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The Pentangle - Solomon's Seal CD (album) cover

SOLOMON'S SEAL

The Pentangle

 

Prog Folk

3.32 | 44 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Signed (off), sealed and delivered

Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of the Pentangle's career was the fact that the end was too close to the beginning. Recorded in 1972, just 4 years after their debut, "Solomon's seal" was to be the final album recorded by the original classic line up. At the time of its release, the album quickly became something of a rarity, the print run being very limited. It then remained a sort of holy grail for fans for many years, only seeing a general release on CD in 2003. The album title is a loose reference to the visual similarity between the mythological Seal of Solomon and the band's 5 pointed logo.

Musically, "Solomon's seal" retains all the qualities of the band's previous albums, while generally following a more downbeat, reflective path. The song selections are the usual mix of band compositions and interpretations of traditions material plus a couple of covers. An early highlight is Jackie McShee's wonderful singing on "The cherry tree carol", the rendition being superbly accompanied by twin acoustic guitars. Sadly, McShee is afforded few opportunities to flex her fine voice alone, being accompanied (or replaced) by Bert Jansch on the remaining tracks.

The songs are kept brief and true to their folk roots, with little embellishment or development. There are of course the usual overlaps with the acoustic sides of bands such as Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention, the boundaries perhaps being more blurred here than on any other Pentangle album. The longest track is "Will O'Winsbury" at a shade under 6 minutes. This traditionally structured narrative song is based on an 18th Century Scottish ballad, telling the tale of a heroic warrior who becomes responsible for the pregnancy of the daughter of the king. As with a number of Pentangle's songs, this one was introduced to them by friend of the band Anne Briggs.

As Pentangle albums go, this is one of the less exciting. By their own high standards, there is an element of going through the motions here, the results being a pleasant but generally unremarkable set of folk songs. The album is far from devoid of merit though, as the musicianship is of the usual excellence, and the overall experience is very enjoyable.

Easy Livin | 3/5 |

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