Bert Jansch is probably best known as a member of Pentangle, the legendary
British acoustic folk-blues-jazz group. He and John Renbourn (the other
guitar in Pentangle) developed picking styles so complex that they became
known as "folk baroque". Angie appears on Bert s first solo album, which
was originally released on Transatlantic records. I have the American
release, on Vanguard VSD-79212, called "Lucky Thirteen".
Bert was highly influential in the early British folk scene. Donovan Leitch
was so in awe of him that there are songs called "Bert s Blues" and "House
of Jansch" on early Donovan albums. It is not clear whether Paul Simon
learned Angie from Bert or from Dave Graham, although it *is* known that
album (and before the electrification of "The Sounds Of Silence").
Some differences in Simon s version: I believe Paul uses three-note chords
in Part C1 rather than two-note ones. Something like:
and so forth. Also, his picking on the B string in Part A seems less
intricate and more fluid, e.g. the first measure goes something like:
PART A (4/4) |
0h10|
222|
|
00|
33|
As far as Part D goes, it is not widely known that this is actually a quote
from another song, called The Work Song. I have this on GNP-Crescendo #86,
"There s A Meetin Here Tonight" by Joe & Eddie. The first verse and chorus
lyrics are:
Breakin up big rocks on the chain gang,
Breakin rocks and soothin my time.
Breakin up big rocks on the chain gang,
Oh Lord I committed a crime.
Hold it steady right there while I hit it
I reckon that ought to get it.
Been workin , I been workin ,
And I still got so terrible long to go.
I highly recommend digging out this obscure gem and listening to it for
a deeper understanding of the possibilities inherent in Part D. It s
attributed to Nate Adderly & Oscar Brown Jr., so really Angie ought to have
their names on it as well.
I ve always been fond of Angie because it was the first song I learned to
play on the guitar. Yeah, I know. I was too young and stupid to know any
better ... :-)
Oh yes, if you have big hands, it s possible to fret the bass string with your
thumb (wrapped around the neck). Personally, I only do this for the F.
