If you went to see Bert Jansch play live, what would you want to hear? Well, a good many on your list are probably also on this collection of 23 tracks recorded at a gig in Sheffield.
Jansch’s guitar playing is superb throughout (sometimes it’s difficult to believe there is only one person on stage) but his voice has never been the loveliest of instruments and it wasn’t having the best of nights here. Occasionally it sounds as though an army of tadpoles are hatching in his throat, one after the other. He’s also not entirely word perfect; there’s some very distinct la-la-laing during The Lily Of The West and Oh My Father, for example. But that’s live performance for you, and his voice gets better as it warms up, until everything gels to perfection on Trouble In Mind.
Many of the mishaps might pass unnoticed were it not for the superb recording, mixing, editing and mastering by Roger Lomas (this is among the clearest live material you’ll ever hear). To round things off, the packaging is a delight, with a superbly designed and lettered sleeve.
