Basket of Light is a 1969 album by the folk rock group Pentangle. It reached no. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. A single from the album, "Light Flight", the theme from BBC1's first colour drama series Take Three Girls, reached no. 43 on the UK Singles Chart. Another single from the album, "Once I Had a Sweetheart", reached no. 46 in the charts.[3]

Basket of Light
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1969
RecordedIBC Studios, London
GenreFolk jazz, folk rock[1]
Length40:07
LabelTransatlantic
ProducerShel Talmy
Pentangle chronology
Sweet Child
(1968)
Basket of Light
(1969)
Cruel Sister
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone(unfavorable) [2]

The album's liner notes state that "Springtime Promises" was written "after a ride on a number 74 bus from Gloucester Road to Greencroft Gardens on an early spring day".

Legacy

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The album was included in the books 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die [4] and 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.

Tracks

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All tracks are written by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson, Terry Cox and Jacqui McShee, except as noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Light Flight" McShee3:14
2."Once I Had a Sweetheart"Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McSheeMcShee4:37
3."Springtime Promises" Jansch4:04
4."Lyke-Wake Dirge"Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McSheeRenbourn, Cox and McShee3:32
5."Train Song" Jansch and McShee4:43
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Hunting Song" McShee and Jansch6:41
2."Sally Go 'Round the Roses"Lona Stevens, Zell SandersRenbourn and McShee3:34
3."The Cuckoo"Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McSheeMcShee4:26
4."House Carpenter"Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McSheeMcShee and Jansch5:27

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 acoustic."

Personnel

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Pentangle
Technical

Released versions

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Basket of Light was released as a UK LP in October 1969, as Transatlantic TRA2O5. The U.S. version, in the same year was Reprise R56372. The album was re-released as a digitally remastered CD in 2001, as Castle CMRCD207, which includes two alternate takes of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" and the non-album B-sides: "Cold Mountain" and "I Saw an Angel".

References

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  1. ^ a b Basket of Light at AllMusic
  2. ^ Von Tersch, Gary (21 February 1970). "Records". Rolling Stone (52). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: 50.
  3. ^ Pentangle UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  4. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.