Customer Reviews

Black Swan

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bert has been my favorite performer for over 35 years now, so this latest album is a pleasant surprise--well, not a 'surprise,' I suppose, but truly a happy event. It is clearly his best at least since "Avocet" in the late 70s, and a near match for his best early work, including "Bert Jansch," "Bert and John," "Jack Orion," and "Rosemary Lane." I would place it above the also excellent "Birthday Blues," "Moonshine," "L. A. Turnaround," "A Rare Conundrum" and the more recent "When the Circus Comes to Town" and "Crimson Moon." Go beyond these (with the exception of the now-many compilations) and, unless you are a faithful fan, you may be taking your chances.

"The Black Swan" reminds me a little, strangely, of all these albums. The ensemble play is tasteful and sparse, a la "Avocet" and "Moonshine." There is a traditional feel we heard in "Jack Orion" and "Rosemary Lane." The use of well known outside musicians recalls "L. A. Turnaround," "Moonshine," and "Crimson Moon." Bert's personality is more out front here, as it was in "Bert Jansch" and "When the Circus Comes to Town." The guitar accompaniments are tasteful and occasionally dazzling, as in "Rosemary Lane" and all of his Pentangle work. There are some good blues sequences too, as back in the old days with "Birthday Blues" and the staggering 'Nobody's Bar' of "Rosemary Lane." He delivers some good new compositions as well, though I still prefer the material on "Bert Jansch," "Birthday Blues," "L. A. Turnaround" and "Rosemary Lane."

Jansch's voice was never much of a drawing point, though it was always unaffected and endearing in its own hoarse way. Here, it has reached a fairly extreme level of gruffness (though he has yet to compete with John Martyn or Tom Waits in that category!), but one still cannot help but feel it positively accents the material. Age, and aging, has never been considered a liability in the folk community (and God bless them for that...).

With off again on again health problems, we may be witnessing Bert Jansch's end game. If so, this release could not be considered as less than a crowning touch.

holy mackerel, what an album! i have 3 other bert jansch cds, and each falls just short of classic status in my book. but not this one. this is an instant classic. mr jansch's guitar playing here is exquisite, the work of a master, and he vocals are better than ever, laid-back, subtle and assured. he exhibits all the confidence of a seasoned master. beth orton sings lead vocals on three tracks, and her incredible voice is completely mesmerizing. the instrumental "magdalina's dance," performed by two banjos and a flute is gorgeous. the whole affair is simply a stunning folk masterpiece not to be missed. mojo magazine picked this as the 23rd best album of 2006. i place it somewhere in my top 5.

I discovered Bert Jansch shortly before this album was released, and I saw him perform live in Philadelphia during the tour that accompanied it.
I did not buy the album then because I usually do not buy the newer albums of musicians who I like based on their decades-old work. They often disappoint me. On contemporary albums, the once-great artist often sounds lazier than they did in their classic years, and modern, digital production often washes out the magic that once emanated from the artist, giving the listener a depressing sense that both the great artist and the music industry have faded and gotten stale over the years.
But I finally bought The Black Swan on a whim the other day. I thought it would be nice to add it to my collection, and I figured it would have at least a few good songs.
I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's vintage Jansch and it also sounds new. Like many albums by 60-something musicians, it's a record of an old legend aided by contemporary musicians who are also fans. What's interesting here, though, is how similar those newer artists (Noah Georgeson, Beth Orton, and Devendra Banhart) are to Jansch himself. They all have been influenced by Bert's unique brand of acoustic folk music, a style that is primitive without being simple, mellow without being sweet, and intricate without being difficult. Their contributions don't feel like anachronisms at all. They're the same type of musicians he played with in the '60s and '70s.
Noah Georgeson's production adds some subtle but noticable reverb that is absent from older recordings of Jansch, and its presence here helps to shake things up a little bit and distinguish this album from others in his catalogue. His guitar and vocals have rarely sounded so smooth and clean and they also have never before sounded so deep and ethereal.
Many of the good qualities Bert always had have not changed, perhaps because he was never quite of his time, even in the '60s. His lyrics are vague and full of surreal imagery, but he always seemed like he was emulating the simple yet weird folk songs of ancient times rather than psychedelic poetry. While some musicians made folk psychedelic, Bert was content to let folk be weird in the same ways that it always was.
Like many of Bert's albums, The Black Swan is balanced between original songs and "traditional, arranged Jansch" songs, solo performances and group performances, songs with vocals and instrumentals(The only major stylistic surprise here is "Texas Cowboy Blues," which almost rocks). Things are a little different in the world of Jansch, but it's still the same unmistakable world of Jansch, and the sameness a listener will hear on The Black Swan is only the good kind.
I don't love The Black Swan quite as much as I love many of his early classics, but it is certainly of equal quality. It can never approach the early classics in its contagious, quietly fresh originality, but it's a testament to Bert's perennial greatness that his style continues to be interesting even when the years have diluted its originality.
I'm not sure if The Black Swan is the album I'd recommend if you've never heard or are just beginning to listen to Bert Jansch just because familiarity with his previous work makes it so much more rewarding. But if you're already a fan of Jansch at all, this one should definitely satisfy you.

Bert Jansch has crafted a beautiful album, with his signiture picking style and voice and devendra banhart and beth orton contributing, this makes for one of Jansch's most compelling albums to date. And that's saying a lot.

Wow, Bert doesn't have a mellifluous singing voice - that's kinda letting the bag out of the cat, huh ? For me, I like his vocals fine, I think his stuff is magical. But I understand that there are those like reviewer ml"ml" and others who are turned off by Bert's vocals and need more of a "singer" presence. Well you are all soooo in luck! All you need to do is click a couple of buttons, go to the Pentangle album "Sweet Child" and buy it immediately. While Bert and John Renbourn and Danny Cox all do some vocal turns, the vocals are primarily Jacqui McShee; her voice is crystaline. And on vinyl it was a double album, so there are plenty of songs, and plenty of great instrumental moments. You'll find yourself listening to this album a lot, and just maybe Bert's voice will grow on you, and you'll find yourself back here buying this album after all !!

I'd also recommend john Renbourn's "Black Baloon" album - it's all instrumental and some very fine guitar work indeed.

I bought this for a friend whose tape of Rosemary Lane had worn out after twenty years or more. He likes it - a lot. So do I. It's solace for a soul lost in the myopic woods of contemporary schlock. Or something like that. I love the art work on the cover too (by Bert's son?).

I've been listening to bert since 1968 -when, at the time, there were only 2 Pentangle albums, and his own solos. This album has wonderful new arrangements of a couple of familiar tunes, done entirely differently. The female vocalist Beth Orton, is also amazing. So is Bert, singing from his heart and sounding great. This is Bert at his best. The guitar playing is Bert, but not as complex as soem others. I think the best part, is Bert's voice, which is saying something, it is melodic and smooth, not tight as I sometimes thought, and great-he still sounds like a younger singer, and hes sounds, im my opinion, better than a younger Bert Jansch! There are some of the english ballad style tunes which i particularly like, as well as a country style tune ala LA Turnaround. I think the best part is the cohesiveness and energy of the band. This is an exciting album that will delight Jansch and Pentangle fans. I havent enjoyed an album this much in some time. As one reviewer mentiond, quite rightly, often older greats dont have such great 'new' albums, often missing thier former energy, or rehasing old stuff. This isnt the case in this album. To me, this sounds like a new Pentangle like album-fresh, energized, interesting, and great to listen to.

Bert Jansch's "Rosemary Lane" was a favorite back in the day; and this set sat in my wish list queue for quite a while before I popped for it on a splurge day. The title track is exquisitely gorgeous and lyrical, "Sometimes it seems we are motionless, caught between time & space." Beth Orson handles the vocals on the blues inflected slide guitar piece "When the Sun Comes Up." "The Old Triangle" is a lovely track, familiar to me on an old record by Ian & Sylvia, whose melody Jansch polishes lovingly. "Bring Your Religion" is a haunting track, "Pray for the Earth & the whole universe." The instrumental "Magdalina's Dance" is gorgeous with the Bolivian flute adding a haunting feel to the track. Yes, Jansch's voice is a little thin on a couple of tracks, but that's part of the deal. Adam Jansch's album cover certainly captures my eye. This is a strong set from one of England's great folk artists. Enjoy!

Great ,tastefully done ,new album from Mr. Jansch!
This has hints of Pentangle and (of course) thee modern free/freak folk messiah visiting too.
Plus check out the anti-Bush quicky song..."Texas Cowboy...". Bert could teach Neil Young a thing or two on economy of ideas(a 3 minute "Living With War" anyone?)!
If you loved Jansch's early classics or Pentangle('though Beth Orton is no J.McShee),then you'll love this CD!
Beautiful job,congrats Drag City on another fine release! Look for Red Hash's CD too.....a lost folk classic.

I purchased this cd after only hearing the brilliantly arranged/performed "Katie Cruel" on Pandora.com. Absolutely fascinating! The reviews of this cd here on Amazon were so positive. And from what I understand, Bert Jansch is very influential in the folk scene. The cd art work is very nice, the guitar playing here is drop-dead beautiful, the tunes are all good, but why does he have to sing lead on most of his songs??? One kinder reviewer here related Bert's voice to a sinus infection. I believe it is worse. He regularly drifts into degrees of flatness, has awful phrasing, and frequent unintelligible mumblings that are simply not musical. Sort of reminds me of another great, John Renbourn, only not even that good.

I will not continue to listen to this cd, despite the great guitar. too bad for me. I truly hope I can find some of Bert's music that is performed without his singing. If I do I will probably purchase it.