All This Remains
October 5, 2011 6:59 AM Subscribe
Folk guitar legend Bert Jansch has passed away aged 67.
Founder member of folk rock group Pentangle, he also recorded (at least) 25 solo albums between his 1965 eponymous debut and the 2006 Black Swan.
He was arguably the most influentual acoustic guitarist of his time. Neil Young said Jansch was to acoustic guitar what Hendrix was to electric. Jimmy Page was obsessed with his work and stole the Jansch arrangement of 'Blackwaterside' wholesale for the Led Zeppelin tune 'Black Mountain Side'. Johnny Marr said Jansch was the only guitarist whose arrangements he ever tried to work out (and discusses him at length here).
Listen:
Founder member of folk rock group Pentangle, he also recorded (at least) 25 solo albums between his 1965 eponymous debut and the 2006 Black Swan.
He was arguably the most influentual acoustic guitarist of his time. Neil Young said Jansch was to acoustic guitar what Hendrix was to electric. Jimmy Page was obsessed with his work and stole the Jansch arrangement of 'Blackwaterside' wholesale for the Led Zeppelin tune 'Black Mountain Side'. Johnny Marr said Jansch was the only guitarist whose arrangements he ever tried to work out (and discusses him at length here).
Listen:
Damn. I saw him supporting Joanna Newsom in Dublin in July. He could still play like a mofo.
posted by kersplunk at 7:10 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by kersplunk at 7:10 AM on October 5, 2011
I just became aware of Bert five or six years ago and it's been a wonderful journey picking up his albums and discovering the wonderment of his whole catalog. It Don't Bother Me and the two albums with John Renbourn are absolute faves. When I heard he was still touring I was looking forward to getting a chance to see him live.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:20 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:20 AM on October 5, 2011
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posted by SmileyChewtrain at 7:24 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 7:24 AM on October 5, 2011
Way too young.
I was very fortunate to see him open for Neil Young at Massey Hall a few months ago.
He certainly influenced a lot of music.
posted by chococat at 7:34 AM on October 5, 2011
I was very fortunate to see him open for Neil Young at Massey Hall a few months ago.
He certainly influenced a lot of music.
posted by chococat at 7:34 AM on October 5, 2011
I saw him a few solo a few times. His shows were very informal. I remember once, he started a song, and was not pleased with how he'd started it, and, about 6 bars in, stopped and explained that he'd screwed up and started it again. The other thing I remember was that he was playing a Yamaha, which looked like one of the inexpensive models that people learned on.
posted by Danf at 7:47 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Danf at 7:47 AM on October 5, 2011
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posted by Mister Bijou at 8:01 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Mister Bijou at 8:01 AM on October 5, 2011
Oh man. Brilliant musician, got to see him a few years ago. A true classic.
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:19 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:19 AM on October 5, 2011
Apparently he could be found playing in pubs in Edinburgh, though I never saw him.
posted by fraac at 8:29 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by fraac at 8:29 AM on October 5, 2011
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He will be missed. I particularly love The Black Swan.
posted by brand-gnu at 8:36 AM on October 5, 2011
He will be missed. I particularly love The Black Swan.
posted by brand-gnu at 8:36 AM on October 5, 2011
Oh, man, his work with John Renbourn on those first few Pentangle records - open, jazzy, psychedelic genius folk music - is some of my favorite stuff from the late 60s. Thanks, Bert, for such great music.
posted by mediareport at 9:06 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by mediareport at 9:06 AM on October 5, 2011
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posted by El Brendano at 9:22 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by El Brendano at 9:22 AM on October 5, 2011
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Had the great good fortune to be dragged to him playing at Bumbershoot a few years ago. Utterly, utterly mesmerizing.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 5, 2011
Had the great good fortune to be dragged to him playing at Bumbershoot a few years ago. Utterly, utterly mesmerizing.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:25 AM on October 5, 2011
I am a huge Bert Jansch/Pentangle fan and this is a great loss to the music community. Now he can make beautiful music in musician heaven. Thanks for all the great songs, Bert.
posted by Lynsey at 9:25 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Lynsey at 9:25 AM on October 5, 2011
Neil Young said Jansch was to acoustic guitar what Hendrix was to electric
This is no exaggeration. No one played like that before Jansch, but once he made the scene, everyone wanted to play like him. Weird, wild, imaginative playing that nevertheless fit within traditional structures.
A great loss, even diminished by the usual showbiz dissipations and long-time chronic arthritis.
I still have my copy of Lucky Thirteen, his first US release. It's one of my most beat-up LPs that still gets played. Here's my favourite from his very first: "Angie", composed by Davey Graham. Nice job working Nat Adderley's Work Song into it. How many guitars does this sound like to you?
Thanks Bert.
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posted by Herodios at 10:12 AM on October 5, 2011
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posted by obloquy at 10:22 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by obloquy at 10:22 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
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Bert Jansch - Needle of Death
Neil Young - Ambulance Blues
Neil - "I was especially taken by Needle Of Death, such a beautiful and angry song. That guy was so good… And years later, on On The Beach, I wrote the melody of Ambulance Blues by styling the guitar part completely on Needle Of Death. I wasn’t even aware of it, and someone else drew my attention to it."
posted by porn in the woods at 10:42 AM on October 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Bert Jansch - Needle of Death
Neil Young - Ambulance Blues
Neil - "I was especially taken by Needle Of Death, such a beautiful and angry song. That guy was so good… And years later, on On The Beach, I wrote the melody of Ambulance Blues by styling the guitar part completely on Needle Of Death. I wasn’t even aware of it, and someone else drew my attention to it."
posted by porn in the woods at 10:42 AM on October 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
An odd and sad coincidence for me, since only two weeks ago have I finally started delving into Pentangle, and have been listening to almost nothing but them for that time. And I don't want to listen to anything else right now - they're marvelous.
I'm happy that there's so much more of Jansch's music that I have not yet discovered, but sad that there will be no more.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:48 AM on October 5, 2011
I'm happy that there's so much more of Jansch's music that I have not yet discovered, but sad that there will be no more.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:48 AM on October 5, 2011
The other thing I remember was that he was playing a Yamaha, which looked like one of the inexpensive models that people learned on.
posted by Danf at 3:47 PM on October 5
Yamaha make some good acoustics.
posted by Decani at 11:13 AM on October 5, 2011
posted by Danf at 3:47 PM on October 5
Yamaha make some good acoustics.
posted by Decani at 11:13 AM on October 5, 2011
i probably haven't heard as much of him as i need to, but he was a great guitarist who was influencial on many guitarists i have listened to, including young and page - at least neil was gracious enough to admit what he copped from him
much of the pentangle stuff is truly great
and once you've heard him do blackwater side, you won't be back to hear mr page do it
posted by pyramid termite at 12:37 PM on October 5, 2011
much of the pentangle stuff is truly great
and once you've heard him do blackwater side, you won't be back to hear mr page do it
posted by pyramid termite at 12:37 PM on October 5, 2011
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posted by smithsmith at 12:47 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by smithsmith at 12:47 PM on October 5, 2011
I grew up with two parents who were both huge Jansch/Renbourn/Pentangle fans. His music was some of the first I heard – or at least the first that stuck in my memory – and some of the first music I truly fell in love with. Jansch seemed to play like a spider; as Herodios said up above, listen to his version of Angie, and it sounds like the work of two or three people.
I've been trying to track down a transcript of when I interviewed him, and I'm buggered if I can find it. I was nervous and approached meeting him with trepidation; this was the first time I'd interviewed someone whose work I had loved since being a small child. I needn't have worried. We sat in a quiet Edinburgh pub on a weekday afternoon and chewed the fat for an hour, and he was sweet and shy and modest (unnecessarily so, I think, in the case of the latter, which is putting it mildly). I did find a copy of the article that resulted, though, from which the following exchange is taken:
Me: Can you imagine doing anything but music?
Jansch: Well, I keep trying to build cupboards, and I'm fairly successful at that.
RIP, Bert. I'll miss you, and so will my dad, who is currently in a pretty bad way, and was further floored by the news today.
posted by Len at 3:01 PM on October 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've been trying to track down a transcript of when I interviewed him, and I'm buggered if I can find it. I was nervous and approached meeting him with trepidation; this was the first time I'd interviewed someone whose work I had loved since being a small child. I needn't have worried. We sat in a quiet Edinburgh pub on a weekday afternoon and chewed the fat for an hour, and he was sweet and shy and modest (unnecessarily so, I think, in the case of the latter, which is putting it mildly). I did find a copy of the article that resulted, though, from which the following exchange is taken:
Me: Can you imagine doing anything but music?
Jansch: Well, I keep trying to build cupboards, and I'm fairly successful at that.
RIP, Bert. I'll miss you, and so will my dad, who is currently in a pretty bad way, and was further floored by the news today.
posted by Len at 3:01 PM on October 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm jealous of everyone who saw him because, well, I never did get around to it. Amazing guitar player. RIP, dear sir.
posted by sleepy pete at 5:07 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by sleepy pete at 5:07 PM on October 5, 2011
Always loved his version of "Katie Cruel," with Beth Orton on vocals, from Black Swan. RIP, Bert.
posted by Rangeboy at 5:08 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by Rangeboy at 5:08 PM on October 5, 2011
And just as an aside, I really love this cover of "Needle of Death" by, of all people, Yo La Tengo. It could be that I love Georgia's voice, though. OK, off to listen to Sweet Child.
posted by sleepy pete at 5:13 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by sleepy pete at 5:13 PM on October 5, 2011
Bert Jansch's Lucky Thirteen was one of the eye-openers in my life. His music (the title track, Needle of Death, The Wheel) was so different from what I had been listening to up to that point. I was introduced to this LP by a guy in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, in the summer of 1970. Thanks for the music, Bert. And Ian MacKinnon, if you see this, thank you too.
posted by dmayhood at 5:14 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by dmayhood at 5:14 PM on October 5, 2011
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Yet another reason to wish I had a time machine, (this is all IIRC territory): he did a gig with my (at the time) boss at Perth library. And I kinda skipped it, because it was easier just to go home, and he was just some old folk dude (ironically I had Pentangle on vinyl, and loved the arse of it, just didn't click that he was actually that guy - the path of least resistance and all that).
posted by titus-g at 6:05 PM on October 5, 2011
Yet another reason to wish I had a time machine, (this is all IIRC territory): he did a gig with my (at the time) boss at Perth library. And I kinda skipped it, because it was easier just to go home, and he was just some old folk dude (ironically I had Pentangle on vinyl, and loved the arse of it, just didn't click that he was actually that guy - the path of least resistance and all that).
posted by titus-g at 6:05 PM on October 5, 2011
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posted by Obscure Reference at 6:12 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:12 PM on October 5, 2011
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posted by Adventurer at 6:45 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by Adventurer at 6:45 PM on October 5, 2011
Pentangle - House Carpenter with Bert on banjo and vocals
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posted by captain cosine at 8:17 PM on October 5, 2011
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posted by captain cosine at 8:17 PM on October 5, 2011
Been listening to Pentangle all evening. Forgot how much I enjoy this music and Bert's unique voice alongside Jaqui McShee's. Thanks for the music-- it's timeless.
posted by Heretic at 8:53 PM on October 5, 2011
posted by Heretic at 8:53 PM on October 5, 2011
The lovely 1992 documentary Acoustic Routes follows Bert Jansch's story and features many of the musicians who were close to him, including Davey Graham and the elusive Anne Briggs. BRownie McGee, one of Jansch's heroes, also appears. Billy Connolly, part of the scene himself, presents. Part 2, part 3, part 4,, part 5, part 6, part 7.
posted by Mellon Udrigle at 2:59 AM on October 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Mellon Udrigle at 2:59 AM on October 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
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