Folk

Bert Jansch: “Reynardine” and “Angie”

Perhaps if the certain things had happened differently, some of the incredibly talented guitarists born in The United Kingdom during the 1940s who we now know as rockers — Eric Clapton, Dave Davies, Ronnie Wood, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards and others — would have had more quiet careers like those of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, who were founding members of the iconic group Pentangle.

It’s possible to see those folks, particularly the professorial Clapton, as English country gentlemen. For their part, it’s fair to ask whether Renbourn and Jansch made a conscious effort not to join the British invasion and play rock, or was it just too foreign to their natures. These are interesting questions to think about as that generation reaches its 70s.

It’s also interesting to note that in 2010 Jansch–who, as the bio that begins below notes, actually is Scottish–performed at Clapton’s 2010 Crossroads festival and opened for Neil Young during his tour.

In any case, here is the start of Jansch’s Wikipedia profile:

Herbert “Bert” Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011[1]) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter. He recorded at least 25 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.

Jansch was a leading figure in the British folk music revival of the 1960s, touring folk clubs and recording several solo albums, as well as collaborating with other musicians such as John Renbourn and Anne Briggs. In 1968, he co-founded the band Pentangle, touring and recording with them until their break-up in 1972. He then took a few years’ break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians. He joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995. Until his death, Jansch continued to work as a solo artist. Continue Reading…

Above is Reynardine and below is Angie.

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Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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