A great reboot for the career of guitar genius Bert Jansch – a record that shows a shift to Cali, as you'd guess from the title – as Bert continues to grow in new directions after the breakup of Pentangle! Although Pentangle was always a group with roots in ancient folk, they always made great use of electricity – and that approach is continued here by Jansch, but in a way that's never slick or commercial – just the right use of electric bass at points, offset with more acoustic elements on guitar, and shifting into some more stripped-down styles that link things up with his pre-Pentangle work. The sound is wonderful – produced by Mike Ne
smith, who really stands aside and lets Bert whine – on titles that include "Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning", "Chambertin", "Travelling Man", "Stone Monkey", "Needle Of Death", "Lady Nothing", "One For Jo", "Open Up The Watergate (Let The Sunshine In), and "The Black
smith". Includes bonus tracks – alter
nate versions of "Open Up The Watergate", "The Black
smith" and "One For Jo", plus "In The Bleak Midwinter". CD is enhanced, featuring the 13+ minute behind the scenes "LA Turnaround. . .The Movie".
(Folk/Country, Rock)