"Gordon Giltrap/Portrait" by GORDON GILTRAP – October 1968 and October 1969 UK Debut and Second Studio Albums on Transatlantic Records in Stereo (29 May 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Hands Of Fate..."

Originally on Bill Leader's groundbreaking Transatlantic Records, Gordon Giltrap's first two albums of largely instrumental British Folk from October 1968 and October 1969 have been reissued on CD like this twice before. First up was August 1993, then November 1997, and in both cases by Essential Music (part of the Sanctuary Group) as two-albums onto 1CD.

Now it’s the turn of England's Beat Goes On (BGO) with shiny new 2020 remasters courtesy of Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON that make Benchley's best virtuoso guitarist shine anew. This disc sounds gorgeous – those doubled acoustic strings rattling around your speakers with air-bending intent. Here's the Folky beef...

UK released Friday, 29 May 2020 - "Gordon Giltrap/Portrait" by GORDON GILTRAP on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1415 (Barcode 5017261214157) offers his first two albums Newly Remastered onto 1CD that plays out as follows (65:02 minutes):

1. Gospel Song [Side 1]

2. Fast Approaching

3. Don't You Feel Good

4. Birth Of Spring

5. Won't You Stay Awhile Suzanne

6. Wilderness

7. Adolescent Years [Side 2]

8. Saturday Girl

9. Don't You Hear Your Mother's Voice

10. Ives Horizon

11. Blythe Hill

12. Willow Pattern

Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "Gordon Giltrap" - released October 1968 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 175 - Produced by BILL LEADER (no US release)

13. Portrait [Side 1]

14. Thoughts In The Rain

15. Never Ending Solitude

16. Tuxedo

17. All Characters Fictitious

18. Lucifer's Cage

19. Careful As You Go [Side 2]

20. Free For All

21. William Taplin

22. Hands Of Fate

23. Confusion

24. Young Love

Tracks 13 to 24 are his second studio album "Portrait" - released October 1969 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 202 in Stereo - Produced by BILL LEADER (no US release)

You get the usual card slipcase on the outside that lends these reissues a wee bit of class while the 16-page booklet features in-depth new liner notes from JOHN O’REGAN. Topics covered are his 18-year old signing to Transatlantic Records in 1968 through to his time with Don Partridge and their band Accolade and on to the commercially successful Prog-instrumental years with The Electric Record Company Label and his 1977 "Perilous Journey" album breakthrough. It even mentions 26 March 2020 when GG played an acoustic gig from his doorstep to benefit Front Line Staff in the NHS during the Coronavirus/Covid 19 lockdown. You also get the album rear sleeve blurbs from Bill Leader (1968) and Don Partridge (1969) and the colour cover artwork for both albums on the front and rear pages of the booklet allowing you to invert the booklet if you want "Portrait" facing out.

However, those expecting the holiday program theme song and hit single "Heartsong" should look elsewhere – these tunes are purely Folk and in some cases feature his vocals which unfortunately wasn’t the greatest of ideas. To the early music of an emerging talent...

The two debut album tracks that highlighted his amazing plectrum picking technique on "The Contemporary Guitar Sampler" budget album of 1969 (Transatlantic TRA SAM 14) are both here - "Fast Approaching" and "Ives Horizon"- the first showing his extraordinary playing talent as the rapid flicks and strums come a screaming out of your speakers in lovely clarity – the second with a wall of doubled guitars. But then comes the voice...

Harmonics ping at the beginning of "Don't You Feel Good" but the lovely song is quickly ruined by his whiny voice that is not the strongest (nor are his lyrics). Again beautiful playing opens "Why Won't You Stay A While, Suzanne?" but his how-I-need-you lyrics and voice render the playing mute – the same for the terribly twee "Adolescent Years". Back to racing up and down the steel strings for the far better "Saturday Night". The debut ends on the short instrumental "Blythe Hill" – another racer full of great ideas but fades out on "Willow Pattern" – more bad singing that really should have been nipped in the bud from the get go.

The 1969 second album opens on the title track "Portrait" – two and half minutes of lovely playing with pretty cascading runs up and down the fretboard. The second song "Thoughts In The Rain" is about jealousy but again his deadpan vocal delivery makes the song hard to listen to – the same for "Never Ending Solitude" and "All Characters Fictitious". The big chunky chords instrumental "Lucifer’s Cage" would be returned to years later for his 1976 "Visionary" album on The Electric Record Company – here it gets a gimmicky flanging from speaker-to-speaker treatment that kind of ruins the track had it been left alone to play out. And on it goes...

All the virtuoso guitar playing in the world doesn’t help if you don’t have the tunes or in this case – the voice. For his formative years, Giltrap hadn’t really got either. There are undeniably beautiful instrumentals on both records, but suffering the others may prove a step too far for the uninitiated. Fans will love it for sure – especially the great audio – but others should grab a listen first before purchase...