PENTANGLE The Pentangle TRANSATLANTIC 1st Press A//2 B//1

	£		42
	$		56

A BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTIST/S :-

Formed in 1967, Pentangle was inspired by Bert And John, a collaborative album by folk musicians Bert Jansch (Born 3 November 1943, Glasgow, Scotland) and John Renbourn (Born Torquay, Devon, England). Vocalist Jacqui McShee (Born Catford, South London, England) an established figure on the traditional circuit, joined Danny Thompson (Born April 1939, London, England; bass) and Terry Cox (drums), both of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, in a quintet which also embraced blues and jazz forms. Their respective talents were expertly captured on The Pentangle, where the delicate acoustic interplay between Jansch and Renbourn was brilliantly underscored by Thompson's sympathetic support and McShee's soaring intonation. Stylish original material balanced songs pulled from folk's heritage ("Let No Man Steal Your Thyme", "Brunton Town"), while the inclusion of the Staple Singers' "Hear My Call" confirmed the group's eclecticism. This feature was expanded on the double-set Sweet Child, which included two compositions by jazz bass player Charles Mingus, "Haitian Fight Song" and "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat". The group enjoyed considerable commercial success with Basket Of Light, which included "Light Flight", the theme song to the UK television series, Take Three Girls. However, despite an undoubted dexterity and the introduction of muted electric instruments, subsequent releases were marred by a sense of sterility, and lacked the passion of concurrent releases undertaken by the two guitarists.

Pentangle was disbanded in 1972, following which Thompson began a partnership with John Martyn. Cox undertook a lucrative session career before backing French singer Charles Aznavour, and while Jansch continued his solo career, McShee fronted the John Renbourn Band between 1974 and 1981. The original Pentangle reconvened the following year for a European tour and Open The Door, although defections owing to outside commitments led to considerable changes. McShee, Cox and Jansch were joined by Nigel Portman-Smith (bass) and Mike Piggott for 1985's In The Round. Cox was then replaced by Gerry Conway and Piggott by Rod Clements (ex-Lindisfarne) for 1988's So Early In The Spring. Think Of Tomorrow, released three years later, saw Clements make way for guitarist Peter Kirtley. The same line-up also completed 1993's One More Road and 1994's Live. At this time Jansch once more became distracted by solo projects and the group's later shows saw him replaced by former Cat Stevens' guitarist Alun Davies. In 1995 McShee released her debut solo album (with Conway and John Martyn's ex-keyboard player Spencer Cozens). The following spring Renbourn and McShee celebrated 30 years of playing together with a series of concerts.

Discography:
The Pentangle (Transatlantic 1968)****, Sweet Child (Transatlantic 1968)****, Basket Of Light (Transatlantic 1969)****, Cruel Sister (Transatlantic 1970)***, Reflection (Transatlantic 1971)****, Solomon's Seal (Reprise 1972)***, Open The Door (Making Waves 1983)***, In The Round (Making Waves 1985)***, So Early In The Spring (Park 1988)***, Think Of Tomorrow (Ariola/Hypertension 1991)***, One More Road (Permanent 1993)***, Live At The BBC (Strange Fruit 1994)****, Live 1994 (Hypertension 1995)**, On Air (Strange Fruit 1998)***, as Jacqui McShee's Pentangle Passe-Avant (Park 1998)***, as Jacqui McShee's Pentangle At The Little Theatre (Park 2001)***.

THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD :- The Pentangle was the 1968 debut album of the band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It brought together their separate influences of folk, jazz, blues, early music and contemporary song-writing. One of the band's most commercially successful albums, it reached number 21 in the British charts.

By the time that the album was produced, the members of Pentangle were already accomplished musicians, in their own fields, and had played together in various combinations. Jansch and Renbourn were recognised as solo artists and played together regularly, including their recording of the Bert And John album. McShee had sung folk and blues in pubs and clubs, and had recorded with Renbourn on Another Monday. Cox and Thompson were experienced session musicians and had played together in Alexis Korner's band.

Richie Unterberger's said of the album "If it was more a folk-jazz-blues stew than it was folk-rock, it certainly rocked with a beat, and was executed with vocal harmonies, vocal and instrumental solo trade-offs, and a daring, irreverent spirit that immediately connected with rock-oriented listeners. And rock listeners, rather than folk ones, probably comprised the majority of the Pentangle's audience."

The Pentangle album was released in the UK as an LP as Transatlantic TRA162 on 17 May 1968

THE COVER :- Single laminated sleeve

THE LABEL :- Transatlantic white labels

THE VINYL VISUALLY :- On initial inspection of this piece of vinyl I cannot see any areas of immediate concern. The vinyl sits perfectly flat on the turntable so there are no nasty warps to worry about. The vinyl still retains its just pressed quality, full of deep shine and lustre. I have only noted a few whispy hairlines and a couple of marks that barely affect play. A lovely thick quality piece of vinyl. Excellent condition visually

THE VINYL PLAY GRADED :- The playgrading of the vinyl reveals hardly any lessening in the sound quality. It lives up to its visual grading. There is very minimal surface noise, mainly static crackle. What there is can be only heard on the run in and run out of tracks and extra quiet areas of the album. The sound quality is extremely high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. I feel certain this album has been played carefully and stored well over the years. I would grade the audio playback as a strong Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE FRONT CONDITION :- This is the very earliest 1st press laminated Robert Stace sleeve. The front of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. There are a few things to mention. It has some ringwear which has a very slightly grubby periphery. There are a number of creases in the laminate mainly concentrated around the opening and a little laminate lift towards the spine. There is a small graze on the cover just under the "E" of Pentangle and one other slightly grubby mark by the group shadow and in the bottom right corner there is a small patch of yellowing. There is some general corner wear to all corners. It might sound bad but I am very thorough and believe me you will find the cover more than acceptable once viewed but I like to point out everything of note. The cover is not Excellent but better than Very Good condition

THE SLEEVE REAR CONDITION :- The rear of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. It is cleaner than the front being black but there is still the usual dotted areas of laminate lift, mainly at the spine. There is again some ringwear and light corner and seam wear. I would grade as Near Excellent.

THE LABEL SIDE ONE CONDITION :- Original Transatlantic First Press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent Plus condition.

THE LABEL SIDE TWO CONDITION :- Original Transatlantic First Press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent Plus condition.

THE SPINE CONDITION :- The writing on the spine is crystal clear. There is some corner wear/bumps and a little shelfwear along the main length. Excellent condition

THE INNER SLEEVE CONDITION :- Generic white Patent Applied For inner in Excellent condition with only age related discolouring

THE EXTRAS :- No extras were given with this album

THE CATALOGUE NUMBER :- TRA 162

THE YEAR OF RELEASE :-  1968

THE LABEL :- TRANSATLANTIC

THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :-  UK

PLAYING FORMAT :- STEREO

THE MATRIX NUMBERS :-  TRA 162 A//2  &  TRA 162 S B//1

TRACK LISTING :-

SIDE ONE :-

1. LET NO MAN STEAL YOUR THYME
2. BELLS
3. HEAR MY CALL
4. PENTANGLING

SIDE TWO :-

1. MIRAGE
2. WAY BEHIND THE SUN
3. BRUTON TOWN
4. THE WALTZ

WHAT WE PLAY THE RECORD ON :- 

We use a Project 6 Perspex Turntable to play grade our records which delivers a rich authoritative sound and achieves a rich and weighty vibrancy unrivalled by the majority of decks within its price range

HOW WE CLEAN YOUR RECORD :- 

We use a V.P.I. HW-16.5 record cleaning machine to clean your vinyl. "A highly recommended machine" as quoted by Stereophile magazine. This removes any excess dirt before playing

HOW WE PACKAGE YOUR RECORD :- 

Your record will be package very securely to minimise any risk of damage during transit. We remove the record from the outer sleeve unless asked not to do so. This helps to minimise the risk of seam spliting. We use a high quality record mailer which is designed to give superior protection for your vinyl record. We place stiffeners either side of the record for added protection. The album will also be placed in a 450 gram Poly outer sleeve for even extra added protection

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING CHARGES FOR UK CUSTOMERS :-

We advise that items reaching over £46 in price to be insured and sent by Special Delivery. This protects both of us and ensures better handling of the parcel during transit.We are in no way out to make money from postage. The postage price includes the record mailer, stiffeners and plastic sleeve. We just want your item to reach you in the best possible condition. A breakdown of insured postal services are listed below. Please choose to use the relevant postal service for your own protection as once these rare records are lost they can quite often seldom be replaced

FIRST CLASS RECORDED FOR RECORDS INSURED UP TO £46  :-   £4.50

SECOND CLASS RECORDED FOR RECORDS INSURED UP TO £46 :- £4.00

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY UPTO 500g :- £7.15

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY FROM 500g - 1000g :- £8.35

(SPECIAL DELIVERY INSURES YOUR ITEM UPTO £500)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION :-    

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the European Union by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £6.22 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £11.37 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £13.97 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE USA AND CANADA :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the USA & Canada by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £8.78 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £13.93 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.53 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AND ROW :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the Australia & Japan by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS :- £9.06 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £14.21 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.81 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE, THE PRICES WE QUOTE ARE QUITE ACCURATE AND INCLUDE THE PACKAGING MATERIALS AT COST PRICE

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

PLEASE AWAIT AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE/SHIPPING CHARGES

BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS :- 

Postage prices and courier methods for multiple purchases will be calculated after the auction end. It is impossible for us at the pre auction stage to determine these prices as the final weight is unknown.If you are the winner of multiple items the please await contact from us or alternately contact us yourself for a breakdown of the shipping costs.You will only pay the stamp price + relevant packaging charges so there are big savings to be made with multiple purchases

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR RECORD :-

We can accept the following payment methods

UK BUYERS :- 

• PayPal
• Personal cheque (Please allow to clear)
• Bankers Draft
• Postal Order

OVERSEAS BUYERS :-

• Paypal only

TERMS AND CONDITIONS :-

We always try to appraise the record for sale as openly and honestly as possible and provide plenty of pictures for you to look at but please be aware that errors however rare do occur and not everyone has the same audio  equipment. There is no problem that cannot be worked out in a civilised manner. We urge you to contact us so that we can discuss any small problems that may occur. We offer a refund of the purchase price for returned items within 7 days of purchase and are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have during the auction

SAVE US TO YOUR FAVOURITES LIST AS WE INTEND TO LIST MANY MORE RARE VINYL TREATS OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS