Sir John Alot [UK Bonus Tracks]

• Artist: John Renbourn
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1968
• Genre: Folk

Review

An instrumental album (originally called Sir John Alot of Merrie England) featuring Renbourn with his Pentangle bandmate Terry Cox on percussion and Ray Warleigh on flute. Originally released in England in 1968, the same year that Pentangle started to record, Sir John Alot was steeped largely in English folk music. Highlights include "The Trees They Do Grow High" (aka "Long A-Growing"), solo guitar miniatures such as "Lady Goes to Church," the epic "Morgana," with its sharply nuanced tempo and timbre changes, and the sprightly "My Dear Boy." Some parts of this album are surprisingly contemporary-sounding, such as the bluesy "Transformation," which sounds like "What'd I Say" transposed for acoustic guitar and African drums; "White Fishes," which veers dangerously close to quoting George Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" and Rodgers & Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things"; and "Sweet Potato," which sounds like a folk-rock song without words, even as Renbourn quotes "Satisfaction" at one point. [The U.K. release includes bonus tracks.] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
The Earle of Salisbury	William Byrd	John Renbourn	(1:25)
The Trees They Do Grow High	Traditional	John Renbourn	(3:37)
Lady Goes to Church	John Renbourn	John Renbourn	(2:56)
Morgana	John Renbourn	John Renbourn	(7:30)
Transfusion	Charles Lloyd	John Renbourn	(2:02)
Forty Eight	Terry Cox, John Renbourn	John Renbourn	(2:56)
My Dear Boy	John Renbourn	John Renbourn	(1:21)
White Fishes	John Renbourn, Ray Warleigh	John Renbourn	(2:44)
Sweet Potato	Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper	John Renbourn	(3:23)
Seven Up	Terry Cox, John Renbourn	John Renbourn	(3:50)
The Earle of Salisbury [Alternative Take 4][#][*]	William Byrd	John Renbourn	(1:23)
Transfusion [Alternate Take 2][#][*]	Charles Lloyd	John Renbourn	(1:59)
Forty Eight [Alternate Take 1][#][*]	John Renbourn, Terry Cox	John Renbourn	(2:42)

Credits

Steve Hammonds (Project Coordinator), Colin Harper (Liner Notes), Becky Stewart (Reissue Design), Nathan Joseph (Producer), Kieran Bracken (Photography), Brian Shuel (Photography), Antony Amos (Project Coordinator), John Wood (Engineer)