CRIMSON MOON

The first of the "appreciation of Bert Jansch by younger fans" albums, Crimson Moon, recorded at Bert's new digital home recording studio in 2000, is a warm, mellow, and extremely atmospheric album that conjures up images of Scotland (Caledonia), lovelorn ex lovers (Crimson Moon and Looking for Love) and a few good old tales of murder (the traditional song Omie Wise). There's even a rare comment from Bert about the ecology on the song Neptune's Daughter, about a mermaid-like woman who relates the tales of her dead relatives that were killed by a black plague (an oil slick that poisons their ocean.)

What makes Crimson Moon different from other later era Jansch albums is the more liberal use of electric guitar played by Jansch himself along with guests like Johnny Hodge and Bernard Butler. There's no "shred fests" going on here, but it is a welcome change from Jansch's amazing run of acoustic guitar based albums up until this point. The electrics help to add mood and texture to the ever present acoustics. As others have stated, Jansch has nothing more to prove in regard to his guitar playing skills, but has focused on his songwriting, which has always been his strong suit when he's been inspired. And it seems that the appreciation of younger artists like Johnny Marr and Beth Orton has done just that with his compositions on Crimson Moon. Not an essential for Jansch fans, but Crimson Moon is quite an enjoyable and easy listen. 3 stars.