A little while back I shared a clip of Pentangle performing People On The Highway from a Belgian TV special. The concert has now been shared in full which you can watch below. According to Colin Harper’s accompanying notes and timeline to the excellent Cherry Red boxset ‘Pentangle The Albums‘ this would have been June ’72, the same month in which they recorded for Granada TV in the UK and for the BBC (Sounds of the Seventies recording). They also performed at Sheffield University that month.
It features the original lineup of Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox. In order of performance, the tracks are:
- Will The Circle Be Unbroken
- No Love Is Sorrow
- Wedding Dress
- Reflection
- Willy O’ Winsbury
- People On The Highway
They would release their final album, Solomon’s Seal, a few months later in September 1972 although it didn’t receive a great reception with Melody Maker announcing ‘Pentangle dies with a whimper’. I’ve no idea where that reviewer’s head was at as Solomon’s Seal is a great album…it was also a favourite of Jacqui McShee. There is a vibrant edge to the performances on that studio album, something Colin Harper touched on in his notes, explaining that the band had little time to rehearse, resulting in a more spontaneous recording.