‘Moonshine’ found Bert Jansch at an awkward time of his career. Emerging from the collapse of Pentangle, the folk guitarist picked himself up and delivered a low-key gem, one that seems to capture an era that was fast disappearing.
Spruced up for re-issue by Earth Recordings, it’s a pleasure to dive back into ‘Moonshine’ at the more pristine end of the sonic spectrum. Bert’s fingerpicking has rarely been so clear, the fluid patterns underpinning ‘Night Time Blues’ or ‘Rambleaway’ fluttering through the stereo.
The late folk icon’s voice, too, was rarely as strong. Far from a virtuoso singer, Bert used his voice sparingly, but often effectively – the patient delivery of ‘Yarrow’, for example, or the barked melody lines on ‘Brought With The Rain’.
But it’s more than just a solo piece. In contrast to the sparse nature of those early recordings, ‘Moonshine’ finds Bert Jansch adapting to an ensemble environment. Old Pentangle stalwart Danny Thompson provides elastic bass, while Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks takes the lead on percussion.
‘The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face’ is a dexterous duet with one-time Apple starlet Mary Hopkins, their voices overlapping to emphasise two different styles – the unkempt folk delivery of Jansch, and the sweet pop of Hopkins.
Released in 1973, ‘Moonshine’ arrived just as the folk boom was coming to a definitive end. Pentangle was now a memory, and an unshackled Bert Jansch was able to take his pick from the talent washed onshore by folk’s left field wave. More than just a curiosity, though, ‘Moonshine’ provides remarkable testament to Bert’s dexterity as a musician, his ability to re-interpret traditional forms into something fresh, vivid.
The album’s centrepiece, though, is undoubtedly ‘Night Time Blues’. At seven minutes long it’s the record’s longest cut, matching Thompson’s jazz bass against fluent fiddle from Aly Bain, Bert Jansch allowing lyrics to tumble forth like some Kerouac Impressionist piece. One of only three Jansch written tracks on the record, it provides some of the wisest and most striking lyrics of his career: “What is a night without sleeping, and what is a life without love?”
8/10
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