Can't Keep From Crying
March 27, 2015 4:13 PM   Subscribe

John Renbourn, the highly influential English guitar player, and one of the co-founders of Pentangle, has died. There's a nice appreciation from The Guardian here. Farewell, Mr. Renbourn.
posted by talking leaf (30 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
.
posted by Mental Wimp at 4:15 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by evilDoug at 4:18 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by doubtfulpalace at 4:28 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by jabo at 4:30 PM on March 27, 2015


dang.

.
posted by allthinky at 4:55 PM on March 27, 2015


There just aren't enough dots. Shit.
posted by cookie-k at 5:13 PM on March 27, 2015


Very deep respects

.
posted by spitbull at 5:20 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by parki at 5:39 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by Catblack at 5:39 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by motty at 5:48 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by blob at 6:06 PM on March 27, 2015


.

I listened to his The Lady and the Unicorn album nearly every day from 10th-12th grade.

I think I'll introduce my kids to his music tonight.
posted by belladonna at 6:32 PM on March 27, 2015 [2 favorites]


I was lucky enough to see him play up close a couple of times. Amazing musician.

.
posted by tdismukes at 6:35 PM on March 27, 2015


.
Deep respects indeed. For over 40 years I've loved a promotional double-album (his first two solo albums in England) called John Renbourn, sent to U.S. music reviewers in 1973. He was a true master of the guitar.
posted by LeLiLo at 6:53 PM on March 27, 2015


The man was a consummate master of his craft and contributed memorably to music. His death is a great loss.

For those looking for a great introduction to his instrumental work I can highly recommend his collaborations with fellow British-folk guitar wizard Bert Jansch (also sadly passed in recent years) which can be found on the collection After the Dance. Try Bells for a taste. Or, Hole in the Coal (I use an edited excerpt of the latter as a bridge sometimes when programming a playlist on our local radio station.)

I also have a real soft spot for the album he recorded live with Robin Williamson, Wheel of Fortune. (Recommended tracks: "The Snows" or "Matt Highland".)
posted by Nerd of the North at 7:11 PM on March 27, 2015 [2 favorites]


.

An inspired and inspiring musician.
posted by brambleboy at 7:26 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by teponaztli at 7:29 PM on March 27, 2015


pentangle - wedding dress
posted by pyramid termite at 7:44 PM on March 27, 2015


My son's guitar teacher was somber on Monday because his own childhood guitar teacher had died that day, and so has Renbourn.

I am glad of this post so I can share some of the links with my son before next week's lesson.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:52 PM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]


.
posted by the sobsister at 8:06 PM on March 27, 2015


.

Pentangle was a band I always meant to get into and sort of never got around to. But Renbourn was massively influential on many artists I love and his work has enriched the tapestry of my life. I look forward to exploring the links in this thread.
posted by immlass at 9:20 PM on March 27, 2015


.
posted by El Brendano at 3:42 AM on March 28, 2015


I had a chance to hang out with him a few years back, and he was such a nice guy as well as a guitar god.

The old Usenet group, rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic, has always arranged weekends away... rent a large house in the country and sit round drinking decent beer and playing guitar. They'd also try to get a special guest or two, and one year up in Derbyshire it was Renbourn.

He was a blast to have around, as good a player as you'd expect, and had a prodigious ability to drink beer ;-) I will miss him!

.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 6:09 AM on March 28, 2015


.
posted by Archer25 at 7:04 AM on March 28, 2015


.

Renbourn's music--solo, with the Renbourn Group, with Pentangle, and with a who's who of top acoustic guitarists--has been a greatly valued companion for decades.

He is mostly known as a folk and renaissance guitarist but his voice arrangements are also overwhelmingly good, to me anyway. Here are two I was glad to find online. Both of them tear me up every time.

The Wexford Lullaby (12th century). Beware, a few seconds of bizarre untrimmed gibble-gabble at the beginning. Patience.

Traveller's Prayer (Original, and through-composed; each verse has different music.)
posted by jfuller at 7:23 AM on March 28, 2015


.
Back in the early 1990s I sang with a group who wanted to sing Traveller's Prayer. We wrote to his record company asking if there was sheet music available, and Renbourn himself sent us a handwritten score.
posted by Daily Alice at 11:34 AM on March 28, 2015 [3 favorites]


And when I'm in my grave and dead,
And all my sorrows are past and fled,
Transform me then into a fish,
And let me swim in a jug of this.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:11 PM on March 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


.
posted by cleroy at 8:37 PM on March 28, 2015


Oh my goodness, I so remember being introduced to Pentangle by my downstairs neighbor, the same lady who let her dog lap up gold Chablis out of his water bowl. Good times, great music. How I adored that group. RIP, good sir.
posted by Lynsey at 10:37 PM on March 28, 2015


.
posted by On the Corner at 12:55 AM on March 31, 2015


« Older H₂WHOA!   |   Try not to get stuck! Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments