Nice n smooth
I bought this for a friend whose tape of Rosemary Lane had worn out after twenty years or more. He likes it - a lot. So do I. It's solace for a soul lost in the myopic woods of contemporary schlock. Or something like that. I love the art work on the cover too (by Bert's son?).

A great one from a great one
I discovered Bert Jansch shortly before this album was released, and I saw him perform live in Philadelphia during the tour that accompanied it.
I did not buy the album then because I usually do not buy the newer albums of musicians who I like based on their decades-old work. They often disappoint me. On contemporary albums, the once-great artist often sounds lazier than they did in their classic years, and modern, digital production often washes out the magic that once emanated from the artist, giving the listener a depressing sense that both the great artist and the music industry have faded and gotten stale over the years.
But I finally bought The Black Swan on a whim the other day. I thought it would be nice to add it to my collection, and I figured it would have at least a few good songs.
I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's vintage Jansch and it also sounds new. Like many albums by 60-something musicians, it's a record of an old legend aided by contemporary musicians who are also fans. What's interesting here, though, is how similar those newer artists (Noah Georgeson, Beth Orton, and Devendra Banhart) are to Jansch himself. They all have been influenced by Bert's unique brand of acoustic folk music, a style that is primitive without being simple, mellow without being sweet, and intricate without being difficult. Their contributions don't feel like anachronisms at all. They're the same type of musicians he played with in the '60s and '70s.
Noah Georgeson's production adds some subtle but noticable reverb that is absent from older recordings of Jansch, and its presence here helps to shake things up a little bit and distinguish this album from others in his catalogue. His guitar and vocals have rarely sounded so smooth and clean and they also have never before sounded so deep and ethereal.
Many of the good qualities Bert always had have not changed, perhaps because he was never quite of his time, even in the '60s. His lyrics are vague and full of surreal imagery, but he always seemed like he was emulating the simple yet weird folk songs of ancient times rather than psychedelic poetry. While some musicians made folk psychedelic, Bert was content to let folk be weird in the same ways that it always was.
Like many of Bert's albums, The Black Swan is balanced between original songs and "traditional, arranged Jansch" songs, solo performances and group performances, songs with vocals and instrumentals(The only major stylistic surprise here is "Texas Cowboy Blues," which almost rocks). Things are a little different in the world of Jansch, but it's still the same unmistakable world of Jansch, and the sameness a listener will hear on The Black Swan is only the good kind.
I don't love The Black Swan quite as much as I love many of his early classics, but it is certainly of equal quality. It can never approach the early classics in its contagious, quietly fresh originality, but it's a testament to Bert's perennial greatness that his style continues to be interesting even when the years have diluted its originality.
I'm not sure if The Black Swan is the album I'd recommend if you've never heard or are just beginning to listen to Bert Jansch just because familiarity with his previous work makes it so much more rewarding. But if you're already a fan of Jansch at all, this one should definitely satisfy you.

great, love the vocals
Back at it with a great guest vocalist. Some new and old tunes show he still has the stuff

one of his best
Bert has been my favorite performer for over 35 years now, so this latest album is a pleasant surprise--well, not a 'surprise,' I suppose, but truly a happy event. It is clearly his best at least since "Avocet" in the late 70s, and a near match for his best early work, including "Bert Jansch," "Bert and John," "Jack Orion," and "Rosemary Lane." I would place it above the also excellent "Birthday Blues," "Moonshine," "L. A. Turnaround," "A Rare Conundrum" and the more recent "When the Circus Comes to Town" and "Crimson Moon." Go beyond these (with the exception of the now-many compilations) and, unless you are a faithful fan, you may be taking your chances.

"The Black Swan" reminds me a little, strangely, of all these albums. The ensemble play is tasteful and sparse, a la "Avocet" and "Moonshine." There is a traditional feel we heard in "Jack Orion" and "Rosemary Lane." The use of well known outside musicians recalls "L. A. Turnaround," "Moonshine," and "Crimson Moon." Bert's personality is more out front here, as it was in "Bert Jansch" and "When the Circus Comes to Town." The guitar accompaniments are tasteful and occasionally dazzling, as in "Rosemary Lane" and all of his Pentangle work. There are some good blues sequences too, as back in the old days with "Birthday Blues" and the staggering 'Nobody's Bar' of "Rosemary Lane." He delivers some good new compositions as well, though I still prefer the material on "Bert Jansch," "Birthday Blues," "L. A. Turnaround" and "Rosemary Lane."

Jansch's voice was never much of a drawing point, though it was always unaffected and endearing in its own hoarse way. Here, it has reached a fairly extreme level of gruffness (though he has yet to compete with John Martyn or Tom Waits in that category!), but one still cannot help but feel it positively accents the material. Age, and aging, has never been considered a liability in the folk community (and God bless them for that...).

With off again on again health problems, we may be witnessing Bert Jansch's end game. If so, this release could not be considered as less than a crowning touch.

go with the flow
Sometimes you buy a cd on instinct- this was not my instinct. Bert has a voice like a sinus infection but he undeniably has a way with folky melody. The best songs on this cd are the duets with Beth Orton (but that's my opinion) If you like Bonnie Prince billy then no harm you will find you here.
Echoes of Nick drake with the cello espec on the black swan (ends in beautiful synch cello-guitar).
My gut feeling is ' not bad- intrigued, may well investigate more'