Brilliant third album from this legendary folk rock band! Everything here is played on acoustic instruments, but it’s still a very rich and colourful album. And of course: With musicians like John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and the always wonderful Jacqui McShee (probably my all time favourite vocalist in this genre), how can it go wrong? It can’t. All the material is traditional, but the band surely makes it their own. The album starts off with ‘Light Flight’ – an utpempo song with a really catchy melody. Great stuff. Then comes ‘Once I Had A Sweetheart’. Haunting and incredibly beautiful folk is what’s on the agenda here, and Jacqui McShee sings like a folk goddess as always. This is originally an English trad., but here it gets almost an Eastern twist with great sitar-playing by Mr. Renbourn, along with Bert Jansch’ characteristic playing on acoustic guitar. This song is a bit psychedelic, and that I don’t mind one bit. Totally memorable song for this band. ‘Springtime Promises’ follows, and it always gets me in a good mood. ‘Lyke-Wake Dirge’ is originally an English poem about the trip the human soul makes after the body has said goodnight once and for all (if you believe in that sort of stuff). Musically speaking, this is haunting folk of the highest order. Just vocals on this one. A pure hymn. The first side of the album ends with ‘Train Song’, sung by Jansch and with McShee’s repeating ‘ba ba ba-du’ in the background. The song shifts between uptempo and slow moving-parts. Thematically, it’s an ode to the old steamrolling trains. Side B is just as fantastic, and starts with ‘Hunting Song’. This is one of their best songs ever in my opinion. The melodies are simply wonderful, and it’s musically adventurous – as this band always were in those times. Pentangle are sometimes even called ‘baroque jazz’ rather than folk rock per se, and it’s true enough that you’ll find jazzy leanings on their albums. Anyway, ‘Hunting Song’ is a real classic. Oh by the way, the song is based on the story of a magic drinking horn sent by Morgana the Fay to the court of King Arthur, and tells of numerous incidents on its journey. ‘Sally Go Round The Roses’ is an incredibly catchy and playful song, ‘The Cuckoo’ is a folk song from Somerset and features yet another wonderful melody. And then the album ends with ‘House Carpenter’, where McShee demonstrates once again how great and powerful she is as a vocalist and interpreter. If you only buy ONE folk rock album from the 60’s, ‘Basket of Light’ should be highly considered! Extremely essential stuff.
Pentangle – Basket of Light (Transatlantic 1969)
