Basket of Light
Encyclopedia
Basket of Light is a 1969
album by the folk rock
group Pentangle
. It reached #5 on the UK charts largely on the basis of the single "Light Flight" (#43 UK), the theme from BBC1's
first colour drama series Take Three Girls
.
The album cover uses photographs of Pentangle's 1968 concert in the Royal Albert Hall
. A note about the instrumentation states that "All the instruments played on this album are ."
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
album by the folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
group Pentangle
Pentangle (band)
Pentangle are a British folk rock band with some folk jazz influences. The original band were active in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a later version has been active since the early 1980s...
. It reached #5 on the UK charts largely on the basis of the single "Light Flight" (#43 UK), the theme from BBC1's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
first colour drama series Take Three Girls
Take Three Girls
Take Three Girls is a drama series on BBC1 which ran between 1969 and 1971 about the lives of three girls sharing a flat in 'Swinging' London....
.
A side
| 1 | 3:14 | Light Flight | A complex song based on jazz rhythms, switching between 5/8, 7/8 and 6/4 time signatures. Jacqui McShee Jacqui McShee thumb|300px|right|Jacqui McShee performing with [[Pentangle]] at the 2007 [[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]]Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz influenced folk rock band.-Biography:McShee's musical career began as a soloist in British folk... 's layered vocals also draw on the jazz idiom. Theme from Take Three Girls Take Three Girls Take Three Girls is a drama series on BBC1 which ran between 1969 and 1971 about the lives of three girls sharing a flat in 'Swinging' London.... , a BBC-1 program. |
| 2 | 4:37 | Once I had a Sweetheart | A traditional song, featuring a sitar Sitar The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages... solo by John Renbourn John Renbourn John Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a... . Trad. Arr. Jansch/Renbourn/Thompson/Cox/McShee |
| 3 | 4:04 | Springtime Promises | A Terry Cox Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums.... composition, sung by Bert Jansch Bert Jansch Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter... . The album cover states that it was written "after a ride on a number 74 bus from Gloucester Road Gloucester Road, London Gloucester Road is a street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea of London. It runs north-south between Kensington Road and Old Brompton Road at the south end... to Greencroft Gardens on an early spring day". |
| 4 | 3:32 | Lyke Wake Dirge | is a traditional song arranged for three part vocals with some similarity to the vocal harmonies used by The Young Tradition The Young Tradition The Young Tradition were a British folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices.-Biography:... , in their version of the song, but with distinctive Pentangle instrumentation. Fried/Trad. Arr. Jansch/Renbourn/Thompson/Cox/McShee |
| 5 | 4:43 | Train Song | is a blues-influenced composition evoking the rhythms of a train. It slows into a more dream-like middle section with McShee's "instrumental vocalization" soaring above the band before picking up speed into an ending featuring Danny Thompson Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman... 's bowed bass. The title of the album is taken from a line in the song: Love is a basket of light; grasp it so tight. |
B side
| 1 | 6:41 | Hunting Song | A band composition, based on the mediaeval story of a magic drinking horn sent by Morgana le Fay to the court of King Arthur King Arthur King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and... . It features Terry Cox Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums.... on glockenspiel Glockenspiel A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone... and develops into a central section in three part canon Canon (music) In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower... based on the theme of the Elizabethan Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history... round Round (music) A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody , but with each voice beginning at different times so that different parts of the melody coincide in the different voices, but nevertheless fit harmoniously together... "Heigh-ho, nobody home". |
| 2 | 3:34 | Sally Go Round the Roses | A song recorded by The Jaynetts The Jaynetts The Jaynetts were a Bronx, New York girl group who became one-hit wonders with "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963.-Beginnings:... in 1963. |
| 3 | 4:26 | The Cuckoo The Cuckoo (song) "The Cuckoo" is a traditional English folk song. It has been covered by many musicians in several different styles. An early notable recorded version was performed by Appalachian folk musician Clarence Ashley with a unique banjo tuning.... |
A straightforward folk arrangement of a traditional song. (Trad. Arr. Jansch/Renbourn/Thompson/Cox/McShee) |
| 4 | 5:27 | House Carpenter | Another traditional song, also known as "The Daemon Lover The Daemon Lover "The Daemon Lover", also known as "James Harris", "James Herries", or "The House Carpenter" is a popular English ballad. It tells the story of a man , who returns to a former lover after a very long absence, and finds her with a husband and a baby... ". It features the unusual combination of banjo Banjo In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... (played by Jansch) and sitar (played by Renbourn). (Trad. Arr. Jansch/Renbourn/Thompson/Cox/McShee) |
The album cover uses photographs of Pentangle's 1968 concert in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. A note about the instrumentation states that "All the instruments played on this album are ."
Personnel
- Terry CoxTerry CoxTerence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums....
– Drums, Glockenspiel, Hand Drum, Hi-Hat, Vocals on (4), (6) - Bert JanschBert JanschHerbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
– Guitar, Banjo, Vocals on (3), (5), (6), (9) - Jacqui McSheeJacqui McSheethumb|300px|right|Jacqui McShee performing with [[Pentangle]] at the 2007 [[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]]Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee is an English singer. Since 1966 she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz influenced folk rock band.-Biography:McShee's musical career began as a soloist in British folk...
– Vocals - John RenbournJohn RenbournJohn Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
– Guitar, Sitar, Vocals on (3), (4), (6), (7) - Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
– Double Bass
- Shel TalmyShel TalmyShel Talmy is an American record producer, songwriter, arranger best known for his work in London with The Who and The Kinks in the 1960s, with a role in many other English bands including Cat Stevens and Pentangle...
– Producer - Damon Lyon-Shaw – Engineer
- John PantryJohn PantryJohn Pantry is a musician, singer, songwriter, audio engineer and record producer from Harrow, Middlesex, England. He's been active since the late 1960s...
– Engineer