THE PENTANGLE

1. "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" (2:37) straight out of the gate we get the sense of how serious these musicians are about their music as well as about the kind of messages they wish to convey with the songs they choose: I love the double entendre presented in the song title while the in-your-face presentation of each and every instrument as well as Jacqui McShee's warm and luminous voice makes this song a crystalline presentation of this band's talents. (9/10)

2. "Bells" (3:52) This instrumental puts on full display the instrumental skills and talents of each and every one of the band members. There are really three songs incorporated into one here. (9/10)

3. "Hear My Call" (3:01) a bluesy blues-rock construct given a kind of folk/road-Americana treatment by the instrumentalists while Jacqui soars mellifluously over the top like a tern soaring playfully in heavy winds. (9.25/10)

4. "Pentangling" (7:02) memorable melodic hooks abound in this Pentangle classic. Has recorded music ever benefitted from higher quality trio of virtuosi as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, and Danny Thompson? And drummer Terry Cox and Jacqui McShee are no slouches either! Danny's playful solo in the song's middle, besides being laughable, is nothing short of genius. (13.75/15)

5. "Mirage" (2:00) more bluesy folk balm for the wounded soul. The virtuosity of these musicians five--adding so much to what seems like rather simple notes and melodies--is absolutely astounding. (4.5/5)

6. "Way Behind The Sun" (3:01) more great performances on a song that is not as engaging or pleasurable as the others (for me). (8.875/10)

7. "Bruton Town" (5:05) a brilliant song rendering that predates the music that COMUS and SPIROGYRA would soon continue to explore and expand upon. I love the male lead vocals being mirrored from behind by Jacqui, and then her taking over the telling of the story in the third verse. So powerful! Like many British folk songs, the music gets a bit monotonous in its repetitiveness, but the band brilliantly diverts the listener's waning attention with an absolutely brilliant instrumental passage in the second half in which Terry Cox's drumming amazes. My favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)

8. "Waltz" (4:54) a t-part suite to end the album starts out as a folk tune, moves into the jazz realms with a couple of motifs before meandering back into folk territory with the rhythmic support of syncopated handclapping, but then Terry picks up his sticks again to support just before Danny steps into the spotlight solo for some more super playful solo play. A hillbilly crow accompanies the band's recongealing into a full combo for the final minute of jazzy-folk virtuosity. Amazing folk musicianship bordering on jazzmenship. (9.25/10)

Total Time: 31:32

An incredibly well-engineered and performed album that puts on display the fact that none of these musicians are newbies--that they've all paid their dues to acquire the skills and maturity to put together such perfect renditions of each and every song. My only hesitation in offering full five star masterpiece status to this album is my personal aversion to bluesy music--but the skill and talent presented here is far from flawed. Brilliant performances, engineering, and production. Though the instrumental quartet is always a marvel to listen too, sometimes I regret two songs (worth nine minutes of this relatively short album) that do not involve the scintillating talent of singer Jacqui McShee; not using one of the great jazz, folk, prog voices of all-time seems almost wasteful.

A-/five stars; a masterpiece of folk- and jazz-rock that every prog lover should hear if not own. There are not many Prog Folk bands with the skill, talent, and creativity of this quintet; this combo should not be missed.

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