Some of the biggest names in rock celebrate the brilliance of guitarist Bert Jansch, who died of cancer yesterday.
Guitarist Bert Jansch, who died from cancer at age 67 yesterday, may not have been the type to boast about his musical talents but that didn’t prevent those he’d influenced from celebrating the Scot as one of the greatest players of the past 50 years.
Born in Glasgow, raised in Edinburgh, Jansch moved to London in the mid-1960s during the folk boom. Hard up, he signed a record deal earning a paltry £100 but managed to release a first (self-titled) album in 1965. It caught the ear of music critics and musicians, and comparisons with Bob Dylan soon followed.
The recort didn’t sell but those who did buy a copy included a young Nick Drake, Paul Simon, Neil Young and Donovan, who proved his fellow Scot’s commercial appeal by scoring a number one EP that included his version of Jansch’s Do You Hear Me Now?.
Jansch later joined folk band Pentangle, who quickly became a cult band playing nuanced, lyrical folk tunes fused with rock and blues influences in an era of speaker-busting rock bands like The Who, Cream and Led Zeppelin.
And while the world was listening to the more attention-grabbing power chords of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend, they were listening to the interweaving guitars of Pentangle.
Blackwaterslide
Yardbirds/Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page readily acknowledged Jansch’s influence: "At one point, I was absolutely obsessed with Bert Jansch. When I first heard that first LP of his in 1965, I couldn’t believe it. It was so far ahead of what everyone else was doing. No one in America could touch that."
White Summer/Black Mountain Side by Led Zeppelin
For Neil Young, with an acoustic guitar in hand, Jansch eclipsed even Jimi Hendrix. "As much of a great guitar player as Jimi [Hendrix] was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar… and my favourite." Two years ago, Young invited Jansch to tour with him and the Scot happily accepted.
Ambulance Blues – Neil Young
“That first record of his is epic,” said Young. “I was especially taken by The 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.”
The Needle of Death – Bert Jansch
Jansch’s influence extended beyond his peers to subsequent generations of players, not least Johnny Marr, whose guitar work for The Smiths clearly bears Jansch’s hallmark.
“He completely re-invented guitar playing and set a standard that is still unequalled today – without Bert Jansch, rock music as it developed in the 1960s and 1970s would have been very different,” said Marr. “You hear him in Nick Drake, Pete Townshend, Donovan, The Beatles, Jimmy Page and Neil Young. There are people playing guitar who don’t even realise they’ve been influenced by him one step removed."
Train Song with Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr and Jacqui McShee
Marr later joined Jansch in the recording studio for 2000’s Crimson Moon and subsequently on tour. “He really was the king of the beatnik troubadours and no one ever tried to usurp that,” the former Smiths guitarist said. “As a person he exuded a secret wisdom. Getting to play with him was an absolute privilege.”
“Bert Jansch was a flawless guitar player and from my experience a ‘what you see is what you get’, no frills, staunch fellow with nothing to prove to anyone. He was top of the pile whether he thought so or not,” Graham Coxon of Blur .
Bernard Butler of Suede was another fan/musician to tour with Jansch...
The Riverbank – Bert Jansch with Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler
According to booking agent John Barrow, even the warring Gallagher brothers found common ground through Jansch’s music.
"I've been his agent for just over 10 years and when I met him he was at a low ebb and not really getting the recognition he deserved," Barrow said. "But even at that point he continued playing in a pub in Carnaby Street in London. Even at that time, Liam and Noel Gallagher from Oasis were turning up at that pub to listen to him."
New fans include the likes of Beth Orton, Pete Doherty and Devendra Banhart ensuring that Jansch’s influence will be resonate for decades to come.
All This Remains – Bert Jansch feat. Hope Sandoval
Want more?
Comments
Add a comment