Band reunions are all the rage right now. This is the most unexpected of them all.
Pentangle’s first gig was at the Royal Albert Hall on May 27 1967. By 1973
they were finished.
In the five years of their existence, they are credited with creating the jazz-folk
genre. Their greatest commercial success was album Basket Of Light (#5
UK chart 1969) featuring hit single Light Flight used as the theme to
BBC drama series Take Three Girls.
Over night, Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry
Cox became household names. They had a brief reunion in 1980. This time it was,
presumably, sparked because of their Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Radio
2 Folk Awards in 2007, where they played together for the first time in over
20 years.
Back with a 12 gig tour this folk-jazz-blues band, with all five original members
played their last night of the tour at the Phil in Liverpool. Having seen
Renbourn/McShee and Jansch separately, I knew what kind of night to expect – no
razzamatazz . It’s normally serious business, though McShee made light of their
doom and gloom songs.
Nevertheless, we hadn’t come to see ‘fame’ merchants. We’d come to hear quality
music, and they didn’t disappoint either. For over two hours they rolled back
the years like they’d never been away. A fan next to me told me he saw them
back in the 60s. I asked how they were measuring up: "They’ve matured,"
he whispered.
The stage setting was pretty formal: Renbourn and Jansch seated each side of
the enormous Phil stage. Bassist Thompson and drummer Cox set further back,
with McShee rooted at the centre, where for most of the night she shimmied and
swayed. The backdrop was simple coloured panels.
On their second song in,
McShee declared, "There’s plenty of doom and gloom to come. This is our hit,"Light Flight of course. It didn’t sound as ‘full’ as the original, but McShee
showed she’d lost none of her vocal gymnastics, now with added huskiness, drawing
big cheers and claps.
Jansch’s introduction to The Hunting Song came like this. "This next
song is typical of songs we were writing in the 60s – maids, knights and castles.
We wouldn’t get away with it now." Cox’s gentle glockenspiel eased in the
bouncy ditty with masses of trad close harmony. Jokingly, McShee said, "We’re
going to play Once I Had A Sweetheart. It didn’t get anywhere, but we like
it." It was their first single in ’69, reaching 46, good for a band of this
type. This beautiful and gentle love song was spellbinding. Renbourn was almost snapping the acoustic strings.
McShee left for the others to play out jazzy In Time. Thomson’s funky bass precursored Renbourn's
masterful bluesy picks while Jansch, head down for most of the night, strummed
away. On McShee’s return she said: "We really are going back to the 60s now",
while Renbourn seated on he floor, prepared his sitar for trad styled The House Carpenter.
Jansch plucked coolly on his banjo, McShee fluttered in. Renbourn mooched in
next and Jansch followed with his deadpan vocal until the combo let rip with
Cox’s thumping sticks, closing the first set.
Back for more they opened with Bruton Town a trad classic about a farmer’s
daughter falling in love with the house servant, who gets a thumping from her brothers
for his amorous advances. This featured some mind-boggling counter-play by
Renbourn and Jansch while McShee swayed and tapped her feet.
The cool and
breezy I’ve Got A Feeling with its pop template, still allowed Thompson
to indulge in one of his best solos of the night. With McShee off again, it
offered a duelling masterclass from Renbourn and Jansch on It Snows,
while Goodbye Pork Pie Hat gave rise to some nifty basslines by Thompson.
By 10.10pm it was all over. They soon returned for a further two – a request
for Rain and Snow and the stylish closer Willy O’Winsbury bringing a
triumphant end to a tour we might not see again.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Back with a 12 gig tour this folk-jazz-blues band, with all five original members
played their last night of the tour at the Phil in Liverpool. Having seen
Renbourn/McShee and Jansch separately, I knew what kind of night to expect – no
razzamatazz . It’s normally serious business, though McShee made light of their
doom and gloom songs.
Jansch’s introduction to The Hunting Song came like this. "This next
song is typical of songs we were writing in the 60s – maids, knights and castles.
We wouldn’t get away with it now." Cox’s gentle glockenspiel eased in the
bouncy ditty with masses of trad close harmony. Jokingly, McShee said, "We’re
going to play Once I Had A Sweetheart. It didn’t get anywhere, but we like
it." It was their first single in ’69, reaching 46, good for a band of this
type. This beautiful and gentle love song was spellbinding. Renbourn was almost snapping the acoustic strings.
Back for more they opened with Bruton Town a trad classic about a farmer’s
daughter falling in love with the house servant, who gets a thumping from her brothers
for his amorous advances. This featured some mind-boggling counter-play by
Renbourn and Jansch while McShee swayed and tapped her feet.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
