Customer Reviews

Rosemary Lane

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"Rosemary Lane" is a 1971 album from Bert Jansch that finds him getting back to the basics. In this case that means Jansch playing his guitar without any added orchestrations. "Nicola" was the last Jansch album I heard for the first time and after some of those arrangements the simplicity of this album was a joyful discovery. These recordings are so basic that you can hear Jansch's fingers rubbing the strings of his guitar. Jansch is one of the great acoustic guitar virtuosos of his generation, equally comfortable playing the blues, American folk music, or, as is largely the case here, the more traditional music of the British isles.

The rather Renaissance tone of this album is captured in the second and third tracks, the title song being a traditional work interpreted by Jansh and the acoustic piece "M'Lady Nancy." There are certainly pieces that are more contemporary in both origin and execution, but the Robert Johnson written instrumental "Alman," the traditional songs "Reynardine" and "Sylvie," and the instrumentals "Peregrinations" co-written by Jansch and John Renbourn and "Sarabana" written by Corelli & Corelli, are the heart of the album. The proof of this is that when you look at "The Best of Bert Jansch" album, these are the tracks that are included in that collection.

If there is one noticeable difference between the "Rosemary Lane" album and Jansch's first self-titled album from 1965 is that he is much more comfortable and effective as a singer. But the chief attraction here remains listening to this guy play the guitar. In that regard this is one of Jansch's best albums and falls in the "must have" category for his legion of fans.

A lot of folks make a lot of claims about which are the great albums of the early 70's British Folk Scare, and most make a pretty good case. The core Steeleye Span albums, the early Albion Band releases, any number of solo LP's by Peter Bellamy, The Dransfields, The earlier Watersons' albums, and, of course, The Pentangle albums. The Pentangle holds a particular spot, given the virtuosity of its musicians and the eclectic folk/jazz/rock roots of its music.
Bert Jansch's Rosemary Lane is a standout of the Pentangle solo material. Remarkable guitar playing and a rough hewn voice are startling even today; Jansch continues recording into the 21st century (though at a much reduced level of power) and has an unfortunate tendency to ramble off the map, musically speaking. That being said, Rosemary Lane is the beacon of his earlier work. From the tasty instrumental work to the excellent choice of songs, it is a first-rate work. The title song remains one of the great classics of the genre, a fascinating and moving piece not easily put out of your mind once you have heard it.
Bottom line- if you are putting together a core collection of British Folk Scare albums, this is an essential item.
Enjoy.

Bert is fantastic and this album is fantastic. I would never call Bert a guitar "virtuoso" though, I would call him a creative genius. His acoustic guitar arrangements sound at first oddly foriegn and then somehow, reconfiguring the patterns in your brain, change into the most natural and complete compositions you've ever heard. His lyrical style exactly compliments the style he plays on guitar and he comes off as a very convincing poet, storyteller. Bert and his music seem to come from the same place myth and folklore come from.

"Folk music" has 2 connotations - actual traditional music passed down within a culture for generations, or intimate modern music usually played acoustically (e.g. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell). Bert Jansch does both beautifully, and this album has a nice mix of each. His originals are haunting and beautiful, and his guitar playing matches. His singing is similar to many of the other male British folkies of the time - kind of rustic and rough, and this only adds to the poignancy and intimacy of the songs. I quite like his work with the Pentangle from the same general era, but this album is a distillation of the more intimate side of his style and probably my favorite (I like Moonshine quite a bit, also).

This is Jansch at his "folk baroque" brilliant best!!! "Reynardine" is quite possibly the most beautiful and emotive guitar piece I've ever heard this side of Leo Kottke's "Owls".