John Renbourn - The Best of John Renbourn (1996)

This compilation provides an excellent overview of John Renbourn's recording career up to The Hermit (1976), showcasing his ability to balance tradition and studied technique with an innovative, adventurous sensibility. Jesse Fuller, Big Bill Broonzy, and Ramblin' Jack Elliot were among Renbourn's earliest muses, inspiring folk-blues explorations like the Appalachian tune "Winter Is Gone," from his 1965 self-titled solo debut. In addition to American music, Renbourn also drew on the sounds of Alexis Korner and Davey Graham; their influence began to manifest itself particularly on his 1966 record with Bert Jansch, Bert and John, which blended folk and blues with jazz. The guitar duets from that release appearing on the present compilation nicely capture what critics called Renbourn and Jansch's "folk Baroque" sound. The collaboration with Jansch led to the formation of the Pentangle and Renbourn's Another Monday (1966) featured his first recordings with that band's eventual singer, Jacqui McShee; of these, "Can't Keep From Crying" is included here. The medieval and Renaissance orientation of 1968's Sir John Alot of Merrie Englandes Musyk Thyng and Ye Grene Knyghte proved influential among new age Celtic musicians; however, that album is represented by a more bluesy track featuring African percussion, "Sweet Potato." Renbourn's sitar playing brings non-western nuances also to "The Cuckoo," from Faro Annie (1971). That record saw him revisit his folk-blues roots, re-enlisting an old collaborator, American gospel singer Dorris Henderson, whose vocal contributions help make "White House Blues" one of this collection's standouts. As a selection of work from 1965 to 1976, which also includes several Pentangle tracks, The Best of John Renbourn offers a solid introduction to his music. Above all, it attests to Renbourn's range as a writer and a performer, making the inadequacy of the catchall tag "folk guitarist" very apparent.

Tracklist:

01. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
02. The Hermit
03. White House Blues
04. The Wildest Pig in Captivity
05. Country Blues
06. Train Tune
07. Can't Keep From Crying
08. After the Dance
09. Lord Franklin
10. Sweet Potato
11. Beth's Blues
12. Winter Is Gone
13. I Know My Babe
14. Kokomo Blues
15. The Cuckoo
16. Faro's Rag
17. Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
18. Nobody's Fault But Mine
19. Sally Go Round the Roses
20. Debbie Anne
21. Piano Tune
22. So Clear