Jack Orion by Bert Jansch.

A few days ago I didn’t own any Bert Jansch albums, now suddenly I have two. When I wrote my story about Rosemary Lane a few nights ago a Danish friend whose views I respect recommended I listen to Jack Orion. I found a copy on eBay at a price I liked and this morning it popped through my letter box. I was pleased about that because I couldn’t go out due to the rain and it gave me something to do.

It is Bert’s third album and recorded in 1966 at 5 North Villas, Camden, London which I am guessing was a friend’s house. There are just eight tracks and the album is quite short at just 32 minutes. All the songs apart from one are traditional with Bert’s own arrangements. 

Unusually, Bert plays banjo on the opening instrumental track called The Waggoner’s Lad. It shows that Bert can shine on other instruments besides the guitar. I believe that his friend John Renbourn plays the guitar part on this tune. The second track is also an instrumental, a short but sweet interpretation of Ewan McColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. The third song is the epic title track Jack Orion. It weighs in at just under ten minutes. Apparently, Bert learned it from Anne Briggs and he got her to write down the words for him to learn. It must have taken her ages. Anne would have learned it from A.L. Lloyd who dusted off a medieval ballad called Glasgerion and called it Jack Orion. By contrast the fourth track called The Gardener is less than two minutes long. I first heard the song Nottamun Town in 1969 on a Fairport Convention album. Bert’s version is pure class as well. That thieving magpie Bob Dylan took this traditional song and used it as the tune for his song Masters Of War. Henry Martin is a song of dirty deeds and piracy on the high seas. It has been recorded by many people over the years such as Burl Ives, Joan Baez & Donovan. John Renbourn plays guitar on this track as well.  Blackwaterside is another song that Anne taught to Bert. She recorded it herself later. It has caused controversy over the years because Jimmy Page copied Bert’s arrangement note for note and put it on the first Led Zeppelin album as Black Mountain Side. I think Jimmy should have given Bert a few quid because he must have made a fortune from it. The final song Pretty Polly is a murder ballad, telling of a young woman lured into the forest where she is killed and buried in a shallow grave. Many variants of the story have the villain as a ship's carpenter who promises to marry Polly but murders her when she becomes pregnant. When he goes back to sea, either he is haunted by her ghost, confesses to the murder, goes mad and dies, or the ship will not sail, he denies the murder and is ripped to pieces by her ghost. (I found all that info on Wikipedia) It is another song that Dylan put to good use, recording it himself and using  it as the basis for The Ballad Of Hollis Brown.

I have played the album three times now on this rainy Saturday afternoon and think it is great. Reading the enclosed booklet, I learned that Anne last visited Bert in May 2011. They went in his studio at the end of his garden and sang Go Your Way. They considered working together again and Bert had a list of songs he was keen to record. Sadly, it never came about because he died later that year. I think it is a shame that Anne Briggs and Bert Jansch never made an album together. It would have taken the world of folk music by storm. I expect they might both have hated the attention but just one filmed concert for posterity would have been wonderful.

See below for a nice film of Anne Briggs and Bert Jansch singing Blackwaterside in 1992.

Blackwaterside Anne Briggs & Bert Jansch

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 'Dear Believer' Acoustic

Rosemary Lane by Bert Jansch.

Me And Rosemary Lane.

 I caught the bus over to Warminster. I met my friend Sian and we retired to the warmth of the pub. I had a drink called J2O orange flavour because it is day 16 of dry January. After a while I got a bit bored and said I would be back in a minute and I nipped across the road to Raves From The Grave because I thought I’d treat myself to a new album as my reward for not drinking. I asked for a new album by Steve Earle but they said it wasn’t released yet. I was determined to buy something and in the Folk section I spotted cd’s by the late Bert Jansch. I was pleased about that because I have been reading and writing a lot about Bert recently but to my shame I haven’t got a single Bert Jansch album in my collection. In fact, the only album I have ever owned featuring Bert is Basket Of Light by Pentangle. There were several albums to choose from and I didn’t have a clue which one was the best, so in the end I opted for one called Rosemary Lane purely because I liked the name.

I re-joined Sian in the pub and got her to take a photo of me perusing the cd. It is a very attractive cd. The cover was designed by Bert’s wife of the time Heather who is now a sculptor of world wide renown. There is also a nice little booklet with very interesting information about the album. It was raining as we left the pub. I said cheerio at the bus stop and was home by 2.30. I played the album as soon as I got home and was pleased that I chose Rosemary Lane because I really like it. Like all great music it has a wonderful timeless quality and although I have only heard it once I get the feeling that this album will grow on me and hopefully I will enjoy listening to it for many years to come. The album was recorded on portable equipment in Bert’s house over several months in 1971. The reason it took so long was because Bert was in no hurry and only recorded a song when he was in the mood for recording which must have added to the laidback feel of the album.

I was immediately taken with the first track called Tell Me What Is True Love? A self-written love song by Bert. You can feel the influence of his first muse Anne Briggs on this album particularly on songs like Reynardine and the title track Rosemary Lane. These are both traditional songs that Anne taught to Bert. It was through being a fan of Annie Briggs that first led me to taking an interest in Bert. There are eight tracks written by Bert plus some traditional songs and even a classical instrumental called Sarabanda written by Arcangelo Corelli and another instrumental by Robert Johnson called Alman. The real beauty of the album is in the guitar playing. I don’t play the guitar so I can’t describe the technical reasons why it is so great, but the words intricate and sophisticated spring to mind. It is one of those albums that doesn’t just accentuate a mood, it actually creates a mood. It certainly created a nice atmosphere in my kitchen this afternoon. This album definitely  has my approval and I am very pleased that I bought it today.