THE LADY AND THE UNICORN

You have probably heard that nobody has heard what music actually sounded like before rudimentary recording was possible, and while JOHN RENBOURN on "The Lady and the Unicorn" makes a notable effort at approximating pre Renaissance fare, I daresay it never sounded quite this sterile. I would imagine chickens and street people formed the initial backing band, whereas Renbourn's attempts appear to emanate from a soundproofed castle chamber that even the red death couldn't penetrate, but I'm mixing time slots here.

Finally Renbourn goes full olde world so this is much more integrated than the oddly structured "Sir John alot of.." The album consists of a set of short dances that are paired up with a compatible partner as befits a good instructor. All of these are at least pretty, with the opener's "Saltarello" (always a failproof choice), the sitar and glockenspiel driven "Lamento di Tristan/Las Rotta", and the courtly "Bransle De Bourgogne" emerging especially triumphant. If Gryphon had just not sung on their debut, and remembered to take off their corsets, it might have been half this good. I'd be negligent if I didn't also give props to the closing medley that is primarily a version of "Scarborough Fare" for those who wish the monster S&G hit from a few years prior had been longer and more instrumental.

I don't necessarily expect the contents of an album to all be of a certain style, but in this case Renbourn has combined not dissimilar tunes synergistically which elevates all above the sum of their parts, and encourages a gentlemanly upgrade to 4 stars.