Search - Bert Jansch :: Edge of a Dream

Enjoyable if undistinguished

Jerome Clark | Canby, Minnesota | 03/06/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Edge of a Dream is a pleasant excursion and by no means a bad record. On the other hand, it isn't an especially inspired one, either. Except for the chilling "Bright Sunny Morning" -- of September 11, 2001 -- there is little to distinguish Bert Jansch's originals from others that he's done before and better. The traditional blues "I Cannot Keep from Crying" has been in his repertoire for a long time, and Richard Farina's "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood," never much of a song to start with, finds no new depth of meaning in Loren Jansch's vocal. I defy anyone to figure out what "Joy" is supposed to be about, beyond some vaguely hippie/New-Age musing about a time, undocumented by history, when "love was lord of all." Yes, it's a great melody, but you can thank Irish tradition for that. Still and all, if you like Bert Jansch -- I've been a fan since the late 1960s -- you'll forgive Edge's shortcomings. Jansch's wonderful guitar playing and charmingly eccentric singing will carry the day for at least the hard-core fan. In the end what's important is that Jansch is back in the game. We can all be grateful for that as we look forward to his next and, we hope, more rewarding album."

Bert Jansch continues to amaze

jeffery | usa | 12/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The second cd of work to come out of Bert's home studio. Recorded produced and engineered by the man himself. The sound is more uniformed and has transparent depth that Crimson Moon lacked. This album runs smoother. "Sweet Death" ranks up with the best of his work. The guest artists are top notch and sit well with Jansch's playing most notable Hope Sandoval. One can only hope for a full length collaboration between these two. A nod to Dave Swarbrick as well, whom Bert mentions in the notes they do plan to work togather again soon.After Crimson Moon this new record is positive proof that Jansch is in a major creative up swing. I would expect the momentum to continue for some time given his fitfull new roll of the "do it yourself" musician. He is truly amazing."

Build Another Bland

Chris Holmes | Corfu, Greece | 06/29/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Bert's Yamaha sounding mellow and true as ever. That said, "Edge" is an album for the collector, not for the fan with any expectations. We're getting used to these Jansch family productions: son Adam on reliable bass, wife Loren's vocals transforming otherwise routine songs.Sweet Death: teamed (at last) with the incomparable Dave Swarbrick whose bow the the notable Mark O'Connor has yet to prove worthy to rosin.I Cannot Keep From Crying: bless him, but Bert can be one of the great non-interpreters of others' songs - Hardin's 'Carpenter', 'Singing the Blues' - and it's happened here. OK, I'm under the spell of Davy Graham's stunning and jaunty treatment, but I found Bert's dull and soul-less to the point of genius. As clearly did 2nd guitar Bernard Butler, whose leaden slide work makes one yearn for the glass bottle effect of the much-missed Bobby Barton.La Luna: In his cover notes Bert admits to Johnny Hodge possibly not believing that he'd ever record this. Nor can we, and the result leaves us ever baffled. Even Pentangle at its best, with McShee at her tunefulest, would have been pushed to make sense of this elusive ditty. Black Cat Blues: a Paul Wassif on slide guitar, achieving the almost impossible, of clogging a potentially decent tune with expert sludge. Bright Sunny Morning: a clearly sincere reaction to the Sept 11 horror, so I need to tread carefully. This is possibly one of the most shy-making offerings to make disk. To quote even one line would appear cruelly satirical. Yes it's heartfelt and sincere, but boy the imagery is mawkish and embarrassing past description. This is an Emperor's Clothing album that devoted fans like me will buy and try hard to love."