Deluxe box set of the first six Pentangle albums plus a plethora of bonus tracks – available on vinyl for the very first time.
Release Date: 9th May 2025
Label: Svart Records
Formats: 14-disc vinyl boxset
SIX ALBUMS, FOURTEEN VINYL DISCS
They’re still fondly remembered, of course and the original Pentangle’s unique blend of traditional and contemporary folk, jazz and blues is utterly ageless and continues to attract adherents by the coachload. So, will a 14-vinyl disc boxset containing reissues of the band’s classic first six albums – plus bonus tracks – be an appealing prospect to that still-hungry, still-dedicated fanbase of theirs?
The obvious answer is: You bet it will. After all, this is a beautiful package indeed; lovingly compiled and presented – and I’ll come back to that shortly.
RESERVATIONS?
My reservations, if that’s what they can be called, are two-fold. Firstly, this new offering is a vinyl replication of the 7-CD boxset issued by Cherry Red Records in 2017, right down to the content of each individual disc and the 60+ bonus tracks – 22 ‘previously unreleased’ – spread across the set. OK, this product is new to vinyl and that will definitely appeal to the dedicated audiophiles amongst the Pentangle fanbase but I suspect that many of the completists will be tempted to stick with what they have.
Which brings me to a second ‘reservation’ because I really have to ask the question: How many of those completist/audiophiles will be able and willing to shell out the thick of 300 quid for this beautiful set, bearing in mind that they already own the music? I’ve no doubt that a fair few will be willing; some will be happy to make do with the CDs and some, I suspect, will be mightily disgruntled that they weren’t offered the vinyl option in the first place. We’ll see.
A BEAUTIFUL PACKAGE
But, credit where it’s due; this is a product that will grab the world’s attention, even if financial or practical reasons get in the way of ownership. Put quite simply: It’s beautiful.
Each of the band’s first six albums – The Pentangle (1968), Sweet Child (1968), Basket Of Light (1969), Cruel Sister (1970), Reflection (1971) and Solomon’s Seal (1972) – is presented in its own gatefold sleeve featuring the original cover artwork. Sweet Child, originally issued as a double album that included a ‘live’ disc and a ’studio’ disc is spread over a pair of double albums. The discs are housed in a rigid slipcase box that would grace the shelf of any proud vinyl collector and the set is completed by a 64-page book that is guaranteed to provide hours of study to committed and curious Pentangler alike.
THE BOOK
Ah – the book. Yes – it’s a work of art and of unconditional love in its own right. Packed with photographs and reproductions of press cuttings, it’s thoroughly absorbing from start to finish. A foreword by music journalist and folk/rock biographer Mick Houghton sets the scene before the content opens out to provide detailed notes on each of the discs, including commentaries on the origins of each of the featured bonus tracks. The recollections of original Pentangle members John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee are compiled from past interviews and a detailed overview of each of the featured albums is provided by such distinguished journalists as Stuart Penny, Trevor J Leeden, Nigel Cross, Colin Irwin, Lois Wilson and Jim Wirth.
Reading on, Pentangle devotees will be fascinated by the detailed and extensive chronology that lists (or, at least, attempts to list…) every single Pentangle gig, recording session, radio session and TV appearance that took place between the 14th January 1967 Bert Jansch engagement at London’s Jeanette Cochrane Theatre (that may, or may not, have featured an embryonic Pentangle lineup) to the band’s BBC Radio Sounds of the Seventies session on 25th April 1972.
A POTENT MIX OF INFLUENCES, A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE HEART
Commenting on the boxset, Pentangle vocalist, Jacqui McShee, said: “I am honoured to see our work as Pentangle celebrated with this special vinyl boxset release. The collection represents a journey through a significant chapter in music history – one in which we sought to experiment and explore each other’s talents and just enjoy making music together. Each song and album hold a special place in my heart, not only for the music itself but for the incredible memories and experiences that we shared as a band. I hope that this release brings listeners, both old and new, the same joy and connection that we felt while creating this music together.”
Pentangle were a unique band. They came together gradually after folk club regular Jacqui McShee sat in sporadically with friends, housemates and guitarists John Renbourn and Bert Jansch at various venues in and around the London area. McShee and Renbourn had roots in the folk movement, whilst Jansch’s principal interest was in the blues. Bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Terry Cox were from the jazz scene and had previously played with Alexis Korner and Duffy Power. It was a heady, potent mix of influences that fed immediately and effectively into the ensemble’s unique and eclectic repertoire.
THE PENTANGLE
Released in May 1968, Pentangle’s debut album, The Pentangle, is one of the all-time greats. Opening with the definitive version of the traditional folk song, Let No Men Steal Your Thyme, the album also features such Pentangle standards as the murder ballad Bruton Town, the bluesy Way Behind the Sun, instrumental tour-de-force, Waltz and, perhaps best of all, the peerless Pentangling, the piece on which Pentangle demonstrate – and would continue to demonstrate in live performance – exactly what the classic Pentangle lineup were all about. The Pentangle provided the band with an early taste of chart success – it reached #21 in the UK Album Chart – and established the Pentangle brand and reputation that endures to this day.
Highlights amongst the bonus tracks that comprise Disc 2 of the The Pentangle reissue include a couple of takes of the Eastern-flavoured instrumental Koan, in which Pentangle venture deep into jazz territory and The Wheel, a tune that Bert brought to the party and upon which he proves exactly why he was regarded as one of the most accomplished guitarists around. Also of interest is the 1968 debut Pentangle single, Travellin’ Song. The song, a tribute to a friend of Bert’s who was killed in a road accident, was recorded during the album sessions but remained unreleased on any of the band’s original albums.
SWEET CHILD
Released as a double album later in 1968, Pentangle’s second album – Sweet Child – featured a live recording of the band’s 29th June concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Disc One, together with a collection of new studio recordings on the second disc. Alongside its attractive Peter Blake-designed cover, it’s probably fair to suggest that Sweet Child is best remembered for the live recordings which showcase the band at the peak of their powers, but the music on the studio disc certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.
The band mesh tightly together as they surge through a set that mixes band compositions, traditional songs and standards and the many outstanding moments on the live album include the enticing vocal harmonies on Market Song, the sheer joy in Jacqui’s and John’s voices and John’s slick, unfathomable guitar fingerpicking on the blues song, Turn Your Money Green and Danny’s marvelous bass solo on Pentangle’s version of Charles Mingus’ Haitian Fight Song. And the band members’ pleasure in working together to produce this wonderful music is clearly evident throughout the recording.
QUALITY SONGS
I’ve always loved Pentangle’s versions of I Loved A Lass, Sovay and the Trees They Do Grow High, the three traditional songs that sit amongst the band’s own compositions on the ‘studio’ disc of Sweet Child. But, it’s always nice to be reminded of the quality of songs like the album’s title track and the soaring I’ve Got A Feeling.
The Sweet Child bonus tracks include a further seven songs recorded at that momentous 29th June Royal Festival Hall concert. Of the songs on the original live album, only Bruton Town had been previously released by Pentangle. The bonus tracks – all previously included on a 2001 CD reissue of Sweet Child – are mainly picks from The Pentangle, with the exception of Travellin’ Song (the single) and John Renbourn’s solo piece, John Donne Song.
The Sweet Child studio album is supplemented by a mix of out-takes and unreleased versions of songs from Jansch’s Birthday Blues solo album, of interest, no doubt, to the fully-committed and worthy of inclusion on that basis.
BASKET OF LIGHT
Pentangle reached their commercial zenith in mid-1969 with their 3rd album, the magnificent Basket of Light. Boosted, in no small part, by the success of the album’s opening track – and hit single – Light Flight, the album climbed to the heady height of #5 in the UK chart. Light Flight was, of course, used as the theme to the BBC drama series, Take Three Girls, and Pentangle also provided the incidental music to that series. The song also won Pentangle an appearance on Top of the Pops and a centre-page photo spread in the teen mag Jackie!
But – Basket Of Light is, by no means, about just one song. The arrangements of traditional songs, Once I Had A Sweetheart, Lyke-Wake Dirge, The Cuckoo and House Carpenter are glorious and the more contemporary songs like Springtime Promises (apparently written on the top of a London bus…) and Train Song are equally memorable. And who could fail to love Jacqui’s voice on Pentangle’s outstanding reworking of The Jaynetts’ 1963 hit, Sally Go Round the Roses? Basket Of Light might be Pentangle’s most accessible album. It’s also probably their best loved.
BASKET BONUS
The Basket Of Light bonus tracks are well worth a listen, too. Cold Mountain and I Saw An Angel were the B-sides to, respectively, the Light Flight and Once I Had A Sweetheart singles; they’ve featured on previous reissues of the album, but they’re great songs and it’s good to see them included here. But it’s the three live recordings on the Basket of Light bonus album that will spark the greatest interest. Recorded by sound engineer Bob Woodford, apparently at a show in Aberdeen on 26th March 1970, the versions of House Carpenter, Light Flight and the engaging side-long take of Pentangling have never appeared on vinyl before. The sound quality is good and the band are on fire; the tracks are a highlight of the whole package.
CRUEL SISTER
Cruel Sister, Pentangle’s fourth album, released in the UK in November 1970, is Pentangle’s most ‘traditional’ collection. The album’s centrepiece is the 19-minute, side-long Jansch/Renbourn arrangement of Jack O’Rion and, maybe, that was part of the problem. Because Cruel Sister failed to capitalize on the success of, particularly, Basket of Light, and that’s a shame.
Maybe it was the daunting challenge of Jack O’Rion that did it, although Pentangle followers of the time would certainly have been familiar with the work as it had long been a feature of Jansch’s solo repertoire and the ambitious arrangement shouldn’t have been a surprise. Or maybe it was the absence of any original compositions that put buyers off – although, again, Pentangle always put so much of their own creativity into any arrangement of any song that that shouldn’t have mattered.
FINEST OFFERINGS
Whatever the reason for Cruel Sister’s disappointing commercial performance, it’s clear, from the viewpoint of 2025, that the naysayers were wrong. Cruel Sister is another excellent Pentangle album and the songs – not just Jack O’Rion – are lovingly and imaginatively presented in a way that only Pentangle could ever achieve. The title track and Lord Franklin are amongst Pentangle’s finest offerings, Jacqui is at her very best on the a capella When I Was In My Prime and A Maid That’s Deep is a Danny Thompson showcase.
Pentangle’s next album, Reflection, is previewed on the Cruel Sister bonus album and the six featured tracks are making their first appearance on vinyl.
REFLECTION
Disquiet had started to enter the Pentangle picture by the time the band assembled in Command Studios in London to record their fifth album, Reflection. The recording process was beset by ongoing threats of departure from each band member (except Jacqui) and the band were also involved in a bitter dispute with their record company, Transatlantic, over the non-payment of royalties.
Despite its unsettled background, Reflection is a fine album. It’s a return to the tried-and-tested traditional/original blend, with lots of jazzy and bluesy moments to complement the folky inspirations. The album’s title track is, arguably, up there amongst the best things that Pentangle ever committed to vinyl and there are so many other fine moments, too, notably the wonderful Will The Circle Be Unbroken, a Jacqui McShee tour-de-force, Bert’s plaintive When I Get Home and Terry’s lysergic Helping Hand.
The ‘previously unreleased’ studio out-takes on the Reflection bonus disc are, I’d suggest for collectors only but the ‘Pentangle Trio’ – Renbourn, Thompson and Cox – tracks from Renbourn’s 1971 solo album, Faro Annie, are an enjoyable extract from one of the rarer Pentangle-associated products.
SOLOMON’S SEAL
And so, to Solomon’s Seal, the final album from the original Pentangle lineup. Released in September 1972, it came out on the Reprise label, following the bad blood that had accumulated during their royalty-payment dispute with Transatlantic. Critical reception to the album was tepid at best and, six months after the album’s release, Pentangle had suffered their first breakup. Notwithstanding the turmoil surrounding its production and appearance, there’s still plenty to enjoy on Solomon’s Seal, most notably the wonderful Willie O’ Winsbury, the Jansch/McShee duet No Love Is Sorrow and Renbourn’s Jump Baby Jump, inspired – apparently – by an alcohol-assisted walk along the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare.
It might have been a final statement from one of Britain’s most original, innovative and musical bands ever – a footnote, even – but Jacqui McShee has been known to identify Solomon’s Seal as her favourite Pentangle album. It shouldn’t be dismissed.
And the Solomon’s Seal bonus tracks have a historical significance, too. All previously unreleased in the vinyl format, the three bonus tracks – When I Get Home, She Moved Through The Fair and Train Song were all recorded live at Guildford Civic Hall on 10th November 1972 on the original Pentangle’s final tour. Somehow, it’s a great way to conclude this comprehensive, attractive, desirable document to one of the all-time great, great bands.
Watch Pentangle perform Willie O’ Winsbury, a track from the Solomon’s Seal album, performed on the ITV TV series, Set of Six, on 27th June 1972 below:
Pentangle online: Official Website / YouTube
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