The indefatigable Jansch has been around for so long (he released his first album in 1965) that it might be possible to overlook him. Luckily, however, he's experiencing a surge of renewed hipdom, with the likes of Bernard Butler and Johnny Marr singing his praises much as Jimmy Page and Neil Young did in the past. Edge of a Dream follows 2000's raved-over Crimson Moon, and doesn't suffer by comparison.
Featuring mostly his own songs plus a couple of refurbishments of traditional tunes, it keeps the production simple and allows Jansch's rasping voice and expressive guitar to ring in the open spaces. The supporting cast has been chosen with care, Hope Sandoval contributing a spectral vocal to All This Remains, Butler adding rusty slide guitar to I Cannot Keep From Crying, and fiddler Dave Swarbrick cutting a rug around the guvnor's finger-picking.
