THE COLLECTION

This 17 song collection covers the history of The Pentangle from their eponymous debut album released in 1968, through to the "Reflections" release in 1971. Thus only the lost "Solomon's seal" album of 1972 is missing in terms of the output of the original line up. Since the Pentangle were never a singles band, apart from their brief encounter with the charts with "Light flight" (included here), this is most definitely not a "Greatest hits" collection. Whether it is a "Best of" is a matter for debate, but as a cross section of the band's work, "The collection" certainly fits the bill.

The songs are presented in approximate chronological order, with occasional minor discrepancies, presumably for artistic reasons, i.e. to give the album better flow. Each album contributes three or four tracks of approximately equal length. The fine longer songs on "Cruel sister", the title track and "Jack Orion", are thus unfortunately omitted despite some spare space still being available. On the plus side, the first track on that album "A maid that's deep in love" and the traditional ballad "Lord Franklin" are both included.

Given the success of "Basket of light", it is perhaps surprising that only three tracks are present here, although the delightful "Once I had a sweetheart" does light up the collection.

Pentangle's music is rooted in traditional folk songs and styles, their early albums being exclusively acoustic. While "The collection" offers only a superficial summary of their finest period, it will serve as a useful introduction for those unfamiliar with the band.