This DVD, from a 1972 French television performance, is about as good a musical representation of Pentangle in concert during its classic period as listeners are ever likely to get -- the group, playing for the cameras, runs through six numbers off of the Solomon's Seal and Reflection albums. The... [+] Expand

This DVD, from a 1972 French television performance, is about as good a musical representation of Pentangle in concert during its classic period as listeners are ever likely to get -- the group, playing for the cameras, runs through six numbers off of the Solomon's Seal and Reflection albums. The live-before-the-cameras format, similar to the approach taken by such late-'50s musical showcases as Jazz Party offers the group the chance to stretch out as it chooses, with Bert Jansch and John Renbourn and even bassist Danny Thompson improvising at will, while the shots shift from wide to close-up, utilizing wide-angle lenses and other visual enhancements to dress up the image as they do close-ups on the members at relevant moments (though one does wish to see a bit more of the guitarists' hands). Good as the first five numbers are, however, it is the finale "People on the Highway" that is the best part of this release. The volume is a bit low, but the audio is very clean and the fidelity is excellent. The film image has some signs of wear, including thin, vertical scratches and some spots at the reel's opening and closing, but has otherwise been very well preserved. The actual program runs 30 minutes, but the disc claims a running time of 41 minutes, which includes the promotional feature for Intense Vision, and what's more, that's not a cheat -- the latter is pretty damn engaging, showcasing various progressive, blues-rock, and hard rock acts in its library. The disc automatically opens to a two-layer menu that includes full track-selection features as well as access to the promotional reel. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

• songs
• similar
• videos
• eyeviews
• reviews
• download directory