I recently learned of band Pentangle shortly after I learned about Bert Jansch, one of the acoustic guitarists and vocalists in the band. I also recently learned of a quote from Neil Young about Bert Jansch saying that Jansch was the best acoustic guitarist, or at least his favorite. In his very next sentence, Neil Young said Jimi Hendrix was the best electric guitarist (in his opinion). That is quite the rarified air, and I was already excited to listen to more of Jansch’s work after listening to his Birthday Blues (1969) album.
This album was the debut album for the group, and I’m really looking forward to listening to it.
“Let No Man Steal Your Thyme” starts out with a deep low droning that goes around the soundscape a bit sending the listener in a bit of a whirl. That acoustic guitar work is really awesome to hear, quite poignant and sounds very ‘of the earth’. The song goes into somewhat exploratory territory too, which sets a mood for the album that I didn’t expect – although I didn’t know what to expect – in a very exciting and welcoming way.
“Bells” starts out in a way that very much reminds me of Tim Buckley’s album, Lorca (1970), with a similar darkness, though this seems to set on a path of sorts that escapes the darkness through somewhat of a chaotic method. That acoustic guitar by Jansch is absolutely insane. The percussion solo has almost a tin-like feeling to it that comes off with great authenticity. The song drops back into place with the instrumentation in a fantastic way. Definitely a great instrumental.
“Hear My Call” starts out with an awesome upright bass jazz sound. I really dig the sound in this album so far – definitely folk, but a hearty dose of jazz and blues rock, all in acoustic form. Wow, that acoustic guitar solo is super tasty. It’s storming outside my place right now, and the acoustic folky jazzy music the band is playing is going quite well alongside it.
“Pentangling” is the longest track on the album by nearly two minutes, and sounds like it’s going to be an awesome folky journey. It reminds me of some European/Irish/English folk music I’ve listened to. The acoustic guitars really drive the song forward so well. The lead singer’s voice has such a great folk singing voice that reminds me of Steeleye Span a bit. That bass solo is really slick. The fact that all the band members seem to be getting their share of the spotlight is really sweet, and they’re all doing so well at only adding to the song instead of drawing attention away from the composition as a whole. It definitely gets strange as the tension builds up, but wow that was pretty slick. I should try expanding my musical vocabulary a bit, but that was pretty slick. Wow, it’s almost a completely different song at this point, like it’s unwinding in a certain. The acoustic guitar is really awesome. This album has been a joy to listen to so far.
“Mirage” starts out with some super plucky acoustic guitar that almost leads the rhythm in a way. I love the acoustic bass – it sounds so jazzy to me. I’m getting lost in the song quite a bit as it plays along with the storm outside my place.
“Way Behind the Sun” starts out pretty bluesy, but that bass is kind of jazz rock to me. This album is pretty awesome so far. The fact that everything in the album has been acoustic up to this point (to my knowledge), really drives home the authenticity of this album to me. That acoustic guitar playing is so impressive, and super bluesy and folky at the same time. I can’t say enough good things about the acoustic guitars played by Bert Jansch and John Renbourn in this album. This song reminds me of a Grateful Dead they played earlier in their career, though I’m not sure which one or if I’m remembering correctly.
“Bruton Town” sounds the most traditionally European folk of the album so far. Something like Donovan meets Steeleye Span. That double bass played by Danny Thompson has really impressed me a lot, and it adds so much to the musical soundscape, and is very tight sounding as well. In fact, the entire band plays super tight, it’s awesome to hear. The percussion played by Terry Cox fills the song just right. Jacqui McShee, the lead vocalist, demonstrates her range on this song to me the most of any one so far on the album, really hitting lower notes than I’ve noticed her sing thus far on the album, and doing so very well. Her voice has a great smoothness to it, but there’s a bit of grit there when she wants to demonstrate it.
“Waltz”, the original last track of the original release, sounds exactly as it’s titled in terms of timing with that traditional 3/4. But the instruments are not exactly producing a normal waltz tune, choosing a more jazzy inflection than one might typically hear. This one appears to be an instrumental. The clapping in the tune is completely unexpected, almost as if cheering on that acoustic guitar in the center of attention at the moment. The acoustic guitar is absolutely phenomenal here – honestly I’ve never heard acoustic guitar quite like it, or at least that I can remember. The bass has its turn again and really lets a really jazz-inflected solo loose on the track. Wow, the rest of the other instruments drop in as they are unwinding the track, or possibly winding up. A great shout provides some even more intense energy. Honestly it kind of reminds me of “The Other One” by the Grateful Dead a bit.
“Koan (Alternate Version)” starts out with more of that Tim Buckley – Lorca (1970) energy, though quickly transitions to something a bit more folky. I love the drums to this one – they sound pretty jazzy to my ear. The tune drops into something I think in a major key and traditional folk sounding near the end, really sweet.
“The Wheel (Alternate Version)” has some really spinny acoustic guitar playing to it, that is complemented with a similar simple playing style on the drums by Terry Cox. Listening to this during the storm happening outside my place and seeing all the lightning through the windows has made for a pretty sweet listening experience.
“The Casbah (Alternate Version)” has a nice gentle sound to it, from all instruments. It’s probably the most relaxing of all the tracks I’ve heard so far on the album. Wow, the acoustic guitars really casually show off some incredible chops and songwriting at the same time. It’s almost a bit flamenco sounding to an extent. Really sweet instrumental.
“Bruton Town (Alternate Version)” sounds familiar, as it is a different version of the original second to last track on the album. I can really hear the folky storytelling aspect of the song this time around, perhaps because it’s kind of my second time around on this track, or at least the song. Wow, that acoustic guitar is really awesome though. All the instruments meld together with the rest so extremely well to my ears. Wow, I think I can hear what sounds like someone breathing in in between different segments of the acoustic guitar jam that’s happening – it reminds me of the little breaths you can hear when Keith Jarrett is really feeling what he’s playing at the moment. I may have imagined those breaths in this song, but it was pretty awesome to hear.
“Hear My Call (Alternate Version)” sounds a bit more meandering than I remember the original version being. I really love how the lead vocalists voice sounds on this one; the high notes are sung with such folky excellence to my ears. These folky jazzy bluesy acoustic jams in the song really have such a great sound.
Upon hearing it a second time, “Way Behind the Sun (Live at the Royal Festival Hall, 1968) [Alternate Version]” is almost definitely a song that I remember the Grateful Dead having played, or perhaps the same melodies with different lyrics. I can hear Pigpen singing the vocals to this one really easily (perhaps with some slightly different lyrics). Probably the most bluesy of all the songs on the album, it really is an awesome song, and very glad I got to hear it again.
“Way Behind the Sun (Instrumental)” ties the album back up with a sick bluesy jam on this one. I think there might even be some acoustic slide guitar going on in this version. Absolutely delicious to hear. It really sounds like the band has at least 3 different acoustic guitar players playing at just about any point in the album – I’m having an awesome time struggling to comprehend the guitar playing.
Wow, that was an awesome album. Definitely worth the listen if you enjoy folk music as well as blues and/or jazz music. I might have to listen to a couple of tracks again just to try to figure out what was going on with the acoustic guitar playing, and how they only had two people playing the acoustic guitar. Definitely recommend this one.
-A