john renbourn and pentangle

[scotspine]

that's correct jeff. nova scotia has strong gaelic links. brittany too. genuinely celtic roots. it's a bit like me saying how much i love that traditional bluegrass music you get in new orleans, with the trumpets, oboes and banjoes.


anyway, haggis, freshly shot off the hill, on a bed of neeps & tatties ... mmmm

[Shpeil]

Great to see another Scot on the board, Scotspine.

In case you're interested, Ms Shpeil was telling me that Jansch is playing the Edinburgh Festival this year... or it could have been Renbourn. One or t'other, and bound to be a good night out. Hmm. I must get a hold of a Festival Fringe guide.

[gteague]

Originally Posted by gteague

driving to work today listening to the glenn mitchell show on pbs and he had as guests john renbourn and jacqui mcshee of a group called pentangle. i got in late, but heard 2 or 3 songs that just astounded me with both the singing and the fingerpicking. this was traditional folk music accompaniment taken to a much higher level than normal.

i looked them up on the web and it looks like pentangle was active in the late 60's, early 70's but for some reason i'd never heard of them. they seem to do traditional songs from back to the middle ages, some originals and some free-form/jazz type of material also.

http://www.john-renbourn.com/
http://www.jacquimcshee.co.uk/

in any event, i'm ordering some re-masters of a couple of their albums off amazon. they are playing live someplace in dallas tonight.

/guy

well, i received 2 of the 3 pentangle cd's i ordered. i must say the first one i've listened to, 'sweet child' is somewhat of a letdown so far.

originally i heard them in a small studio just her singing and him playing the guitar. the album has electric guitar and drums and who knows what else. renbourn only plays that amazing fingerstyle accompaniment behind a few songs. and some of the album is original material and 'jazzy' stuff, not folk as i was expecting. i'm only halfway through it (double album) so perhaps it'll improve.

the other album, 'a maid in bedlam' is more like it. i think the three songs they played on the radio were from this album. there are still drums on 'john barleycorn' which i think detracts from the cleanness of the guitar-only performance in the studio, but his artistry on the fretboard still comes through.

/guy

[Bern]

gteague,
On "maid' they are using indian tablas. Which, in my opinion, is a great fit to that type music.

[Mediocre Player]

Wow, a 3 page thread on John R.?? Thats so cool!

I saw him twice this year, with Jacqui. Was disappointed in that both shows were carbon copies of each others. Even the jokes were made in the exact same spots. Both shows were in the same venue, so they should have made a little effort to change things up a little.

I think you'd be better off getting Renbourn's solo records, especilly the early stuff. Also, the John Renbourn group had Jacqui on vocals as well. I am currently learning 'Judy', a very nice small little tune. 'Debbie Anne' is next.

One thing I think you might like very much is an album John did with the lately deceased Doris Henderson. I am not sure how available this album is. But if you are interested, drop me a pm and i will make you a copy.

[scotspine]

Originally Posted by Shpeil

Great to see another Scot on the board, Scotspine.

In case you're interested, Ms Shpeil was telling me that Jansch is playing the Edinburgh Festival this year... or it could have been Renbourn. One or t'other, and bound to be a good night out. Hmm. I must get a hold of a Festival Fringe guide.

hi shpeil. likewise. whereabouts are you from? i am to the north of glasgow in bearsden.

[Shpeil]

I'm on the South side of Edinburgh, though I have family in Bearsden. So the Festival might not be as convenient for you as it is for me. Pity - both Jansch and Renbourn are playing this year (Renbourn with Clive Carrol).

[gteague]

just wanted to say that the 3rd cd i ordered from amazon arrived about a week behind the first two (maid in bedlam & sweet child). it is called 'pentangling' and is a 3-cd set and if you just wanted one cd i think this one should be it.

i didn't realize until it arrived that the 3 cd's are separated into 'pentangle', 'john renbourn', and 'bert jansch'. this set seems to have most of the best selections although no 'john barleycorn' or that long bert jansch ballad about the pirate 'jack orion'.

thanks to all for the info on this group. i'm very pleased at adding them to my cd collection.

/guy

[scotspine]

Originally Posted by Shpeil

I'm on the South side of Edinburgh, though I have family in Bearsden. So the Festival might not be as convenient for you as it is for me. Pity - both Jansch and Renbourn are playing this year (Renbourn with Clive Carrol).

not to worry! tbh i stopped [seriously] listening to either some 20 odd years ago. i always found their music to be a tad sterile, cerebral and contrived. i much prefer a more organic, freer style with roots properly in a relevant tradition. renbourn is more of a jack of all trades and master of none in that he has spread his net too wide and hence sacrificed depth for breadth [imho] and in any case, such tradition as he might maintain would not be of interest to me. i remember doing lady nothynges toy puffe about 30 years ago and thinking then that it was a bit arid, more of a turgid exercise than anything else. if you are going to go down that road, why not do it properly and begin with, say bach? i studied him, along with many others in 6 years of classical training and there is no comparison. martin simpson is a man who i think has the heart of a celt and i would travel many a happy mile to see him. odd really, given his background, but his music is from the heart. not the head.

but we do get through to the festival quite often. it's not that far and edinburgh is an excellent burgh. i'd live there if it was closer to some decent hills!