More British Folk Rock

• The Pentangle’s Masterpiece returns to the site for the first time in years, here with INSANELY GOOD Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades on both sides of this early UK Transatlantic pressing – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
• The unprocessed quality found throughout the album has its audiophile credentials fully in order, especially in the area of guitar harmonics, as well as drums that sound like real drums actually sound
• The true foundation of the music is provided by two legendary guitar heavyweights, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, with Jacqui McShee’s almost unbearably sweet vocals soaring above them
• This is one of the Holy Grail titles we have been trying to find on Transatlantic UK vinyl in clean condition for more than a decade, with almost nothing to show for our efforts until now
• We can find Pentangling — they made a lot of those and for a compilation they sound great on the best pressings
• But this record is in an entirely different league altogether — I suspect it will be many years before we can do it again
• “It is one of the best albums one will ever hear, and as the liner notes say, ‘Play this record to those you love.'” – Rolling Stone

This is an honest-to-goodness Demo Disc. When for a (thankfully) brief time back in the 70s I was selling audio equipment, the song “Pentangling” was a favorite demo cut to play in the store. The sound of the string bass and snare drum are amazingly natural; I don’t know of any other pop album from the era that presents the vibrant timbre of those two instruments better.

This record easily qualifies for our Top 100 List, it’s that good (but unfortunately too rare to make the cut).

(more…)