John Renbourn - A Maid in Bedlam

This disc features the bell-clear vocals of Jacqui McShee, Renbourn's former colleague in the Folk-Jazz outfit, Pentangle, along with musicians who play flute, fiddle, mandolin, and tabla (Yes! Indian tabla!), all of whom are extraordinary in their own right. The band's playing is crisp and clear throughout.

Highlights include the following: "Black Waterside" (which Led Zeppelin once recorded instrumentally under the title "Black Mountainside"). This song is intriguing in that it explores the jilted lover concept from the woman's point of view, which was very unusual in medieval times; "A Maid in Bedlam", which features a simultaneously melodic and rhythmic melody accompanying lyrics about a woman in an insane asylum. This song is the most likely to catch your ear. It may even be considered the first medieval English rap song; "Talk About Suffering", a four-part acappella church song with heartfelt lyrics, encouraging Christians to put their beliefs into action.

There are other, equally excellent songs, on this CD, which may actually interest not only English Folk Music purists, but also (believe it or not) people who enjoy Heavy Metal and Classic Rock. The reason is that the scales used in this music are very similar to those employed in some Heavy Metal music (witness Yngwie Malmsteen and Ritchie Blackmore), and Classic Rock groups like Jethro Tull have tread this ground over and over for years. Other people will just appreciate this disc's gorgeous melodies and classy musicianship. "A Maid in Bedlam" is simply terrific.

The musical style is consistent throughout the album and I like it very much--acoustic, earthy sound, moving rythyms, great singing. The female voices are high and sweet, the male voices are earthy and enjoyable. Listen to some of the samples--if you like one, you'll like the others.

When this first came out on vinyl, I listened to the LP over and over again and spent many hours working on the rythyms in the guitar parts. They're unusual and very rich.

Of course, I'll buy the CD now.

While the tabla adds an Eastern sound to the music, this is traditional British folk music at its finest. The opening cut is the traditional "Black Waterside" arranged by Renbourn with a heavenly vocal provided by McShee. [Along with Sandy Denny, McShee is my favorite British female vocalist.] Other standouts include the title track (another McShee vocal), "John Barleycorn," "Reynardine" and a stunning a cappella rendition of "Talk About Suffering." [If you are not deeply moved by that song, you might want to check your pulse...there's a good chance you're dead!]

The John Renbourn Group went on to record two more albums (with John Molineux replacing Sue Draheim), but if you can only afford one, this is it. There is not a weak track on the album. ESSENTIAL