Basket of Light

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.

Somehow medieval folk, but with some almost rock feels on a few tracks. I didn't expect to like it, and not sure I'll listen again, but great performance, and pretty unique.

Basket of Light was a fairly interesting album. This album seems to be mostly focused on telling stories which i think is cool and it does a fairly good job at it. It kinda reminds me of that Marty Robbins album i did a while back, though i do like this album more due to having superior sounding music. The instrumentation did sound a bit weird at first but over time, i did get used to it and found it pretty interesting. I also do like how there are two singers with both of them sounding pretty good. I definitely think that this album is a good storytelling album even if it did take a while for me to get used to it.
Best Song: Train Song
Worst Song: Once I Had a Sweetheart

The traditional songs do it for me

Hippy shit. And like, not the good stuff, either...

I feel as though I should have been eating gruel in a medieval army camp. Favorite song was Train Song.

I often find people comparing an album or other set of songs as a "Renaissance faire" in a negative connotation, even when I don't completely see a connection, such as with Tim Buckley's Goodbye and Hello. However, an album like this brings that comparison into an understandable light a bit more. I've heard albums that trend similar to this one, such as Leige and Lief by Fairport Convention, which I wasn't a fan of, but while that one trended towards boredom more than anything, this one just bothers me because of its potential. There are some excellent tracks hidden among the dullness here, such as the opening track and Train Song, but much of the album needs that extra oomph to not feel like I'm just exploring the basic "folk songs" section of a music library, or perhaps like a forgettable track on a Jefferson Airplane album. This album has lots of potential for me, but in the end just is a gateway into seeing what others see when they refer to something as "Renaissance faire," and mean it harshly.

This was a beautiful album. It sounds amaazing in headphones wow. But I’ll probably not visit it again.

A little torn. I don't usually like to rate things high that I can't really see putting on again anytime soon, but it was so well done that I think I have to rate it a little higher. Probably between a 3 and a 4 for me, if 3.5 was an option, it's what I'd go with. But because I can't see putting it on again anytime soon, I'll round down this time. Not bad at all, though!

for doing a related thing (aggressively acoustic, folky to the point of medieval), blows Incredible String Band out of the water. Still would prefer something more along the lines of Renaissance, get a little more ambitious with the arrangements, y'know,

It's like Nick Drake got properly treated with experimental anti-depressants, fell in love with a girl at a Renaissance Fair, and joined a commune/band with her near Stonehenge. Though the voices are pretty, I kind of wish this was purely instrumental so I could focus more on the intricacies of their interplay.

A nice folk album, not really to my taste but can appreciate why this is on the list.

Before today I'd never heard of Pentangle before. The album cover provided no hints as to what I was in for, so I googled their name. The first thing that came up was the definition of Pentangle, which is "another word for pentagram". Given that definition, I figured I would be in for a heavy metal album perhaps? What I heard was the polar opposite!

Pentangle are a folk group from the UK. Their music includes dual guitars (one artist who is Blues trained, and one who is folk trained), amazing bass grooves, and male and female vocalists. The singers are amazing, and the harmonies created by the two of them is beautiful. This album also prominently features sitar and glockenspiel parts, which is awesome!!

These guys remind me a lot of Fairport Convention. This album combines jazz, Blues, and folk along with some psychedelica into one beautiful album. They may start a jazz number, then flawlessly switch genres half way through.

Overall, an amazing album! Another one that blindsided me! I love discovering these kinds of records! I will absolutely listen again, I listened to it twice today!

Favorite songs: House Carpenter, Hunting Song, The Cuckoo, Sally Go Round the Roses, Once I Had a Sweetheart, Springtime Promises, Lyke-Wake Dirge, Cold Mountain

Least favorite songs: Train Song

5/5

Four of the nine tracks on this album are Traditionals, and I’d not be surprised to learn they’re Child Ballads. It’s what was all the rage for folk singers in the 60s and 70s. The female vocals are just magical. There’s mystery here, too, with the religious invocations. Overall this album is one of pastoral narratives of delicate beauty despite the dark themes woven throughout. And the whole idea of a “true love” seems to have always been immortalized in song, hasn’t it?

Wow this is super cool. Psychedelic, almost medieval sounding folk full of funky time signatures. '69 really was possibly the best year in music history.

Even though you're jumping into the hippy-folk from the first tones, I didn't mind this eclectic and inventive folk album.

This is especially due to the amazingly talented guitarists on this album who bring a very psychedelic tone to the whole.

Same kind of folk sound like some of the earlier folk albums on the list from the same time period. Pleasant folk noodling. Folk noodling. Aghhh this is just not my cup of tea. Its fine?

An interesting album with diverse influences including folk, prog, hippy rock, and Eastern music. Perfectly pleasant, but not likely to live long in the memory. Pretty much the definition of three stars for me!