Star rating: ***
Davy Graham's Folk, Blues and Beyond was playing over the PA, setting the scene with the 1960s forerunner to Pentangle's easy-going musical adventures. And leaving aside the acknowledgement of his borrowing from Miles Davis's All Blues that became the quintet's I've Got a Feeling, the guitar pioneer sprang to mind a time or two during the concert itself.
Still, witnessing the original Pentangle, on their first tour in decades, turned out to be easier on the nerves than catching their erstwhile muse these days. There were times when the quintet appeared to be feeling their way into working together again, and certain arrangements maybe seemed a little quaint. But as band reconciliations go, this one has an air of honesty rather than pound signs and there are items from their back catalogue that it's a real treat to hear being presented live again.
The House Carpenter's blend of Appalachian and Indian cultures, with John Renbourn getting down on the floor a mite reluctantly to play sitar, and its immediate successor, Cruel Sister, were classic Pentangle. Jacqui McShee sang both songs beautifully - and here, as elsewhere, the combination of drummer Terry Cox's quiet precision and bassist Danny Thompson's brawn tone proved really effective.
Renbourn and Bert Jansch's guitar interplay on Charles Mingus's Goodbye Pork Pie Hat sounded just like old times, too. All five members have grown musically and, with time and a musical policy that gathers jazz, blues, gospel, folk ballads and banjo tunes with easy informality, there could yet be more greatness to come. Whether that includes adding to "our hit", the still winsome Light Flight, we'll just have to wait and see.
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