Following
the tentative direction of 'Another Monday' I suppose this is in the
half-and- half department. If not exactly hedging the bets at least
a gradual easing in. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight sink a few on
the Southside. But this time a real studio, Sound Techniques in Chelsea
with engineer John Wood. And one big production number featuring a
cast of six or seven. Side A comprised mainly of jazzy/bluesy material,
some with hand drum played by Terry Cox who together with Danny had
been in Alexis's band and moonlighted down at the Cousins and now
completed the Pentangle lineup. And side B was more renaissancey/medievally
sounding with folk tunes arranged somewhat in that vein.
Ostensibly
quite a breakthrough, although for me they were ideas had been on
the go for quite a while. Before my involvement in folk and blues
in fact. Anyway, 'Sir Johnalot' caused a few ripples, influencing
fledgling new-agers and proto Celtic- revivalists alike. Warner Brothers
soon picked it up thus making it 'under ground' and later
Windham
Hill took it on board thereby conferring full new-age status. I heard
a story that it was William de Kooning's favourite record. Or at least
that he relentlessly subjected some of his followers to it side after
side at an all day paint-in. So I like to think that it changed the
course of western visual art as well. The musicians involved were
all great players and included Ray Warleigh, Roddy Skeeping and David
Munrow.
- John Renbourn
An
instrumental album (originally called Sir John Alot of Merrie England)
featuring Renbourn with his Pentangle bandmate Terry Cox on percussion
and Ray Warleigh on flute. Originally released in England in 1968,
the same year that Pentangle started to record, Sir John Alot was
steeped largely in English folk music. Highlights include "The
Trees They Do Grow High" (aka "Long A-Growing"), solo
guitar miniatures such as "Lady Goes to Church," the epic
"Morgana," with its sharply nuanced tempo and timbre changes,
and the sprightly "My Dear Boy." Some parts of this album
are surprisingly contemporary-sounding, such as the bluesy "Transformation,"
which sounds like "What'd I Say" transposed for acoustic
guitar and African drums; "White Fishes," which veers dangerously
close to quoting George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So"
and Rodgers & Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things"; and
"Sweet Potato," which sounds like a folk-rock song without
words, even as Renbourn quotes "Satisfaction" at one point.
- Bruce Eder (AMG)
