BUYERS’ GUIDE
THE PENTANGLE
TRANSATLANTIC, 1968
Excellent debut introducing the band’s spectral mix of folk, jazz, traditional and contemporary music, including enduring classics “Mirage” and “Pentangling”.
SWEET CHILD
TRANSATLANTIC, 1968
Double album, with studio recordings paired with a Royal Festival Hall concert, showcasing impeccable playing as they oscillate between Charles Mingus, Anne Briggs and Jansch originals.
BASKET OF LIGHT
TRANSATLANTIC, 1969
Their most successful album thanks to “Light Flight”. This near-faultless collection also boasts wonderful takes of “The Hunting Song”, “Springtime Promises” and “Once I Had A Sweetheart”.
CRUEL SISTER
TRANSATLANTIC, 1970 Overlooked fourth album. The five traditionals on side one are performed with customary skill, while the 18-minute “Jack Orion” is an ambitious epic.
SOLOMON’S SEAL
REPRISE, 1972 Exhausted and unhappy, Pentangle’s final album by the original lineup still has several excellent moments such as “No Love Is Sorrow” and “Sally Free And Easy”.
OPEN THE DOOR
SPINDRIFT, 1985 Renbourn had gone solo when they reformed in 1982, but this 1985 album is still very good, including Jansch original “Lost Love” and an unexpected cover of Milton Nascimento’s “Mother Earth”.
ONE MORE ROAD
PERMANENT, 1993
The fifth and final studio release following the reformation, with only Jansch and Mcshee remaining. Tracks like “Oxford City” and “… Scarborough Fair” show the pool is running dry.
LOST BROADCASTS: 19681972
HUX RECORDS, 2004 This is a treasure trove of 41 recordings made at the BBC – some recorded from the radio by a fan and others discovered deep within the BBC archive – covering the entirety of their career.
FINALE AN EVENING WITH PENTANGLE
TOPIC RECORDS, 2016 The five original members reformed for a 2008 tour, which was captured here at several venues, including the Lyceum in London. They still have it.
REUNIONS: LIVE & BBC SESSIONS 19822011
CHERRY RED, 2023
Summary of the band’s later career featuring their reunion at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 1982 (without Cox, who’d broken his leg in a car crash), plus other concerts from the tour featuring Cox. Also has TV appearances from 2008 plus “Bruton Town” from the 2011 reunion.