This week's reissued CDs reviewed

BERT JANSCH

LA Turnaround EMI ****

The connection between Blur and British folk mightn't seem such an obvious one, yet Graham Coxon's latest solo album, The Spinning Top, pays touching tribute to Glaswegian Bert Jansch – one of the linchpins of the British folk boom of the 1960s, and until recently one of that movement's almost forgotten figures. Previously unavailable on CD, this reissue from 1974 (together with 1975's Santa Barbara Honeymoonand 1977's A Rare Conundrum) had Jansch's then new record label, Charisma, team him with former Monkee Mike Nesmith, whose predilection for classy country rock infused the singer's somewhat skeletal folk compositions with a fuller Americana sound. There are many lovely moments across the three albums, but the peach is LA Turnaround, which – while it gave Jansch purists at the time major cause for concern – has blossomed over time into a record of subtle folk/roots beauty. www.bertjansch. com

Download tracks: Of Love and Lullaby, Needle of Death