Another nice contribution from Bluebeard that lay on my hd for too long, this event was organised by Ralph McTell in aid of the samaritans.
McTell opens the show with one of his typical melancholy songs, followed by the rather inoffensive humor of singer/comedian Earl Okin. With flamenco virtuoso Juan Martin the album finally gets down to business, his solo pieces and the choro Martin plays in duet with Okin are beautiful.
In the second half of the concert, the "stars" come out on stage.
Bert Jansch was at a low point of his career, the drinking more excessive than ever, his albums slick mainstream affairs. He had just opened a guitar shop to earn a little extra money and would soon take part in the reactivation of Pentangle. But, as was usually the case with Jansch, his playing hardly suffered from his drinking and his contribution, though a little ragged, is worth adding to every fan's collection. "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is of course the perfect song considering these circumstances, while his expressive singing on "Is It Real" is truly moving. Finally, Bert and Ralph jam a little on "Anji". Given the songs status as THE instrumental piece of the British folk revival, i doubt this required any rehearsal.
For the last tracks, McTell has John Williams with him on stage, adding nice, classically flavoured embellishments. Since many of McTell's studio albums suffered from over-production, hearing him live is the perfect way to really value his qualities as a singer and songwriter.
Ralph McTell, Earl Okin, Juan Martin, Bert Jansch & John Williams: Just Guitars
CBS 25946, 1983
01 Ralph McTell - Clown
02 Earl Okin - If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight
03 Earl Okin - Mango
04 Juan Martin - Desire Caught By The Tail
05 Juan Martin - Weeping Woman
06 Juan Martin & Earl Okin - Choro
07 Bert Jansch - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer
08 Bert Jansch - Is It Real
09 Bert Jansch & Ralph McTell - Anji
10 Ralph McTell - Mr Connaughton
11 Ralph McTell & John Williams - Song For Martin
12 Ralph McTell & John Williams - Streets Of London
A Concert of Guitar Music in aid of The Samaritans, recorded live on December 18th, 1982 at the Barbican Centre.
5 comments:
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Holy smokes, I didn't know about this record at all. Looks tasty, thanks!
With the exception of Earl Okin's solo tunes, I enjoyed this from top to bottom. Not a "desert island" album or anything, but enjoyable nonetheless. These kind of "parade of stars" efforts often suffer a bit from a lack of continuity and a lack of opportunity for anyone to really dig into their catalog IMO but as is the case here, it's usually for a good cause.
...oh, and of course, thank you for the opportunity to hear this!
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