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Friday, October 07, 2011

3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011
Only learnt yesterday of the passing of Bert Jansch. Guess the noise about Steve Jobs overshadowed it....of whom my favourite quote amongst the hagiography came @serafinowicz who tweeted,
"I hope in Jobs' will he instructs Apple to give all the assembly
workers in China decent wages & conditions. (Sent
from my iPhone)."

This is the problem with eulogising Jobs, he was visionary in his products but not in his manufacturing. Outsourcing might be standard but it's part of the mess the West is in..................

......very sad news as Bert was one of my earliest heroes. Master guitarist and composer of one of the best songs ever about Heroin in 'The Needle of Death'. I don't usually post vids that aren't the artist performing but this one is the exception as I can't find any of him doing this classic song........working in the field of addiction it haunts me........still


Here I re-post his excellent set from Albany New York last year in tribute to an often overlooked master

R.I.P Bert Jansch '43-'11

"The River Bank" Bert with Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler on Later with Jools, 2000




Johnny Marr talks about Bert Jansch.....tribute indeed


Johnny & Bert "It Don't Bother Me"


From the profile TV programme Dreamweaver Bert does 'Reynardine'

Update: nice tribute article here from NPR NPR's Brilliant Guitarist Bert Jansch: An Appreciation

............and finally, for Bert, I have rummaged around down by the Castle Keep and found what I thought was a discarded rusty dusty tin box that had this in it. This is Bert Jansch from 'Bomber' Harris' BBC Radio 1 show back in 1993 several songs plus interview and if you do nothing else today listen to 'Rambling Boys of Pleasure' it will stop you in your tracks and haunt you forever.........

Through the ages, man's desires
To free his mind, to release his very soul
Has proved to all who live
That death itself is freedom for evermore

Go well, Bert we shall miss you

1 comment:

  1. Lovely work again Swappers. I first discovered Bert through Pentangle but somehow failed to follow up on his solo work back then. Fortunately I rectified that eventually. "Jack Orion" is just amazing and the stuff he did in the last decade or so too. It was great the NY gave him that exposure however belatedly. RIP Bert.

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