Bert Jansch – Just A Simple Soul
BMG – 26 October 2018
I would like to say that I like Just A Simple Soul, a new reflection on the work of Bert Jansch. Well, I do like it, really like it, but the word ‘like’ doesn’t have the sort feel that I wish to convey.
Perhaps it will be easier to tell you about the album and you might see what I am trying to say. I first thought that this collection was worth looking at in detail because I like Bert Jansch, but also because Bernard Butler listened to Bert’s albums after he died and wished that he had asked Bert some questions. He rather wished that he had asked Bert about the tunes, about the playing. About the songs that passed Bernard by until a later hearing. We all do that. Something doesn’t register for a long time and then it gets in, under the skin and it’s there a lot longer than those that grab us straight away.
The reason this is important is that Bernard Butler is a musician, a guitarist, and was once a member of Suede. Having someone, a professional musician, having a view on another musician adds an extra something, an ability to judge and an ability to pick, perhaps, based on different criteria. Therefore, I thought that this compilation of Bert’s work must have something going for it. Most of his original albums are available and then there has been the recent releases by Earth Recordings that covers almost all of his catalogue. But these are fine if you want the full set or just a particular period.
What makes Just A Simple Soul worthwhile is that it spans all his work. Across two CDs there are 39 tracks that take us from the start to as near to the end as dammit. And I will say how much I like that fact that the first track is Strolling Down The Highway, thus explicitly avoiding that cliché of every Bert Jansch homage gig of finishing with it.
This collection has been thoughtfully put together by Bernard and by the Bert Jansch Estate which sort of adds to the validity though neither of these facts may influence many potential buyers as I think that the collection itself will do the job. Here are what, 40 years perhaps, spread out before us. And whilst you can hear changes and movement and development, it never strays – from the core, from the good tune, the excellent finger work. As Bernard says “Bert lived and breathed the sound of the guitar and its endless possibilities for communication, storytelling, conversation, emotional dialogue.” All that, yet it was all true to him – his own style.
If you know his early work, then you will not be surprised to find many of the well-known songs, some of which carry links to the various strands in his musical life. Soho, for example, is from the album Bert and John…the John being John Renbourn. Then there is Blackwaterside that he learned from Anne Briggs, and a lovely personal favourite of mine, M’lady Nancy with clear, bright, positively glistering guitar work. Another interesting track is the last one on the first CD, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Whilst other interpretations are available, this is the one for me. Partly because this must be one of the ones that passed me by when it first came out in the early seventies. Did you know it features Mary Hopkin?
The second CD takes us from the post-Pentangle period, off through the eighties and nineties and beyond. After the late seventies, he struggled a bit, with Pentangle reunions and illness and it wasn’t really until the final decade of the century that his work regained its former strength. In that intervening era of big hair and even bigger shoulder pads, a bit more electric guitar creeps in, and yet whilst there are nods to the phrases and soundscapes of the time, his furrow is still his furrow.
Having said that, there are some good tracks from that period such as The Blacksmith and Baby Blue. Then there is Morning Brings Peace of Mind and Just A Simple Soul which show a great return to earlier form and are, therefore, timeless.
And then the final numbers. I try to shun the fall-back position of saying that one artist is like another artist. However, there are two tracks that made me think of someone else: Crimson Moon, an excellent cool tune reminds me of John Martyn and A Man I’d Rather Be, reminiscent of Roy Harper.
As well as Bert’s earlier collaborations, his later work attracted other musicians to play with him. His Crimson Moon album (from which his version of Omie Wise can be heard here) had Johnny Marr, the aforementioned Bernard Butler and Johnny “Guitar” Hodge on board.
The final two tracks are from his last studio album. And the thing that really stands out – well two things really. The first thing is the intimate sound of the acoustic music is not lost. You are there. There is no wall of sound built between you and the artist. Secondly, just jump from the first track to the last and back again. Consistent. Bert has been nothing if not consistent.
So, I like this album but in a ‘this is an excellent collection of Bert Jansch’s music” way, a way that represents his entire solo work. There is no Pentangle but there are tracks with some members – and I forgot to mention Kittiwake from the most excellent Avocet album – and tracks with others. If you still need an introduction to Bert Jansch, then this is the collection to have. If you already know his work, then this is a great compilation all in one place. If you need further encouragement to get it, well, there’s that chap from Suede who likes his music, as do Beth Orton, Devendra Banhart, Hope Sandoval. Join the list and get this.
Order here (to note: The Vinyl version is shorter – see below)
Tracklist – LP
Side 1
1. Strolling Down The Highway
2. Angie
3. Needle Of Death
4. It Don’t Bother Me
5. Black Water Side
6. Soho
7. The Time Has Come
Side 2
1. Go Your Way My Love
2. Come Back Baby
3. Poison
4. The Bright New Year
5. Rosemary Lane
6. Reynardine
7. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Side 3
1. Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning
2. Chambertin
3. Baby Blue
4. Daybreak
5. Kittiwake
6. Sweet Rose
7. Let Me Sing
Side 4
1. Morning Brings Peace of Mind
2. Carnival
3. Just A Simple Soul
4. Crimson Moon
5. On The Edge Of A Dream
6. High Days
Tracklist – CD
CD1
1. Strolling Down The Highway
2. Angie
3. Needle Of Death
4. It Don’t Bother Me
5. A Man I’d Rather Be
6. The Waggoner’s Lad
7. Black Water Side
8. Soho
9. The Time Has Come
10. Go Your Way My Love
11. Come Back Baby
12. Poison
13. Promised Land
14. The Bright New Year
15. Rosemary Lane
16. Reynardine
17. M’Lady Nancy
18. Moonshine
19. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
CD2
1. Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning
2. Chambertin
3. The Blacksmith
4. Baby Blue
5. Daybreak
6. Kittiwake
7. Up To The Stars
8. Sweet Rose
9. The Road Tae Dundee
10. Let Me Sing
11. When The Circus Comes To Town
12. Morning Brings Peace of Mind
13. Toy Balloon
14. Carnival
15. Just A Simple Soul
16. Crimson Moon
17. Omie Wise
18. On The Edge Of A Dream
19. The Black Swan
20. High Days