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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Apr 29, 2019 13:36:51 GMT
I must have listened to this six times over the weekend
isn't it wonderful?
I've heard it said that Sandy Denny was the greatest female singer to ever come out of the British Isles. I wouldn't dispute that, but I think Jacqui McShee would give her quite a run for her money. If you watch her in that clip it all seems absolutely effortless, the purity and clarity and unwavering pitch just flow out of her, there are no signs of strain.
The band are pretty good too...
I enjoyed this concert almost as much
Jansch is a cool handsome bastard and the crowd are incredibly receptive - it's a joy to watch. In some ways it reminds me of that fantastic Led Zep footage from Denmark around the same time - obviously the music is different but a kind of loose, happy mood comes across in both, bands in their early days playing almost telepathically well together to a bunch of hip young students, smoke filling the air. Magical.
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Post by DarknessFish on Apr 29, 2019 14:31:42 GMT
I always feel like I don't listen to Pentangle enough, even though they're on fairly regular rotation. I'd have Jacqui or Maddy Prior above Denny any day, though that's largely because I never really got Fairport, they seem more of a rockist take on folk, or at least a slightly duller to my ears.
As good as the guitarists are, it's normally Danny Thompson's bass which gets me, his jazzy inflections really give a distinctive flourish to Pentangle, offers them something that the other folky giants didn't have. It can't be coincidence that Nick Drake's one excellent album had Danny's bass wanderings present.
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Post by dipstick on Apr 29, 2019 14:32:15 GMT
It is absolutely phenomenal. I went on a kick of listening to that very clip about 30 times several months back and still revisit it often. The song too is a thing of beauty; if I remember rightly it was actually lyrics and melody of two separate songs that happened to be next to one another in a traditional songbook. Combined, it became a staple of this folk rock scene. Here Pentangle evoke more than any other band could from the source.
As for the comparison, Jacqui McShee has a purer voice than Sandy Denny but Sandy had those eerie songwriting chops that no one could match. That both were in the same music scene in similar bands at the same time is pretty amazing and makes me wonder what brilliant singers and songwriters we are missing with the music business being as horrid as it is today.
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,554
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Post by fange on Apr 29, 2019 14:33:05 GMT
Wonderful group. I was thinking of starting a thread on them this week myself, as I had a little Pentangle kick over Easter.
I can bask in the gentle beauty of something like 'Travelling Song' all day.
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Pentangle
Apr 29, 2019 14:38:11 GMT
via mobile
Post by dipstick on Apr 29, 2019 14:38:11 GMT
In some ways it reminds me of that fantastic Led Zep footage from Denmark around the same time - obviously the music is different but a kind of loose, happy mood comes across in both, bands in their early days playing almost telepathically well together to a bunch of hip young students, smoke filling the air. Magical. Yes. As a marked difference just look at the other Pentangle clips from the Soloman's Seal era. There is a tired kind of artistic rot starting to set in, and you can see why things splintered not long after.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2019 19:11:21 GMT
I can never tire of this album. One of my favourites from the 60s.
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,554
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Post by fange on Apr 30, 2019 8:18:30 GMT
Maybe a little past their peak for some people, but i just love the vocals and the feel on this track.
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Post by bungo the mungo on Apr 30, 2019 13:31:09 GMT
amazing band. i'd certainly take mcshee over denny. the rhythm section was so tight.
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Post by mibbiesaye on Apr 30, 2019 16:02:00 GMT
That is indeed a brilliant clip. The Anne Briggs and Meg Baird versions are also good. I don't agree with her but Shirley Collins slightly acid take on Pentangle does make me smile.
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Post by driftin on May 1, 2019 13:33:57 GMT
I love Pentangle because they always felt like they were skirting around something very dark. In my favourite songs of theirs they just dived right in:
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2019 0:04:34 GMT
Can't believe someone hasn't put this up yet. Every year I have one or two sessions going through Pentangle videos on Youtube and this is my favourite.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2019 17:48:46 GMT
I've heard it said that Sandy Denny was the greatest female singer to ever come out of the British Isles. I wouldn't dispute that, but I think Jacqui McShee would give her quite a run for her money. If you watch her in that clip it all seems absolutely effortless, the purity and clarity and unwavering pitch just flow out of her, there are no signs of strain. I agree 100% 'Purity' is the key word I think, there's a wonderfully unfiltered truthful quality to her singing. I'd take her above Denny.
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Post by bungo the mungo on May 10, 2019 17:55:26 GMT
it seems they are perludin's flagship band.
i couldn't think of a better band to represent all our tastes.
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Post by The Right Profile on Aug 4, 2020 8:04:21 GMT
I think I prefer late '60s Fairport Convention to Pentangle, but it's certainly a close run thing. I think Pentangle's best music has this eerie, minimal quality to it- whether it's the darting "Light Flight" or the skipping "Springtime Promises", or indeed, essentially every track on Basket of Light. They also had the ability to make "traditional" songs sound haunting and new, something they shared with Fairport Convention.
When you listen to Fairport Convention, Pentangle and the Incredible String Band- there must have been something in the water in the late 60s because I don't think British folk rock ever had quite the same pull ever again. The way those acts excavated old melodies and melded them with what was going on at the time (Dylan, of course, casts a huge shadow) created something quite pure and perfect, if you get the drift.
And another point- many of these artists were in their late teens or early 20s when their best stuff came out- how the hell did they have the musical maturity to create something so timeless? Just staggering really.
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Post by Mr. FOLLARD on Aug 4, 2020 8:20:26 GMT
And another point- many of these artists were in their late teens or early 20s when their best stuff came out- how the hell did they have the musical maturity to create something so timeless? Just staggering really. Yes, that's something that comes to mind when I listen too. Look at the band in any of those clips - Jansch especially comes across as an old man in some way, there's a kind of 'weight' to his demeanour and his playing that belies his years. In fact before I saw any footage of the band I always thought he was an ancient guest musician on those recordings!
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