Aktion	Zweigstelle	Standorte	Status	Frist	Vorbestellungen
Vorbestellen	Zweigstelle: 17., Hormayrg. 2	Standorte: CD.09 Jans / 70er	Status: Verfügbar	Frist:	Vorbestellungen: 0

All of the songs are written by Jansch (with "Wishing Well" co-written with Anne Briggs) and while this still qualifies as a British folk album he is definitely playing the blues more than we usually find on such albums. The most atypical track on "Birthday Blues" is the opening song, "Come Sing Me a Happy Song to Prove We All Can Get Along the Lumpy, Bump" (the title should prove it. This is a cheerful little tune, followed by the melancholy "The Bright New Year," which is closer to the mark. The two best blues tracks on the album are "I've Got a Woman" (at 5:15 this is a very long track for Jansch), while the title track is actual one of those songs that reminds you of the Renaissance.

I always look forward to the instrumental tracks on these albums, because first and foremost Jansch is one of the premier guitar-pickers of his generation. On this one that would be "Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell," "Birthday Blues," and "Blues." "Poison" is the other album that made it to the "Best of Bert Jansch" collection. The other thing that stands out on this album is that there are a couple of tracks that remind me of other groups. "A Woman Like You" has a Doors sound to it and "Promised Land" definitely reminds me of Jethro Tull, which is rather a surprise. That might be why I ended up rounding up on this one, but even when I do not like his music choices I have always enjoyed listening to Jansch play.

Lawrance M. Bernabo