Birthday Blues

Bert Jansch | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 11, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Castle - Old Numbers
• ASIN: B000068G8M
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #910,485 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

UK remastered reissue of the important British folk-rock artist's 1969 album for Reprise. Includes 12 page booklet with informative sleevenotes. Housed in a slipcase. 2001. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jansch and the Pentangle rhythm section play the blues, May 20, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Birthday Blues (Audio CD)

Neil Young once said that Bert Jansch did for the acoustic guitar in the 1960s what Jimi Hendrix did for the electric guitar, and you can take that statement at face value or you can listen to just about any album Jansch ever recorded and hear for yourself. "Birthday Blues" is a 1969 album from the period when Jansch was playing with John Renbourn in Pentangle, and the rhythm section from the group (Danny Thompson on bass and Terry Cox on drums) show up on some of these tracks to support Jansch. The result is pretty much in between a purely Jansch album, where it is just him and his guitar, and a full-blown Pentangle effort.

All of the songs are written by Jansch (with "Wishing Well" co-written with Anne Briggs) and while this still qualifies as a British folk album he is definitely playing the blues more than we usually find on such albums. The most atypical track on "Birthday Blues" is the opening song, "Come Sing Me a Happy Song to Prove We All Can Get Along the Lumpy, Bump" (the title should prove it. This is a cheerful little tune, followed by the melancholy "The Bright New Year," which is closer to the mark. The two best blues tracks on the album are "I've Got a Woman" (at 5:15 this is a very long track for Jansch), while the title track is actual one of those songs that reminds you of the Renaissance.

I always look forward to the instrumental tracks on these albums, because first and foremost Jansch is one of the premier guitar-pickers of his generation. On this one that would be "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell," "Birthday Blues," and "Blues." "Poison" is the other album that made it to the "Best of Bert Jansch" collection. The other thing that stands out on this album is that there are a couple of tracks that remind me of other groups. "A Woman Like You" has a Doors sound to it and "Promised Land" definitely reminds me of Jethro Tull, which is rather a surprise. That might be why I ended up rounding up on this one, but even when I do not like his music choices I have always enjoyed listening to Jansch play.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jansch and the Pentangle rhythm section play the blues, May 10, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Birthday Blues (Audio CD)

Neil Young once said that Bert Jansch did for the acoustic guitar in the 1960s what Jimi Hendrix did for the electric guitar, and you can take that statement at face value or you can listen to just about any album Jansch ever recorded and hear for yourself. "Birthday Blues" is a 1969 album from the period when Jansch was playing with John Renbourn in Pentangle, and the rhythm section from the group (Danny Thompson on bass and Terry Cox on drums) show up on some of these tracks to support Jansch. The result is pretty much in between a purely Jansch album, where it is just him and his guitar, and a full-blown Pentangle effort.

All of the songs are written by Jansch (with "Wishing Well" co-written with Anne Briggs) and while this still qualifies as a British folk album he is definitely playing the blues more than we usually find on such albums. The most atypical track on "Birthday Blues" is the opening song, "Come Sing Me a Happy Song to Prove We All Can Get Along the Lumpy, Bump" (the title should prove it. This is a cheerful little tune, followed by the melancholy "The Bright New Year," which is closer to the mark. The two best blues tracks on the album are "I've Got a Woman" (at 5:15 this is a very long track for Jansch), while the title track is actual one of those songs that reminds you of the Renaissance.

I always look forward to the instrumental tracks on these albums, because first and foremost Jansch is one of the premier guitar-pickers of his generation. On this one that would be "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell," "Birthday Blues," and "Blues." "Poison" is the other album that made it to the "Best of Bert Jansch" collection. The other thing that stands out on this album is that there are a couple of tracks that remind me of other groups. "A Woman Like You" has a Doors sound to it and "Promised Land" definitely reminds me of Jethro Tull, which is rather a surprise. That might be why I ended up rounding up on this one, but even when I do not like his music choices I have always enjoyed listening to Jansch play.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential British Folk Blues, September 10, 2006

By 

Shell-Zee (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birthday Blues (Audio CD)

Here you have the quintessential British Folk Blues album. At the very least this collection rivils anything by Donovan, with or without the great accompaniment of one Bert Jansch. Birthday Blues takes you along that dusty bumby road looking for Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell, Promised Land, Wishing Well and A Woamn Like You. Bert sure can finger pick with the best. And his voice, certainly on this classic outing, is as evocotive, as pure and heartfelt as anything this side of Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, early Van Morrison or that Scottish rogue Donnovan.