‘I'M NOT INTO SPACE TRAVEL; IT'S STRANGE REALLY'
It don' b0 her me
Scottish troubadour and axeman extraordinaire Bert Jansch is hotter than hell at the moment. Paul Dale does his best to catch up with him.
t Ina} ha\c takcn him hall a lilctintc to gct lhc
crcdit hc dcscr\ cs hut it sccms llcr‘t .lansch's
momcnt has l'inall} comc around. With his rcccntl) hcstoxxcd Mojo .\lcrit axsard. and richh mcruhclming cpithcts l‘rom |)c\andra llcrnhardt and thc cntirc l'S ncxx l’olk mo\cmcnt and a hurgconing list ol' soundtrack additions. .Iansch sccms. at lhc agc ol ()3. to hc sliding into a (iodlathcr-ish dotagc. .-\nd )‘ct it sccms douhttul that an) ol‘ thcsc accoladcs mattcr to this most scll'—ct'lacing ol~ musicians. With an csccllcnt ncu alhum out this month and \sot'k commitmcnts taking him \\c|| into nc\t _\car. .lansch will not hc p|a_\ing thc hcnign l‘igurchcad ari_\timc soon. lndccd. _\ou‘rc morc likcl) to lind him 'gixing out' his music in thc spirit ol‘ that old lolk_\ .\lar\ist hclict tltat ‘10 scll it is to low _\Ulll' sotll'.
I catch up \sith him a month hcl’orc thc ol‘l'icial rclcasc ol' 'l‘lrt' lilac/t Sim/r. thc alhum hc has rccordcd \sith produccr .\'oah (icorgcson lalso rcsponsihlc l‘or thc production on Banhart's ('rr'p/r/c ('run' and Joanna .\'c\\'som's .lli/k lirt't/ .lloI/u'rl. Banhart also contrihutcs a \ocal to thc rcmarkahlc 'Katic ('rucl‘ \xhilc. clscxshcrc. Bcth ()rton. pcrcussionist/muIti- instrumcntalist ()tto Hauscr tlispcrs. \'cti\crl. l)a\id Rohack t.\la//_\ Start arc among thosc gucsting.
.lansch. a taciturn. monos}llahic. and tor thc most Pill'l. lltlsCl'uhlL‘ tltlL‘l'\lL‘\\ L‘L‘ ;t[itdt\gl\C\ i‘L‘l'tll‘C \\ C :JCI things undcrua). Hc‘s hccn umxcll rcccntl}. so this chat ma) hc slightl} morc miscrahlc than usual. I sigh. tcll him I |o\cd thc alhurn tin a pathctic attcmpt to chccr him up) and ask him it hc‘s happ_\ \sith thc alhurn. ‘Ycah I'm prctt} plcascd: \\ hat I find surprising is. dcspitc thc tact thcrc \\ as so much .-\mcrican imohcmcnt in thc alhurn. thcrc's a lair
40 m5 LIST so: ‘sm:
amount ot' British pcoplc on thcrc too.’
'l‘hc alhurn \\as thrcc )cars in thc making llansch \\ as sick tor a _\car ot‘ thatl. \xhich in\ol\cd a comolutcd s_\ stcm ol~ .\l|’.i c\changc hctuccn lhc Statcs and .lansch making out ol' his homc studio. liithcr \\a_\ thc alhum is a phcnomcnal achicxcrncnt. a
collcction ol‘ tcndcr mcrcics that is casil} onc ol thc
hL‘sl lillllgs ilL‘ hits rclcascd \lllL'L‘ I‘Jh").s /.t'(ll/l('l'
lunm/t'rvrh'. .lansch has a pcr\crsc \sa} \sith alhurn namcs l/t’uwmurjr lum'. 'I'lrt' l)u.‘.‘/urg .S'Ir'turgt'r. and thc ht'illiant Ll 'Iiu‘Humum/l. I ask him \\h;it thc titlc ot‘ his nc\\ onc mcans. llc sccms to hrightcn considcrahl}: “'lhc Black Swan” is lhc opcning song on thc alhum and I just lclt takcn h} this track on man} lc\cls. Basicall}. 'l‘lh' [Hut-A Shun is ahout a spacc ship tra\cl|ing into spacc. But I'm not into spacc traxcl ansmorc than thc mcr‘agc pcrson. it's strangc rcally' I ask him to clucidatc hut hc dcclincs.
So I ask him ahout his imolxcrncnt in \\'il| Hodgkinson's cnjoythlc hook (inrlur .‘ItI/I. an od_\ ssc_\ through thc t'orgottcn guitar hcrocs h} a man \sho \sants to lcarn hoxx to pla} it. 'l’\c t'cad most ol it. I cnio) cd thc hook actuall}. .\lost ot' thc tirnc l spcnt \\l[h Will l \\as just gi\ing him guitar lcssons. llc \sas limit}. and not hall had on thc old guitar h} thc cnd.‘
Quickl} dismissing rumours ot' a l’cntanglc rcunion and continuing that hc \sill hc doing morc \xork \sith Bcrnard Butlcr in thc ncar tuturc. .lansch rounds things tip h} imiting mc to his lidinhurgh gig. and rcassuring mc that it thc com crsation is not lilouing. thc sound ol' an acoustic guitar \\ ill hc.
Tolbooth, Stirling, Fri 25 Aug; St Brides Centre, Edinburgh, Sun 27 Aug.
My Morning Jacket llw
missier lrr‘k het‘.‘.een Neil
Yotltttt . int \‘t'lltkr do their rnattrtaily turret i‘llt;lli(> rook thant; flla‘tf. Nimrod, fr .‘rr Aug}. t/t’et‘k .s‘ Port:
Spies in the Wires Back With a \entteant‘e alter a summer tweak. l tilnhurdh’s top dancetloor ilU' music nexus boasts the charms of rock i)t)(if; the Acute, more lltiltxslltttiilfll‘. trorn De Rosa, turntahle ahurze trorn Does; It ()ttend You. Yeah” and a hack roorn Arreoke arr guitar (:ot'irretltloh thrown in lot good measure (,‘aht'iret Volta/re. ldrnhuruh. lhu :51 Aug). Week {a} For);
Rolling Stones and The Charlatans Mick. Keel. Ronnie and ()harlre head haek into town to rernrnd us why old lags never die; they lust top up their pensron funds; wrth the (:ash from three l()lil(lklll() good live shows. Ham/Men Park. Glasgow. / rr . ’5) Aug. (Ht rek é: Pop;
Joe Viterbo, Dick Dangerous and the Love Bastards and The Des Moines Riot One trtne Newtown Grunt Joe rnlxes up ska. punk. ram and whatever the bloody hell he fancies. Banner/trans, r’d/nhu/gh, Sat 26 Aug. r/l’omk' 8 Pop)
Juana Molina lhe J)razrlran loll< chanteuse returns to make up for her cancelled shows during lrrptych earlier this year. Mono. Glasgow. fire 29 Aug. (Hock 8 Pop;
Indian Summer The Yeah Yeah Yeahs may top the bill but it's the kind of intimate festival where the overall line up leaves you feeling a bit spoilt. See feature. page 9. Victoria Park, G/asgow. Sat 2 a Sun 3 Sop. Week 8. Pop)
Valery Ponomarev International Quartet A four-night reSIdenCy for the wrdely celebrated New York trumpeter. who played with Art Blakey among others. The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Thu 24—Sun 27 Aug. (Jazz;