The Pentangle-Basket Of Light (1969)

The Pentangle were one of the first English bands to fuse British folk with jazz and blues, at a time when the term "prog-folk" didn't yet exist, when they released their debut album. Founded in the mid-sixties by two of the greatest guitarists in acoustic folk, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, both already had significant solo careers before joining forces for this project. Folk singer Jacqui McShee, who had already collaborated with Renbourn on his first album, also joined them, and along with former members of the Alexis Korner Blues Band, Terry Cox (drums) and bassist Danny Thompson, completed the lineup of The Pentangle. In 1968, their first album arrived, a masterful blend of jazz and folk fused with elements of blues. That same year, their second album, "Sweet Child", was released a double LP containing studio and live tracks, notably Charlie Mingus's compositions "Haitian Fight Song" and "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat". A year later came the album we're discussing here, "Basket of Light", their masterpiece, where they achieved the perfect balance between traditional folk songs and their jazz and blues style, all infused with medieval musical influences, resulting in a more cohesive sound than "Sweet Child". An album that, starting with its famous cover, which shows the band performing in a packed Royal Albert Hall, arrived at the height of their popularity. “Basket of Light” opens with one of the group's signature songs, “Light Flight”, a complex piece on which McShee lends his superb vocals. The traditional “Once I Had a Sweetheart” showcases Renbourn's virtuosity on the sitar, while “Spring Time Promises” is another elaborate composition, this time featuring Jansch on lead vocals. After the traditional jazzy “Like Wake-Up Call”, arranged for three voices, comes the somber “Hunting Song”, another popular composition, which gives way to the bluesy “Trian Song”, a superb piece with a development between accelerated and slowed rhythms, featuring McShee's vocals. Meanwhile, “Sally Go Round The Roses”, a composition by Phil Spector, is the most cheerful track with a style closer to funk, ending with the medieval “The Cuckoo” and “House Carpenter”, thus closing an album of great timeless beauty and one of the masterpieces of British jazz-folk-blues of all time.