansch

About

You can't get much quieter or more stripped-down than Bert Jansch's self-titled 1965 debut, but this unassuming album was one of the releases that set off the UK folk boom of the '60s. When Jansch stormed in from Scotland, the British scene featured hotshot acoustic fingerpickers—like Davey Graham and future Pentangle bandmate John Renbourn—and reflective singer/songwriters like Jackson C. Frank and Roy Harper, but Jansch was a master of both modes, inspiring reverence among both peers and punters. Accordingly, his first album splits its time between short acoustic instrumentals and moving vocal tunes, Jansch armed with only his guitar. At the time, most UK folkies were covering folk and blues standards, so even releasing an album occupied mainly by original material was a radical statement. But the command Jansch displays here as both musician and songwriter makes it clear why he became a folk icon. The album's most renowned track is "Needle of Death," a poignant lament inspired by the overdose of Jansch's folk-singer friend Buck Polly; everybody from Neil Young to Yo La Tengo covered this song eventually. "Strolling Down the Highway" highlights Jansch's ability to write tunes with a timeless trad-blues feel, his laconic Edinburgh moan adding a savory singularity. And his jazzy agility on instrumentals like "Finches" and "The Casbah" reveals a gift that would inspire not only legions of folkies but also rockers like Jimmy Page. With this level of invention, it's stunning to realize Jansch would lead the pack anew with folk-rockers Pentangle just three years later

via Apple Music