Recorded with a portable tape player on a borrowed guitar in the kitchen of his London flat, the impact of Bert Jansch's debut has been somewhat blunted by time, but it was a vastly influential work. His masterful acoustic picking, which blended elements of traditional British folk, blues, and jazz, inspired not just other folk players, but rockers who frequently used acoustic guitars. Specifically, Jimmy Page and Neil Young have gone on record as noting their heavy debts to Jansch's early material. He was also a talented songwriter, and all but one of the 15 tracks on his debut was an original composition (the set closes with his version of the instrumental "Angi," originally performed by fellow British folk guitarist Davy Graham, and popularized by Paul Simon). The artist sounds quite close to early Donovan with his Scottish inflections, though he is darker and less pop-oriented; indeed, Donovan recorded a couple of early Jansch tunes, and wrote a couple of songs directly inspired by the artist ("Bert's Blues" and "House of Jansch"). Jansch reflects a rambling, beatnik sort of lifestyle with his compositions on this album, which includes one of his most famous tunes, the somber "Needle of Death" (about the heroin-induced death of one of his friends). [Castle reissued the album in 2002, adding a pair of bonus tracks.]
Tracks
Title
Composer
Time
1 Strolling Down the Highway Jansch 3:06
2 Smokey River Giuffre 2:56
3 Oh How Your Love Is Strong Jansch 3:40
4 I Have No Time Jansch 3:09
5 Finches Jansch 0:51
6 Rambling's Going to Be the Death of Me Jansch 3:18
7 Veronica Jansch 1:32
8 Needle of Death Jansch 3:20
9 Do You Hear Me Now? Jansch 2:06
10 Alice's Wonderland Mingus 1:46
11 Running from Home Jansch 2:24
12 Courting Blues Jansch 4:02
13 Casbah Jansch 2:10
14 Dreams of Love Jansch 1:44
15 Angie Adderley, Graham 3:15
16 Instrumental Medley 1964 [*] Jansch 8:44
17 Angie 1964 [live/*] Adderley, Graham 2:50
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