I understand bands and musicians spend a lot of time deciding how to sequence their music on any LP. So, it is most unusual to find an LP kick off with an instrumental. But in John’s case was it unusual? You sense, with his ability with the guitar, that perhaps he was more comfortable playing the instrument than he was singing? Certainly ‘Judy’, the name of his first wife and the opening track on here, is a good flavour of what is to come.
He excelled in a finger picking style of playing the guitar and it is evident immediately and more so as you get drawn into this LP. Anyone learning to play would need a number of lessons before they came anywhere near to the ability on display here.
A founder member of the group ‘Pentangle’ with friend and patriot Bert Jansch, with whom he lived in London, he excelled at the acoustic guitar and it shines through on every track. There is an excellent web site which was all his own work, left in the state it was when he passed away as a moving memory to John. It is well worth a read which provides a biography of life, music, ambitions and achievements. More than I can hope to provide here including a nice summary of this LP.
