Few figures were as instrumental to the British folk music revival as John Renbourn, whose guitar style incorporated influences from Celtic, jazz, pop, R&B, and beyond. As one-fifth of Pentangle, he and his bandmates expanded the possibilities of a folk-infused combo with odd time signatures, lengthy instrumental passages, and a repertoire that spanned decades, genres, and forms. But even before forming Pentangle, Renbourn had stunned audiences and listeners with his unique approach to the guitar, eventually earning the nickname "the stoned Julian Bream of folk guitar" from Zig Zag founder and historian Pete Frame.

Now, his '60s recordings have been collected in one box set -- Unpentangled: The Sixties Anthology. Beginning with his duet album with the American R&B singer Dorris Henderson, 1966's There You Go!, continuting on with his solo debut, his acclaimed collaboration with soon-to-be bandmate Bert Jansch, a further album with Henderson, and two more underrated solo efforts, the box set tracks Renbourn's early development as a master of his instrument who shaped the folk music scene in England and beyond.

The set begins with There You Go!, a 1966 album recorded with the American R&B singer Dorris Henderson, who he'd met at The Roundhouse in Soho in 1964. With gospel roots and a repertoire of blues and current folk hits, Henderson impressed not only Renbourn, but also the audiences for which the pair performed. The album was issued on EMI's Columbia imprint (unrelated to the U.S. Columbia Records) and featured a clutch of songs that Renbourn called "fairly representative" of their concert sets, "all done live in an afternoon." It features "a bit of church [and] a bit of blues," by way of Blind Willie Johnson's "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond," along with folk standards ("The Water is Wide," "Sally Free and Easy") not to mention some covers of Bob Dylan and Ewen MacColl tunes. This reissue supplements the 17-track album with a further two examples of their interpretive skills for blues and new folk, with the original single versions of "Hangman" (also known as "Gallows Pole") and what may be the earliest cover of Paul Simon's "Leaves That Are Green," still entitled "The Leaves Are Green."

Though the pairing of gripping vocals and stunning guitar work didn't fully resonate with listeners to create a hit album, There You Go! brought greater attention to Renbourn's talents and landed Henderson a TV gig on a variety show that featured Alexis Korner, Danny Thompson, and Terry Cox. Thompson, Cox, and burgeoning guitar phenom Jansch would soon join forces with Renbourn and vocalist Jacqui McShee to form Pentangle, but first came John's debut solo album, which was released on Transatlantic just a month after his effort with Henderson.

Comprised mainly of demos that Renbourn recorded with Jansch in 1964, the self-titled long-player presented a blend of traditional folk tunes ("Candy Man," "Motherless Children"), blues ("John Henry," Muddy Waters' "Louisiana Blues"), and most importantly a batch of Renbourn originals. As Renbourn recalled in an interview excerpted in the liner notes, "Most of [the album] was done in a little demo studio not far from [the folk hangout] Les Cousins in Soho. Someone had the keys to the place and a bunch of us went across and played for fun after the pubs closed... Bert Jansch was among those present." Indeed, the pair of Renbourn/Jansch co-writes - the mournful "Blue Bones" and the driving, jazz-inflected "Noah and Rabbit" - are among the first tracks laid down by the pair of guitar masters. Four months before Renbourn's debut hit stores, Bert Jansch released It Don't Bother Me, featuring a duet with Renbourn on the latter's "Lucky Thirteen." That track and a trio of album outtakes are included as bonus tracks here, effectively anticipating their fantastic album as a duo.

Released concurrently with Jansch's solo album Jack Orion, the simply titled Bert and John arrived on shelves in September 1966 and remains an impressive document of "the first full flowering of what would prove to be a highly productive relationship," as it's described in the notes. Mostly improvised in a single session, the largely instrumental record peaked at No. 1 on Melody Maker's folk charts and cemented both players' reputations as experts in their craft. "A number of the tunes were literally made up on the spot, and like other of the early Transatlantic sessions, recorded by Bill Leader on-location -- meaning [in] our kitchen!" Though recorded in a ramshackle way, the performances still thrill over fifty years on. Just check out the intricate interplay on the Charles Mingus tune "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," the layered grooves on "Red's Favourite," or the lilting guitar harmonies on "Stepping Stones." There's no denying that theirs was a magnificent pairing. For more of Jansch and Renbourn, one need look no further than the included bonus track "The Waggoner's Lad," taken from Jansch's Jack Orion. The Jansch original features a blend of guitar and banjo that it's said to have influenced Led Zeppelin's "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"a few years later.

John Renbourn's second solo album, Another Monday, followed in November 1966. Once again, Renbourn turned in a set of originals and traditional tunes (including "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "Sugar Babe," and "I Know My Babe"). Critically, the album also features Renbourn's newest singing partner, Jacqui McShee, on three tracks. The talented chanteuse would go on to sing in Pentangle. In fact, the fast-paced "Waltz" would later be revisited by the quintet on their 1968 self-titled debut (available alongside all their other original albums in another Cherry Red box).

Though the pieces were falling into place that would give way to the formation of Pentangle, Renbourn first released a new album with Dorris Henderson, who'd returned after a trip back to the States in September 1966. Credited just to Henderson, the ensuing Watch The Stars album was a fitting follow-up to There You Go! with traditional and popular material interpreted with remarkable ease by both players. Delicate tracks like "It's Been A Long Time" and "The Time Has Come" benefit from Henderson's distinctive vibrato, while the interpretation of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" displays an arresting performance from vocalist and guitarist alike. Add to it the obligatory Dylan cover ("Tomorrow Is A Long Time") and a go at Gordon Lightfoot's "For Lovin' Me" and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable if overlooked example of British folk-jazz greatness. Supplementing the album's original tracks here is Henderson's Fontana folk-rock single "Message to Pretty," a cover of the Love track that wouldn't be out of place alongside the jangly pop of The Byrds or The Turtles on AM radio.

Pentangle finally made their live debut in May 1967, launching the project that would keep Renbourn's attention for the next half-decade. But he still found time to record a new album in 1968 (in a professional studio, no less!) that explored the many sides of his talents. According to a press advertisement at the time, the guitarist "mov[ed] backward and forward through time" with his multi-generational concept album entitled Sir John Alot of Merrie Nglandes Musyk Thyng & Ye Grene Knyghte. The Arthur-inspired album featured mainly blues/jazz originals on one side and a handful of Medieval-sounding folk tunes on the other. It was eventually picked up by Warner Bros. Records, who brought it to a new audience. Renbourn also recalls it being "Willem de Kooning's favorite record - or at least he relentlessly subjected some of his followers to it side after side at an all-day paint-in. So I like to think that it changed the course of Western visual art as well!" Though the remark may have been another example of Renbourn's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor, Sir John is no doubt a game-changer in instrumental guitar music, considered an unbeatable peak in his career that not only inspired guitarists of the underground, but also sold well enough to make waves outside that cadre. As a close to a decade, it's a fitting synthesis of all Renbourn's influences - Celtic, blues, jazz, and more all inter-mingle - and with contributions from members of Pentangle, it points toward the directions the musician would go in the future.

More than just a time capsule of folk guitar, Unpentangled: The Sixties Albums displays the early work of a sometimes overlooked talent as he both informed and explored all the different sides of the British folk boom in his unique way. This essential body of work comes housed in a sturdy clamshell case, with each of the six albums presented in a cardboard sleeve featuring the original front cover art. Though perhaps not up to Japanese mini LP replica standards (the back covers feature updated track listings and the Cherry Tree logo), the packaging fittingly recalls the presentation of the original recordings. Inside, there's also a hefty 24-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes by compilation compiler David Wells, excerpts of interviews with the late Renbourn, and a wealth of press photos, single scans, and newspaper clippings. The odd mis-numbering or typo aside, the booklet is packed with essential information that contextualizes the albums and the bonus tracks.

All told, Unpentangled: The Sixties Albums gives a definitive look at Renbourn's game-changing early recordings, laid down at a time when the master guitarist was not only fusing his many musical inclinations into a unique and inimitable style, but also finding talented collaborators with whom to share in his creativity. From his earliest, most "folkie" leaning recordings with Dorris Henderson, to his indispensable collaborations with Bert Jansch, and his thrilling solo ventures into the past and future, there's no shortage of greatness in the box. Add to it the excellent bonus tracks and compelling notes that tell more of the story, and it's clear to see why Unpentangled is an essential addition to any folk music library.

Unpentangled: The Sixties Albums is available now from Cherry Tree, a division of Cherry Red Records. You can purchase the 6-CD box and peruse its tracks below!

John Renbourn, Unpentangled: The Sixties Albums (Cherry Tree/Cherry Red, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Dorris Henderson & John Renbourn, There You Go! (originally Columbia/EMI LP SX 6001, 1965)

1. Sally Free and Easy
2. Single Girl
3. Ribbon Bow
4. Cotton Eyed Joe
5. Mr. Tambourine Man
6. Mist on The Mountain
7. The Lag's Song
8. American Jail Song
9. The Water Is Wide
10. Something Lonesome
11. Song (Falling Star)
12. Winter Is Gone
13. Strange Lullaby
14. You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond
15. One Morning In May
16. A Banjo Tune (Darling Corey)
17. Going To Memphis

Bonus Tracks:
18. The Leaves Are Green (Leaves That Are Green)
19. The Hangman

Tracks 18-19 originally released as Columbia ‎single DB 7567, 1965.

Disc 2: John Renbourn (originally Transatlantic LP TRA 135, 1966)

1. Judy
2. Beth's Blues
3. Song
4. Down On The Barge
5. John Henry
6. Plainsong
7. Louisiana Blues
8. Blue Bones
9. Train Tune
10. Candy Man
11. The Wildest Pig In Captivity
12. National Seven
13. Motherless Children
14. Winter Is Gone
15. Noah And Rabbit

Bonus Tracks:
16. The Wildest Pig In Captivity (Alternative Version)
17. Can't Keep From Crying
18. Blues Run The Game
19. Lucky Thirteen

Tracks 16-18 album outtakes, originally released on John Renbourn, Castle Music CD CMRCD 359, 2001.
Track 19 from the Bert Jansch album It Don't Bother Me, originally Transatlantic LP TRA 132, 1965.

Disc 3: Bert Jansch & John Renbourn, Bert And John (originally Transatlantic LP TRA 144, 1966)

1. East Wind
2. Piano Tune
3. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
4. Soho
5. Tic-Tocative
6. Orlando
7. Red's Favourite
8. No Exit
9. Along The Way
10. The Time Has Come
11. Stepping Stones
12. After The Dance

Bonus Track:
13. The Waggoner's Lad

Track 13 from the Bert Jansch album Jack Orion, originally Transatlantic LP TRA 143, 1966.

Disc 4: Another Monday (originally Transatlantic LP TRA 149, 1966)

1. Another Monday
2. Ladye Nothing's Toy Puffe
3. I Know My Babe
4. Waltz
5. Lost Lover Blues
6. One For William
7. Buffalo
8. Sugar Babe
9. Debbie Anne
10. Can't Keep From Crying
11. Day At The Seaside
12. Nobody's Fault But Mine

Disc 5: Dorris Henderson, Watch The Stars (originally Fontana ‎LP STL.5385, 1967)

1. When You Hear Them Cuckoos Hollerin'
2. It's Been A Long Time
3. 30 Days In Jail
4. No More My Lord
5. Watch The Stars
6. There's Anger In This Land
7. Mosaic Patterns
8. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
9. For Lovin' Me
10. Come Up Horsey
11. God Bless The Child
12. The Time Has Come
13. Poems of Solitude
14. Lonely Mood
15. Gonna Tell My Lord

Bonus Track:
16. Message To Pretty

Track 16 originally released as Fontana single A-side TF811, 1967.

Disc 6: Sir John Alot of Merrie Nglandes Musyk Thyng & Ye Grene Knyghte (originally Columbia/EMI LP SX 6001, 1965)

1. The Earle of Salisbury
2. The Trees They Do Grow High
3. Lady Goes To Church
4. Morgana
5. Transfusion
6. Forty-Eight
7. My Dear Boy
8. White Fishes
9. Sweet Potato
10. Seven Up

Bonus Tracks:
11. The Earle Of Salisbury (Alternative Version)
12. Transfusion (Alternative Version)
13. Forty-Eight (Alternative Version)

Tracks 11-13 album outtakes originally released on Sir John Alot of Merrie Nglandes Musyk Thyng & Ye Grene Knyghte, Castle Music ‎CD CMRCD 597, 2002.