Record Reviews

📝 2096 reviews
Artist Title Review
Bert Jansch Birthday Blues <p>It's no accident that Jansch's 1969 album sounds like a modified version of the Pentangle. He was a member of the great British folk-rock group at the time of this album's release, which was produced by Shel Talmy (who also worked with the Pentangle). And he's backed by the group's sterling rhythm section of Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), with occasional touches of harmonica (played by British blues singer Duffy Power), alto sax, and flute. The effect is akin to hearing an unbalanced Pentangle, with no John Renbourn on dueling guitar or Jacqui McShee on vocals. That's not at all a bad thing -- Jansch was one of the group's main motors, and can still be a compelling writer and performer on his own. All of the cuts on this LP are originals, showing the artist leaning a little more toward bluesy styles than usual, though the mood is predominantly British folk. It's a pleasant effort, but not his best work, either as a solo performer or within a group context.<p><p>&mdash; <strong>Richie Unterberger</strong></p>
Bert Jansch Rosemary Lane <p>Although rated very highly by many Bert Jansch fans, Rosemary Lane isn't quite as striking as his best albums of the '60s. It's more of a delivery of all the attributes listeners had come to expect of him by 1971 -- excellent acoustic guitar work, imaginative interpretations of traditional material and well-constructed originals in the same vein, and committed vocals -- than a step forward, or even sideways. It's perhaps one of his more low-key efforts, both in the sparse arrangements and the subdued tone. It's certainly a worthy effort on its own terms, even if it's largely a restatement of already visited themes.</p><p>&mdash; <strong>Richie Unterberger</strong></p>
Bert Jansch Rosemary Lane <p>Although rated very highly by many Bert Jansch fans, Rosemary Lane isn't quite as striking as his best albums of the '60s. It's more of a delivery of all the attributes listeners had come to expect of him by 1971 -- excellent acoustic guitar work, imaginative interpretations of traditional material and well-constructed originals in the same vein, and committed vocals -- than a step forward, or even sideways. It's perhaps one of his more low-key efforts, both in the sparse arrangements and the subdued tone. It's certainly a worthy effort on its own terms, even if it's largely a restatement of already visited themes.</p><p>&mdash; <strong>Richie Unterberger</strong></p>
Bert Jansch Rosemary Lane <p>Although rated very highly by many Bert Jansch fans, Rosemary Lane isn't quite as striking as his best albums of the '60s. It's more of a delivery of all the attributes listeners had come to expect of him by 1971 -- excellent acoustic guitar work, imaginative interpretations of traditional material and well-constructed originals in the same vein, and committed vocals -- than a step forward, or even sideways. It's perhaps one of his more low-key efforts, both in the sparse arrangements and the subdued tone. It's certainly a worthy effort on its own terms, even if it's largely a restatement of already visited themes.</p><p>&mdash; <strong>Richie Unterberger</strong></p>
Bert Jansch Legend: The Classic Recordings <p>Scotland's Bert Jansch has been a revered fixture on the British folk scene since the 1960s, with his rough and plaintive vocal style, no-nonsense writing approach, and most of all, his incredible acoustic guitar skills, which bring a jazz sensibility to his often modal and blues-based pieces. That he has never risen above cult status is one of life's little mysteries. This collection spans the early stages of his career, and includes a couple of his best original compositions, "It Don't Bother Me" and the harrowing heroin ballad "Needle of Death," as well as some well-chosen covers, including his take on Jackson C. Frank's "Blues Run the Game" and a near-definitive version of Davy Graham's classic instrumental "Angie." Jansch's commercial high watermark came with Pentangle, a folk/jazz quintet he formed with fellow guitar virtuoso John Renbourn at the close of the 1960s, and a single live track from the group is collected here, the moody and stirring "Bruton Town." Another highlight finds Renbourn joining Jansch for a wonderful twin acoustic guitar rendition of Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat." There are several Jansch anthologies on the market, most of which contain pretty much the tracks you'll find here, so this works as well as any as an introduction. Castle's two-disc Dazzling Stranger might make the best choice, however, since it includes most of these cuts, plus a selection of his later work, as well.</p> <p>&mdash; <strong>Steve Leggett</strong></p>
Bert Jansch The Gardener: Essential
Jansch & Renbourne Stepping Stones
Kieth Jarrett Solo Concerts
Kieth Jarrett Solo Concerts
Kieth Jarrett Personal Mountains <p>It is very much out of character for the prolific Keith Jarrett and his producer Manfred Eicher to hold anything back, yet they've done it here, releasing these live tapes of Jarrett's European quartet ten years after they were recorded. Presumably, they did it in order not to distract attention from Nude Ants, which was recorded a week after these concerts, but that never stopped them before from just piling on more discs. In any case, these Tokyo recordings were too good to hide; the quartet had reached an interactive creative high around this time, often burning at the rarified level that Nude Ants reached. Jarrett is both lyrically effusive and able to ignite his European colleagues into giving him more swinging support than on earlier sessions. In particular, the title track has a lot of the exploratory fervor of "New Dance" from Nude Ants, and "Late Night Willie" gets down deep into the Jarrett gospel feeling. Jan Garbarek is especially forthright in Tokyo on tenor, while his soprano pierces like a beam of sunlight, and Palle Danielsson (bass) and Jon Christensen (drums) are loose, relaxed, and impeccably recorded. Clearly this is one of the peaks of the European quartet's discography.</p><p>&mdash; <b>Richard S. Ginell</b></p>
Kieth Jarrett Standards Vol. 2 <p>One of three trio albums that pianist Keith Jarrett recorded with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette during the same month, this second volume of Standards gets the edge over the first due to its slightly more challenging material. Jarrett, who has often taken himself a bit too seriously, is surprisingly playful at times in this format. In addition to Jarrett's "So Tender," there are such superior songs explored on this date as Alec Wilder's "Moon and Sand," "If I Should Lose You" and "I Fall in Love Too Easily." Bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette listen closely to Jarrett and no matter what direction the pianist turns, they are already there waiting for him.</p>&mdash;<b>Scott Yanow</b>
Blind Lemon Jefferson Black Snake Moan Vol. 3
Blind Lemon Jefferson The Immortal
Blind Lemon Jefferson The Immortal Vol. 2
Blind Lemon Jefferson Early Years
Blind Lemon Jefferson Black Snake Moan <p>Blind Lemon Jefferson was a street singer with a wide and varied repertoire, although he is best known for his straight-ahead blues pieces like the title track here, "Black Snake Moan." As this sampler of Jefferson's 1920s and 1930s 78s from Snapper Records shows, however, he was equally at home doing hillbilly spirituals ("He Arose from the Dead") and folk-blues ("See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"), and he also had a fine slide sound ("Jack O'Diamond Blues"). Immensely popular, Jefferson's 78s were poorly pressed and frequently played, so these tracks have a good deal of surface hiss, which may be bothersome to some listeners.</p><p> &mdash; <b>Steve Leggett</b></p>
Garland Jeffries Rock And Roll Adult
Johnny Jenkins Ton Ton Macoute!
Jeremy Spencer Band Flee
Jet Get Born <p>"Jet! You're finally here! Nice to meet you; I'm Vali, I run the venue. Jesus, guys, I wasn't sure you were gonna show up tonight." "Sorry, man. You know, bitches." "Nice. But listen: You guys got a job to do now. We got a packed house, like, 50,000 shitfaced Americans out there and upwards of five Belgian exchange students, all of them dying for a fresh take on the old-school rock 'n' roll. You Aussie sons of bitches think you can handle that? I mean not that I'm worried, I have complete faith in you guys. Just go out there and give them what they want." "Wait, man, are you telling us what to do? Fuck you, we're Jet! Wherever we play people sleep with us." "That's great, but the crowd's getting anxious. You gotta get out there and play 'Last Chance'. People will love the shit out of that one." "Hey, all you American motherfuckers, we're Jet! Here's a song that sounds like AC/DC, a band you love." "What the? They're booing?! Guys, quick, get back over here. We gotta rethink our strategy." "Man, American crowds are fucked up. Everybody loves AC/DC. That song is practically an AC/DC song." "Guys, guys, don't worry about it, the crowd just needs to get warmed up. Go out there and do your big hit, 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl'. Seriously, the crowd is gonna eat this shit up. We got all the AV effects you wanted: Right now we got event security bringing out thirty fuckin' angry alligators with top hats on, Iggy Pop's gonna shoot out of that cannon, and midway through we're gonna send in the kid from the iPod commercial. Still working on the Oxycontin, though, sorry." "Man, that's bullshit!" "Listen, Vali, those alligators better be angry." "Yeah, and no beret shit, either. The alligators want top hats." "Fine, okay, done. Look, the crowd wants you back, just get back out there. Everything's all set. This time, the shit's gonna rock." "Hey assholes, it's us again, Jet! Here's the song you came to hear, a shameless rip-off of 'Lust for Life' by Iggy Pop, who is here with us tonight in this cannon." "'Fuck Jet!'"? Is that what the kids are screaming? Woof! Guys, get back here!" "I cannot fucking believe this! Don't these people know who Iggy Pop is?!" "Guys, I don't know what to tell you. I think you need to do some ballads. The crowd wants to hear some ballads. You got anything that sounds like Oasis, The Wallflowers, Bon Jovi?" "Fuck you, man, we have songs that sound exactly like those guys. These kids won't know the difference. Awright, motherfuckers, let's get out there and melt some hearts. Hello again, Americans! Do you like insipid love songs that sound like wedding band covers? Get ready for five of them!" "Jet! You guys are covered in shit! What's going on out there?" "They threw their shit at us!" "Wow, I have never seen that happen before. I'm sorry about this, but you guys are gonna need to come up huge. Do you have anything you can do?" "We have a couple songs that sound like the Stones." "Perfect! Everybody loves the Stones. Just get out there and do them. Maybe throw in a song called 'Get What You Need', which theoretically would sport a pilfered Kinks' guitar riff from 'All Day and All of the Night' and a bassline kidnapped from The Temptations' 'Get Ready'. If there's one thing Americans love, it is Rock-Motown. Just go give them some Stones, which they love, then a little honky-tonk piano because that's awesome, then close with some Rock-Motown." "Oh my god, this is terrible. Jet! Come here. Stop playing. Listen, you guys are not going over at all. I can count the people out there on one fist. You better bail out quick." "Dude, I don't understand. We sound like everyone's favorite old rock bands, we have insipid lyrics, we say 'Come On!' and 'Oh Yeah!' every five seconds, we have no discernable identity, and we're from Australia. What could people possibly dislike about us?" "No idea, brah. Listen, why don't you do one more song, like about how DJs aren't actually musicians and you don't get how they pull tail." "Oh, you mean 'Rollover DJ'? The one that goes, 'You've been playing other people's songs all night,' right?" "Yes, that is exactly the song I'm talking about."</p><p>&mdash; <strong>Nick Sylvester, Pitchfork</strong></p>
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