Album Review: A Man I'd Rather Be, (Part 1) [Box Set] by Bert Jansch

North London's Earth Recordings has in a very short time, become one of the premier reissue labels for its quality packages. A Man I'd Rather Be, Pt. 1 is actually their third Bert Jansch archival project, the first two being Living in the Shadows, Pts. 2 & 3 that cataloged the guitarist's often forgotten '90s and 2000s sides for richly deserved reappraisal.

Full Review >>

In the UK, the undisputed leading name of this early 60's folk boom was Bert Jansch . If stature was calculated according to scale of influence, Jansch would be a huge star, having gone on to inspire not only contemporary songwriters ala Roy Harper , John Martyn and Nick Drake but also the likes of Johnny Marr , Graham Coxon and Jim Ghedi , and even Led Zeppelin . First of two new box sets repackaging Jansch's 60's run of albums, A Man I'd Rather Be (Part 1) revisits the key records that Jansch's enduring cult is built on.

Full Review >>

A Man I'd Rather Be (Part One) **** A Man I'd Rather Be (Part Two) **** After last year's two-volume collection Living In The Shadows -covering Bert Jansch's final six albums, plus bonuses - those arbiters of acoustic taste, Earth, have set themselves the task of providing a first bookend to match. Part One of A Man I'd Rather Be gathers bright and clean sounding pressings of his albums from 1965-66, while the second of the four-disc sets takes us up to 1973. Happily, Earth have shown the same love and care they've applied to his catalogue so far, housing them in sturdy, handsome packaging with unseen photos and revealing sleevenotes.

Full Review >>