Uncut (p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Delightful and masterful."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[With] Renbourn's dextrous, never merely showy playing drawing inspiration from the folklore of southwest England..."
The cover of John Renbourn's THE NINE MAIDENS--a white background with a photo of standing stones at sunrise--looks like it belongs on an ECM avant-jazz or Windham Hill new age release. Frankly, the contents could pass on either label's roster. The strictly instrumental solo-acoustic guitar pieces on THE NINE MAIDENS are Renbourn at his least traditional.
To varying extents, Renbourn's previous solo records have all introduced jazz and world music elements into early music and traditional British folk. But Renbourn's playing on THE NINE MAIDENS owes at least as much in spots to Django Reinhardt as it does to Davey Graham. Even strictly traditional material like the closing title suite has a remarkably jazzy quality, and the dazzling "Variations on My Lady Carey's Dompe" is simply staggering in its complexity. Fantastic material, beautifully played.