Anyone Interested in a Pentangle Album by Album Thread?

Yes Mrbill, If Cruel Sister is a weaker effort for them in the early days then I know I'm gonna really dig what comes before and after.

30 Jansch cds! Nice. I have Jack Orion and a comp but like I said I'll be expanding on that soon.

Tonight I also had Renbourn's The Black Balloon turned up loud and was pretty blown away by side two. What amazing playing from these guys.

 

Rosemary Lane aint too shabby either...

For solo Jansch Renbourn's if you do not have these two I cannot recommend them highly enough:

John Rebourn's Faro Annie 1971/2, more blues and more pentangley than his medieval stuff and his other acoustic albums.

Bery Jansch's 1973 Moonshine, just stunningly sublime through and through.

Enjoy the ride.


cheers,

mrbill

 

Thanks! They are on the wish list.

 

Love 'em all dearly but for Bert's releases Birthday Blues, Rosemary Lane and Moonshine, as the albums go, are still the three favorites, great stuff!

Lost track of this Pentangle thread since near the beginning and will have to read up on Henry's detailed album by album analysis.

Some catching up to do for sure.

 

MrBill: I'm still around, just filled up with work stuff - hopefully, I'll get the (brief) Christian the Lion essay up and then my attempt at contextualizing Solomon's Seal within the "agrarian Brit-folk of the early 70s", which I'm looking forward to writing. I would like to read your response to my remarks on Reflection; I've been listening to the reunion albums of late, spurred on, too, by the Jansch threader's love of The Ornament Tree. Jansch and Renbourn really have been involved with a great deal of amazing music through the years (and Danny Thompson, too!)

 

I enjoyed this thread, and hope it either moved, or will be picked up again.

I compared my two vinyl copies of Cruel Sister this evening, Reprise reissue and Transatlantic original, and favored the Transtatlantic for a fuller sound, notable particularly around Jacqui McShea's voice. Having loved Basket of Light, and enjoyed the debut, this album really underwhelmed.

On a side note, I have an option on original UK pressings of both Pentangle comps (History Book and Pentangling). Seems like they're redundant if I plan on collecting the albums proper. Anything I'd be missing if I pass on these?

 

The original Pentangle line-up are playing the Cambridge folk festival this summer, and Jansch is opening for Neil Young on his current US tour. I had the opportunity to see Bert in Philly in December and am pleased to report that he's in great voice and his playing was spectacular: better even than the last time I'd seen him (in 2006). So, I think I'm going to take the plunge and reactivate this thread, if I can find time to write up Solomon's Seal in the next few days, and if there's enough interest. Anyone in?

Also, could a Gort change the title to "Pentangle Album-by-Album Thread", please? Thanks!

 

I'm late to the party on this one. Love the band. But man that DVD-Audio of Sweet Child is about the worst sounding DVD-A in my collection.

Which Cambridge is having this folk fest, and is that the only date they are playing?

 

Alas (for me, at least), it's the UK Cambridge, in July. Their facebook page indicates that they will be playing a handful of other shows, but nothng has been announced yet. I'm really hoping they get to the US at some point.

As for the DVD-A, I think you mean Basket of Light, which is one of those dreadful sounding, not-really-5.1 Silverline discs.

 

Yeah, it's the Silverline one of their live album.

Wrong Cambridge for me too.

The closest I came to seeing them were:
- the first US tour of the reunited ensemble, sans Renbourn, in the early 80s. they opened for Rennaisance. one of the only shows I left before the headliner appeared.
- McShee/Jansch show in NYC about 10 years ago

 

I'm quite late to the thread...
I have all Pentangle in vinyl, including John/Bert releases
Quite a few I also have, in JP SHM releases and the boxed set from a few yrs ago.
I also like Jacqui Mcshee's Pentangle release, think the sonics are quite good on that one, one my rig and ears anyways.

 

William and Henry...

Well nigh on a year and a half later I still need to write my remarks for Reflection, and you need to get us on up to Solomon's Seal...

We have work to do!


Glad to see this fantastic thread reborn...


cheers,

 

Checked at home, not a live album after all, but it is the Silverline Basket of Light I was describing as disappointing sound for a DVD-A.

Surprised to see how down on Cruel Sister folks are in this thread. That was the album that introduced me to the band and inspired me to track down the rest of their releases.

The title song is one of my favorite tracks of theirs, and one of my favorite versions of this ballad (I also particularly enjoy the version titled "Oh the Wind and Rain" on Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band).

 

I think Cruel Sister is a relative disappointment, largely because of "Jack Orion"; if it had been my first Pentangle album, I might be more generous toward it. I think I feel similarly about Open the Door, which was the first one I bought new (in 1985) and I rank it disproportionately high among the band's albums, even though it wasn't the first one I heard. Pentangle are one of those bands who can be absolutely earth-shattering when heard for the first time.

I quite like the title song, too, as well as the Garcia Band version. And the other American cousin: Dylan's "Percy's Song".

 

I'll expand a little more from my earlier post since I cannot add too it!!

I followed the band from the beginning in sequence.
In the 60's Paul Simon's recording of Angie on SoS, got me interested in playing, so while in the USN 66-70 I bought a GS1 from a mate and started to learn....this led to Berts take and then Davy Graham's and in between all of Berts & John's recordings plus the Pentangle cycle. It was pretty easy for a frustrated player/picker to try and emulate these guys... I eventually could play a reasonable version of Angie, course it would have been a lot easier on a 6 string steel vs gut, cuz the walkin bass line was a pita on gut, but I digress. Great band/group and appreciate/enjoying all your effort in the thread.

 

Anyone familiar with the Pentangling 3CD? It's so cheap right now I might just get it even though I have most of the individual albums. Disc 1 is Pentangle, disc 2 and 3 are solo Renbourn and Jansch.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pentangling...=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1313374632&sr=1-3

BTW, I'm listening to Reflections right now on CD and my first time hearing it. Great music and sound!

 

Beyond The Pentangles...

I love Reflections, possible my fave of their six albums from their prime era--it was #5, and from 1971, of course...

It may not top the power and majesty of their first two or three, but it mos def the best of their final three original group releases



I have Pentangling, but it might be another Cd or Lp? as it does not have the second disc you describe....(ah, just followed the link, yep, different set all together, but at that price, go for it...)


"So Clear" and "When I Get Home" are tops!


cheers,

 

The 3CD has the same name as the earlier CD but is completely different. Odd they would have two titles with the same name. The 3CD is a best-of compilation.

 

My dear Mr. Henryflowr , I hope you haven't given up on this Pentangle project! Your essays on the Core Six albums ( apologies to any Moody Blues fans)are brilliant, and when Danny Thompson comes back to Nashville, I'll make sure he gets a copy of what I've downloaded from this thread. I'm looking forward to your impressions of Soloman's Seal especially, 'cause it's a wonderful album, IMHO. Thanks for all of your hard work!

 

Solomon Signed Sealed and Devoted to Thee and Thine...

Hear Hear!

Here's hoping henryflowr hears out heartfelt haller and plea for more Pentastically penned and powerfully-penitrating essays on our beloved Pentangle. :agree-


cheers,

 

And coming up ( out ) soon, is a live album taken from Pentangle's 2008 British tour. Hopefully, that will become a part of this thread when it does appear.

 

Guys: thanks for all the kind words! I shall endeavor to get the Solomon's Seal essay up this coming long weekend; teaching and administrivia have been keeping me well busy this week, but I've not forgotten this thread - I'm glad you're enjoying the essays; I do enjoy writing them.

And, Janschfan: I, too, am looking forward to that forthcoming live album. At my current rate, we'll probably get to it around 2020, what with all the reunion albums and live packages to cover, but perhaps I can try to quicken the pace and we can get to it when it comes out. I'd also be positively thrilled if you passed this stuff on to DT when he's in Nashville: thanks!

Mr. Bill: how's the Roy Harper thread coming? If you get it up and running, I'll definitely listen along and offer my humble thoughts. Cheers.

 

Can't wait for the Solomon's Seal essay! Thanks very much, Mr. Henryflowr. By the way, Love your avatar....James Joyce, the Cecil Taylor of literature.. ( or is Cecil Taylor the James Joyce of music? Better stop while I'm behind....).

 

I'm going to go ahead and bump this thread; with John Renbourn's passing (RIP, John), there's been more Pentangle interest here than I've seen in years. I've started working on Solomon's Seal and hope to have this thread going again this weekend. I hope all of you commenting in the current Pentangle threads will chime in! It should be fun . . .