THE BLACK BALLOON

Yikes, another solo acoustic guitar opus made for other guitarists, in the vein of "The Hermit"? Well, no, because "The Black Balloon" sets out a front row seat for flautist TONY ROBERTS on the two longest tracks, with the trad/arr "The Mist Covered Mountains" medley probably the high point of the disk. But even when Renbourn frets away the rest of the album by his lonesome, he doles out cheerful virtuosity in abundance, particularly on "The Pelican" (with acoustic guitar so intimate it sounds plugged in at half current) and "The English Dance".

This was around the time that the Brit folk rock influence was waning, but also when GORDON GILTRAP hit the UK top 20 with "Heartsong", one of the more unlikely hits of that decade, so there was some latitude for projects of this ilk. Not that Renbourn cared a whit about external validation, yet somehow he seems extra happy to be communicating in a more universally coherent language than on "The Hermit", which makes "The Black Balloon" a classic instrumental work and the best of his solo, duo and group efforts to that point.

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