- Discover more great music in our Proper Music store, and read about the very best of Proper Music's latest and forthcoming releases in Properganda Issue 19 (online flash version).
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
In the late Sixties Pentangle were to the folk-jazz community what Fairport Convention were to the newly emerging folk-rock movement. They were formed around the twin guitars of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, augmented by the shoe-shuffle plonk of bassist Danny Thompson, drummer Terry Cox and the folk singer Jacqui McShee. Thompson and Cox were graduates of Alexis Korner's jazz and blues coterie, McShee was already a veteran of the folk scene and Jansch and Renbourn were each seasoned performers around the folk clubs. Their music drew from jazz and blues as much as it did British folk traditions and on the release of their debut self-titled album in 1968 Pentangle were quickly championed by John Peel.
Covering the period 1968 to 1972, this 2-CD treasure trove from the heyday of folk-blues-jazz draws from the many recordings Pentangle made for the BBC. When searches were made for Pentangle session tapes at the Beeb in the early Nineties, the cupboard was mostly bare. What was found was released at the time. Since then, someone's got their hands dirty, the dust has been brushed once more and a further twelve tracks have been retrieved from deep in the archives. More searches were made beyond the walls of Broadcasting House and another two dozen tracks turned up in a private collection.
So here, after more than thirty years, is a representative history of Pentangle at the BBC. It features many new versions of numbers from their six albums. The most well-known track is ''Light Flight'', the tune which gave the band some prominence in the early Seventies when it was used as the theme to Take Three Girls, a TV drama starring a young Joanna Lumley. There are two versions of ''Light Flight'' on this release, one of which is the TV version.
The clarity of recordings, especially on the first disk, is patchy, but these songs are a delight to hear McShee's crystal voice cutting like a diamond through Jansch and Renbourne's baroque playing, especially on tracks such as the gospel-tinged ''Every Night When the Sun Goes in'' and ''A Maid That's Deep in Love''. Other highlights are ''Forty-Eight'' the delicate ''Orlando'' and the song written in honor of the British blues-folk capital in the early Sixties, ''Soho''. There is one previously unreleased song from the band, ''Name of the Game'', which is, again, a little muffled, but a gem nonetheless.
The second disk, covering the early Seventies, is the stronger, with more adventurous versions and bold playing from all involved. Renditions of well-loved numbers such as ''Hunting Song'', ''The Trees they Do Grow High'' and ''Reynardine'' beguile with their hypnotic beauty. There are tales of figures such as ''Lord Franklin'' and the ''Lady of Carlisle'', stories of love and loss and an exquisite Christmas song, ''Cherry Tree Carol''. --Rob Webb
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
2CD set. 42 primarily rare and previously unreleased BBC recordings plus 12 page book w/comprehensive liner notes.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The recording quality of this is a little patchy, the playing of course is exemplary. I would say that if you are not a completest you may not want to run to the asking price. As there is a good live set on Sweet Child, that may be sufficient. Myself I'm afraid curiosity always gets the better of me, so I had to have it. I don't play it every week, but it is there when I want it, and it is PENTANGLE after all.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Sound not perfect, but lovely anyway
14 Jun 2004
Format:Audio CD
First downside-- 24 of the 43 tracks are taken from off-air
tapes, so definitely some 'bootleg' quality sound aspects of some of those. The other 19 are very good though, and there're some definite rarities like a live "Cold Mountain," a group rendering of Terry Cox's "Moondog," 'folk revival' chestnut "Every Night When the Sun Goes In," & most importantly perhaps, a full rendering of "Name of the Game," song in snippet form only on soundtrack of forgettable film, "Tam Lin." Also, a rare, slightly 'dark mood' live version of "Springtime Promises" & John doing "Sally Free & Easy." And the version of "Maid That's Deep in Love" is IMO superior to the one on CRUEL SISTER. Excellent notes as always by Colin Harper & nice rare photos. All in all, fascinating stuff, if not maybe the place to start for the casual fan, or beginners (check out LIGHT FLIGHT compilation for that-- or recent BASKET OF LIGHT or SWEET CHILD reissues).
tapes, so definitely some 'bootleg' quality sound aspects of some of those. The other 19 are very good though, and there're some definite rarities like a live "Cold Mountain," a group rendering of Terry Cox's "Moondog," 'folk revival' chestnut "Every Night When the Sun Goes In," & most importantly perhaps, a full rendering of "Name of the Game," song in snippet form only on soundtrack of forgettable film, "Tam Lin." Also, a rare, slightly 'dark mood' live version of "Springtime Promises" & John doing "Sally Free & Easy." And the version of "Maid That's Deep in Love" is IMO superior to the one on CRUEL SISTER. Excellent notes as always by Colin Harper & nice rare photos. All in all, fascinating stuff, if not maybe the place to start for the casual fan, or beginners (check out LIGHT FLIGHT compilation for that-- or recent BASKET OF LIGHT or SWEET CHILD reissues).
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
