Basket of Light

Ich fands nicht so schlimm wie die anderen.

Solilder Folk Rock mit up & downs. Insgesamt ganz solide und hörbar.

Aika kädenlämpöistä folkkia. Ehkä tätä on kuultu jo riittävästi listalla. 2.5/5

The medieval feeling was very good and got me interested in the album. Overall it was really good.

Before this listen, I had never heard of Pentangle, their album Basket of Light, or any of its tracks—so I went in completely blind. What followed was unexpected and, at times, fascinating but not in a good way.

I definitely wasn’t anticipating psychedelic, medieval folk music—but that’s exactly what I got. To be honest, it wasn’t really for me. While the album has a few nice moments, much of it is steeped in mystical, whimsical sounds that just didn’t resonate with me. It felt like I was listening to the soundtrack of a Renaissance fair rather than an album I’d want to revisit.

Favourite track: Springtime Promises really stood out—beautifully arranged and easy to connect with. I also enjoyed the remix of Sally Go Round the Roses; it had a more contemporary, accessible vibe.

Least favourite: Lyke-Wake Dirge was the low point for me. It felt more like a scene-setter for a medieval film than a standalone song. I just couldn’t get into it.

Album artwork: I actually loved the cover art. It has a cool, retro charm that perfectly captures the era and aesthetic of the album.

Surprised how much I enjoyed this.

'But when I awakened I found it not so.' When this record began I found it was not so. As it kept up, I found it was still not so. And as it came to its conclusion I found it was wholly not so. 'To purgatory fire thou com'st at last / And Christ receive thy saule.' Edmund Spenser was ridiculed for his employment of antiquated language in The Faerie Queene. If Spenser is old-school, Pentangle is grotesquely prehistoric. 'I have here a magic horn to deliver.' What's worse, you know exactly the influence an album like this had on subsequent groups stuck in the bullshit of Britishness: Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Queen, Uriah Heep, Gryphon.

It's ok

I was not expecting this to be so damn good. Those key changes and harmonies are borderline miraculous. They're a sort of unplugged Led Zep.

I liked this more than I thought I would. I preferred the female vocalist's voice to the male's - he seemed a little out of tune sometimes. But I liked the overall vibe. Solid three.

I would've been happier if this album was an instrumental one. The vocals aren't bad but I just feel like they don't fit.

More British folk. Unfortunately, back to back with Leige and Leif.

Not my kind of thing at all. I powered through, thinking it would pick up, but no such luck. Still better than plenty of other albums on this list though.

I’m at a pretty high 4.

I think after this and the Pogues album we got, I might just be a sucker for medieval-style music with modern instrumentation. I really did like this album; the only reason I’m at a 4 is because the choice to go mostly acoustic sort of creates a homogeneity that the album’s instrumentation never fully overcame for me. To be more specific, there’s just too many tracks that suffer from a “first minute is the whole song” syndrome for me, but those are still pretty good tracks. The ones that overcome it are great, and I think the last track in particular nails it really well. For the lyricism, I think my only real nag is that a few tracks feel sort of similar in subject matter, but otherwise, they completely nailed the feeling; some of these have to be actual old poems and songs brought into modern times.

It’s a relatively breezy 40 minutes, save for Hunting Song, which did feel like the track that dragged the longest; not just in its runtime, but in how slow the pacing of the story felt. Regardless, I enjoyed this a lot – it executes the sort of “folk jazz” thing it’s going for pretty well, the vocalists are both nice, the acoustics (which eventually lose their luster) sound great, and if nothing else, it’s a super easy listen. Pretty solid 4 for me.

A trip to the Ren Faire was not what I was expecting today…

Largely forgettable. 2/5

Wat is dat met folk? Ik vind het vaak prima om te luisteren. Maar ik veer zelden op. Terwijl ook deze mensen er muzikaal echt iets van maken.

I really don't like this at all. It's way too twee, earnest and, frankly, boring.

Surprised by this. It’s pretty good. After another listen I bet I could bump this up a bit. 2.67

What is this folk baroque rock? Take these magic mushrooms, and offer a tribute to the Wicker Man.