BASKET OF LIGHT

Oh, what an album! Pentangle finally combined the best of its elements to release one hell of a great CD! Everything their previous works promised is fulfilled here. As usual Basket of Light mix traditional folk songs with original material, but the balance is the most perfect the band ever achieved in their entire career. They blend folk, blues, jazz and eastern sounds (using almost no eletric instrument at all) to make a very unique and exciting sound. It was an artistic and commercially successful album. And deseverly so.

The production is very good for the time. The band was a dream team of skilled and outstanding musicians put together with a relatively unknown singer (but very talented). And did they gell! Terry Cox use of the glockenspiel on several tracks is just magical. The dual guitars of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch are amazing and Danny Thompson was one of the few bassists to use the acoustic double bass in all full glory. On top of that there was the voice of Jaqui McShee, a splendid singer with a marvelous soprano voice (very similar to Renaissance´s Annie Haslam).

There is not a bad song in the entire tracklist, but some moments are just too good not to notice immediatly: The Train Song just shows how creative and skillful the members of Pentangle, Hunting Song is a fantastic mini epic and Lyke-Wake Dirge is just wonderful in its church like choir and ambience. The swapping vocals of McShee and Jansch are another highlight: flowing and natural. John Renbourn was also one of the few guitarrists who could actually play the indian sitar with originalty and knowledge.

If there is a prog folk masterpiece then it is Basket Of Light. Pentangle proved they could release a progressive, groundbreaking work without keyboards, much studio trickery or even electric instruments. If you don´t know this unique band, this is surely the album to start. Highly recommended.