The Pentangle - pure love & appreciation thread, album by album eventually

So British friends...what is the game they are playing with all those "chips"?



Share input and love for this iconic Bert & John LP. I have
a lovely NM English pressing on TA.

 

track 1) East Wind (Bert & John)

Stunning opening track...Bert & John on fire!
Will those in the know tell us who is on theright and who is on the left...I'll make a guess
John on the right, Bert on the left.

 

Go (game) - Wikipedia

 

Thanks...sounds extremely complicated; far more complicated than chess...I'll stick with cribbage.

I created the art for this one:

 

It's Go, right? It must be! It's certainly not Majong or Chataurangua (chess).

 

I regard this as the first Bert Jansch masterpiece, the self-titled LP is utterly beguiling and moving, but this one, the complexity of arrangements and the true interplay between Bert and John is simply astonishing. It's not an accident that Peel name-checks it on the original The Pentangle LP, it is the precursor of that record and certainly forms the shape of much of what was to come.

 

Even today the original pressings are not too pricey. Certainly not compared to the more hallowed examples of British jazz. I have no qualms recommending the original pressings or the LP reissues circa 2015, they are both affordable and wonderful.

 

Agree 100%

Welcome back! I will cover Bert's 1966 solo effort, although John is a part of that great LP too...>>Jack Orion.
I almost entered that next in the Renbourn queue as it also qualifies wiki-wise as a Bert & John effort, but it's not titled as such so...later with Bert.

 

track 2) Piano Tune

Very nice, nostalgic sounding to me in a good way...



Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "East Wind" 1:25
2. "Piano Tune" 1:39
3. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" Charles Mingus 3:51
4. "Soho" Jansch 3:00
5. "Tic-Tocative" 1:56
6. "Orlando" 1:40
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
7. "Red's Favourite" 1:33
8. "No Exit" 1:24
9. "Along the Way" Renbourn 2:02
10. "The Time Has Come" Anne Briggs 2:53
11. "Stepping Stones" 2:42
12. "After the Dance" 2:23

 

I somehow missed this thread when it was originally posted. I don't know how. I'm a massive Pentangle fan, beginning with my purchase of Sweet Child in 1968. I've been listening to it ever since (54 years) and still not tired of it. I listen frequently to all of the the recordings of the original lineup as well as just about everything by Bert Jansch and much by John Renbourn. I have them all on CD as well as Cruel Sister - Reflection - Solomon's Seal on Reprise LPs. I'm one of those rare fans for whom Basket of Light doesn't rate as at or near the pinnacle of the original run of albums. I like Sweet Child, Cruel Sister, Reflection, and Solomon's Seal more. Having said that, I'm not able to pick apart these albums. I love pretty all of the songs and performances. Including Jack Orion! I'm slowly reading through all the posts (I'm up to Reflection so I have a long way to go) listening to some of the albums (so far Sweet Child and Cruel Sister with detours into Bert Jansch - Avocet and the John Renbourn Group - A Maid in Bedlam). I must confess to having completely missed the recordings of the second version of Pentangle, soon to be remedied. I just received notice that my copy of Through the Ages 1984-1995 shipped. I couldn't resist $33 for 7 albums. I look forward to listening and going through the posts covering those years. Thank you all for your great contributions.

 

I wanted to add that I was fortunate to see the original Pentangle at Carnegie Hall in December 1971. I later met Danny at a Richard Thompson concert in the early 2000s. Everyone was lining up to speak to RT and Danny was standing alone on the other side of the stage so I just walked up and started conversing. I told him I'd been at the Carnegie Hall gig and he looked incredulous and said "You were there?" I also saw a stripped down version of the John Renbourn Group in the early 90s (billed as John Renbourn - Jacqui McShee - Tony Roberts). All through the concert, I kept wishing to hear the song "Cruel Sister" although I had to reason to expect them to perform that. Well, as their final encore, I got my wish. I remember it as one of the most sublime live musical performances I've ever experienced.

 

One of my favorite albums, bar none. I had the American version in 1969 and played it to death. The bonus tracks were great since they were not included on any U.S. releases. Of course we no longer need them as they are now readily available on the "It Don't Bother Me" album.

I can't let discussion of this album pass without posting this beautiful and moving piece of music from a Bert & John "reunion" in the "Acoustic Routes" film.

 

Many in the USA were unaware that, as stated on this record label, radio broadcast of records was still prohibited in the UK unless that specific broadcast was explicitly authorized.

Radio broadcast of commercial phonograph records was also prohibited in the USA until the 1950's when radio stations realized they could save a lot of money by ending live music on the air and record labels decided that the publicity was worth more than the exclusivity of their products. Thus the rise of the disc jockey in the USA and the end of the era of live radio. The rise of television was threatening live radio, of course, so radio turned to records. Now, nearly all radio is all talk....yap yap yap.

 

A good forum friend, @Tribute , suggested I share my newest thread...please join in!
Dylan fans welcome...one and all.

Simply Bob...DYLAN. Music and conversation.

 

Great to have you here @Johnny Thunder ...better late than never. And looking forward to your comments. Don't hesitate to comment on any track or album.

 

track 3) Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Charles Mingus)

A fan favorite from what members here have expressed! For me too.

 

track 4) Soho (Jansch)

This is a fave...love Bert's vocal!

 

track 5) Tic-Tocative (Jansch/Renbourn)

From a slow bluesy track above to this fine upbeat number. Nice.

 

We'll end a great Saturday afternoon with this side one closer -- a great one by Bert & John

track 6) Orlando (Bert & John)

Slow pickin'...nice.

 

Here's the correct video:


Although it appears on a primarily instrumental album, this is one of my very favorite Jansch-composed songs. It has always made me nostalgic for that time and place, although I didn't visit Soho until 10 years later by which time the folk scene there was gone.

 

Here's Sandy Denny's take on Soho:


Not quite as evocative but still very good. It's Sandy!

 

In terms of reissues, I regard the recent batch of Bert Jansch reissues by BMG/Sanctuary very highly. They sound markedly different to the Castle CDs and are new transfers from tape. I have no idea if the LPs are actually cut from tape, but they do compare fairly well to the Transatlantic orginals and are not merely the CD masters cut to lacquer.

I feel that Sanctuary are really missing a trick with these reissues. I could see a series of LPs priced as reasonably as the Bert Jansch LPs (£15-20) could do pretty well. If I was running such a programme, I would start with the first two Pentangle LPs but also introduce in-demand obscurities such as the New Departures Quartet.

 

My favourite Transatlantic titles were the "Leader Tradition" titles which were the very last Trailer LPs after Bill Leader's label collapsed. These include rairities such as Banddogs, Al O'Donnell 2, and Nic Jones' From the Devil to a Stranger. I'm not sure that Transatlantic actually owns those masters though. If they did, they would almost certainly have been reissued by now.

 

Ahh, Nic Jones!

Every Pentangle or Bert Jansch fan should seek the complete works of Nic Jones!

 

Unfortunately, this is not a cheap prospect. Nic Jones is highly collectible, in the same category of folk LPs as Dave & Toni Arthur's occult record, January Man and Bright Phoebus… Also Davy Graham, and Shirley Collins' Argo LP.