Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Hello Old Thing, Hello New Thing: 41

Bert Jansch: Baby Blue (Charisma, 1975)
From Bert's - Bert! Why aren't there any pop stars called Bert anymore? - second album for Chrisma, this is a blatant stab at radio friendly niceness. It's so 1975 it actually hurts, but in a good way. From the Maggie May-like intro, to the Motownish piano, it is a work of sunshine, cheese-cloth 'n' flares wonder. Bert's voice may not be to all tastes, but the sentiment is one we can all love. "Strollin' down the high street, I see passers by, shopping at the markets with flowers you buy..." Actually, that doesn't make any sense, does it? But, no matter when the tune is this lovable. This is from a reissue of an album called Santa Barbara Honeymoon. The new, extended version doesn't exist on the intersquizz yet. But it's due out in June.


Balmorhea: March 4, 1831 (Western Vinyl, 2009)
I've only just picked up this Balmorhea record. When I say "picked it up", I mean take it off the shelves where I keep all the bits that come through the door every day, and actually play it. And I really like it. It's a little like Epic45 - *sighs* - if they came from Death Valley rather than Staffordshire. So it's almost completely instrumental, mainly acoustic, impressionisist folk-a-doodle-do a-go-go. They also have the crucial element of reminding me ever so slightly of the Red House Painters which means I sort of love them a lot already. Classic emotional transference. Sad, really. Anyway, this is from an album called All is Wild, All is Silent which is out end of June. I'm really doing the serious plugging today, eh?

3 comments:

Fire Escape said...

I used to call Brett Anderson "Bert". Well, not to his face, as I never met the arse-slapping fop; if I ever did meet him, I expect I would assault him with some of the rawer words from the Anglo-Saxon lexicon.

Rob said...

He'd love that, FE. Nothing gets old "Bert"'s weary bones going like a healthy spray of ear-shrinking invenctive...

Rob said...

Or "invective". Although, you could argue that "invenctive" is just imaginative swearing, eh? I might start using that...