Pentangle - Progressive folk-rock

They chose a pentagon as their symbol to represent how each member of the group - each side of the figure - contributed actively and equally to the overall musical structure. A simple symbol that aptly defines the abilities and talent of Pentangle, one of the most important groups of that musical movement which, from the second half of the Sixties onward, set out to reclaim popular themes and melodies by rearranging them in a modern key.

In truth, this definition is a bit too narrow for the five musicians, who were capable of performing with skill and virtuosity in blues, jazz and classical music alike. Their musical journey, which went on in fits and starts almost up to the present day, should be listened to and analysed above all in its first phase (1968-1972), the one that allowed the core line-up to produce six genuinely interesting albums, in some ways fundamental to modern pop-folk music.

Underpinned by the capable rhythm section of percussionist and drummer Terry Cox and double bassist Danny Thompson, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch - two of the finest guitarists in the UK, equally at home ranging from Delta blues to Renaissance and Baroque pieces - wove the ideal sonic carpets for the soft velvet voice of Jacqui McShee, a superb interpreter of folk ballads and spirituals.

The talent of the five allowed the ensemble to venture confidently into difficult "terrain". Their frequent interpretation of traditional British material, together with the simultaneous growth of folk clubs following the rediscovery of musical and folkloric heritage encouraged by Bob Dylan, found the group ready to soar towards new sonic landscapes.

Before becoming Pentangle, the five had already made their mark individually with success and skill. Jansch and Renbourn, in particular, were widely known and had already made "Bert and John" together, an album that in some ways laid the groundwork for the Pentangle to come.

So their debut was rightly seen as the work of a supergroup. The musicians truly managed to create something significant, avoiding the redundancies and excesses of those "big" line-ups often formed merely to feed egos or fatten wallets. Much of the material the five had played in their earlier solo work was revisited in this new venture.

Their debut album Pentangle is a manifesto of the group's intentions. There's the jazz and the multi-layered time signatures of "Bells", "Pentangling" and "Waltz", the blues of "Hear My Call" and "Way Behind The Sun", and of course the folk of the traditional "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" and, above all, "Bruton Town", a classic English ballad with all the genre's "ingredients": love, murder and ghostly apparitions. Everyone plays at their peak, contributing to the excellent overall result of the record. The singer's intonation is crystal-clear and perfect, Jansch's tangled arpeggios are dry and enveloping, Renbourn's acoustic and electric touches are assured, and the rhythm section is perfectly in sync, able to follow every soloist's idea without ever losing its footing.

With the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to place the band squarely within the folkloric "revival" movement. Traditional songs, within the Pentangle canon, actually take up very little space in these early works.

The second album, the double LP Sweet Child, continues in the aforementioned direction, offering the public one "live" disc recorded at the Royal Albert Hall and one studio disc. There's a bit of everything here: Mingus's jazz ("Haitian Fight Song"), the blues of "Turn Your Money Green", the spiritual "No More My Lord", Jansch's angular ballads with their "open" tunings ("A Woman Like You"), British folk (again with "Bruton Town", "Sovay", "The Trees They Do Grow High"), jazz and improvisation on "No Exit" and "Three Part Thing", and 16th- and 17th-century classical music on the "Three Dances", led by Renbourn and Terry Cox. All told, another important work, played superbly and well received by audiences.

For many, though, Basket Of Light (1969) remains the quintessential "pentagonal" album. For starters, the LP contains "Light Flight", a hit single and the theme tune for a TV programme, marked by a multi-layered time signature: 5/8 and 7/8 with a 6/4 in the middle section. The result? You fly - hear it to believe it... The rest of the album is one masterpiece after another, from the delicate ballad "Once I Had A Sweetheart" to the magical "Hunting Song", inspired by the literary cycle of King Arthur and his court, to the bluesy lament of "Train Song".

With the follow-up Cruel Sister, the band dives headlong into Anglo-American traditional music, for a total of five masterfully played tracks. "Jack Orion", which takes up the entire second side, features in its central section a jazzy improvisation built around a dark British ballad. The album's title track is tender yet dramatic, another bleak and symbolic tale in which murder and magic reign supreme. The absolute star of the record is Jacqui McShee, equally at ease in solo passages and choral parts.

In 1971, Reflection marks a return to jazz and blues themes. There are certainly traditional songs - the opener "Wedding Dress" is exceptional, so beloved that Frank Zappa covered it shortly before his death on "The Lost Episodes" - but the band prefers to keep exploring more modern themes, especially on the second side.

Solomon's Seal brings the band's first and most important chapter to a close in 1972. The album certainly offers no absolute novelties, but it does revisit the winning "Pentangle" formula, capable of staying balanced on a tightrope strung over a chasm of influences and styles. All told, another masterpiece, offering a sublime moment in the tender nursery-rhyme-like "The Cherry Tree Carol", an unforgettable choral performance by the whole band.

After their sixth album, the five members of Pentangle disbanded, each continuing their own musical pursuits with equal consistency, albeit with mixed results. The subsequent reunions add little to what came before. One small exception worth noting is 1984's Open The Door, an honest if unremarkable record featuring 4/5 of the original lineup, with John Renbourn replaced by guitarist/violinist Mike Pigott. On the 1986 album In the Round, echoes of the band's early atmosphere occasionally resurface. So Early in the Spring (1990) and Think of Tomorrow (1991) would close out the band's career, marked by an unpretentious folk-rock sound.

John Renbourn was found dead on 26 March 2015 at his home in Hawick: the previous evening he had been due to perform with Wizz Jones's band in Glasgow.

© Music Adventures

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