Release Date: 22 April 2017
Label: Riverboat
Packaging Type: Gate Fold Vinyl
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 605633009545
Genres: Folk English Folk
Release Date: 09 September 2016
Label: Riverboat
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 605633009521
Genres: Folk English Folk
Description
Recorded shortly before legendary folk musician and Pentangle guitarist John Renbourn's death in March 2015, this landmark album brings together two of the most important and influential acoustic guitarists of our era. Great friends for over 50 years and regular playing partners for the last two years of John's life, their mutual respect and musical understanding shines through these historic recordings.
2LP Gatefold Edition which includes 4 exclusive vinyl-only tracks
Includes a FREE download card allowing you to download the full album
Includes sleeve notes by long-time fan, journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides
Reviews:
"This charming, effortlessly classy album is the final recording by John Renbourn...Here he's enjoying himself with an old friend, and their collaborations on Jansch's Strolling Down the Highway or the instrumental title track are a delight." - **** The Guardian
"Playing with a joy, skill, and passion that unequivocally shows they were both still on top of their game." - **** MOJO
"The pair are in fine voice, their guitar work impeccable, their mutual love and respect undeniable." - **** Shindig!
"The playing (Jones the fist to Renbourn's velvet glove) is emphatic throughout, never more so than on the title track, a surging early Bert Jansch instrumental." - (7/10) Uncut
Description
The thirteen songs on 'Joint Control' wonderfully captures these two great artists and consummate guitarists performing together live and in the studio. The album is all the more poignant because it represents the final recordings by John Renbourn, the final tracks made just days before his death on 26 March 2015.
At the time of John's death, 'Joint Control' was almost entirely finished. The pair had been working together since the start of the year in a small studio, about an hour from John's Hawick home. Alongside the sheer artistry of their playing you can't but escape the warmth of the camaraderie permeating these performances. Most of the songs are drawn from a repertoire honed through their touring together since 2012; the only original composition, Wizz's instrumental "Balham Moon", was recorded at the insistence of John, who also gave it a title.
Of course, many of the songs date back to that extraordinary period of the 1960s when Wizz and John first met, reflecting the ideas and techniques that were shared by all the young British pickers and the influences which neither Wizz nor John would have hesitated to acknowledge - Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Josh White and Davy Graham.
As much as 'Joint Control' is steeped in the celebrated history that its two participants shared, these genuinely historic recordings also sound utterly fresh and contemporary. John and Wizz had only rarely appeared on record together in the past. John produced (and played a little) on Wizz's 1972 album 'Right Now', as well as on 2011's 'Lucky the Man' so we can be particularly thankful that these recordings were made.
As Peter Paphides concludes: "Joint Control is a fitting testament to two musicians who never forgot the spirit of joy and exploration which made them pick up their instruments in the first place; two fires of more than fifty years standing. We're very fortunate that they managed to capture it in time."
Tracklisting
Tracklisting
Steve Tilston
Various Artists
Steve Tilston
A.G.A Trio
Ben Aylon
Don Kipper
Sangit
She'Koyokh
Eliza Carthy & Ben Seal
Jon Doran & The Northern Assembly
The Home Service
Nick Harper
Banter
Mat Green & Andy Turner
Leon Rosselson
Various Artists
