Renbourn John - The Lady And The Unicorn

Artist:Renbourn John
Album: The Lady And The Unicorn
Year: 1971
Genre:Neo-classical, Traditional folk
Country:United Kingdom

John Renbourn (born August 8, 1944, Marylebone, London, England) is an English guitarist and songwriter.While most commonly labelled a folk musician, Renbourn's musical tastes and interests take in early music, classical music, blues and world music.Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, John Renbourn alternated albums by the Pentangle and duet records with his longtime partner Bert Jansch with small-scale, somewhat experimental solo records. 1971's instrumental THE LADY AND THE UNICORN blends Renbourn's extraordinary six and 12-string acoustic guitars with subtle flute, violin, tasteful sitar, and hand percussion.

THE LADY AND THE UNICORN is part early music (the opening "Trotto" and "Saltarello"), part traditional English ballad (the closing medley incorporates "My Johnny Was a Shoemaker" and "Scarborough Fair"), and part jazz and world-tinged Renbourn originals. These eight tunes are flawlessly played, with enough humor and grace that Renbourn's ample chops are never the main attraction. THE LADY AND THE UNICORN should be of interest to Renbourn's usual folk audience and to fans of early and Renaissance-era music.

Personnel: John Renbourn (guitar, sitar); Dave Swarbrick (violin); Don Harper (viola); Tony Roberts, Ray Warleigh (flute); Len Nicholson (concertina); Terry Cox (hand drums, glockenspiel).

"...a beautiful instrumental record...a variety of short songs, medieval pieces and early classical things done with guitar, flute, violin, and even a trace of sitar...The selection of timeless, haunting, exquisite medieval and renaissance music on this album will truly transport you to another time and place"