Not currently legally available
Including two celebrated solo recording artists in Jansch and Renbourn, and a second-to-none rhythm section drafted in from previous spells with Alexis Korner and Duffy Power’s Nucleus, Pentangle were a supergroup from day one – and uniquely so in fusing together individuals and repertoire from both the folk and jazz/blues scenes of the day.
The group existed initially as a spare-time concern, playing almost exclusively at their own Sunday night club at the Horseshoe Hotel in Tottenham Court Road throughout 1967. At the start of that year Bert Jansch had filled a series of thousand-seater city halls on his own and many people, record label included, viewed his commitment to developing the group project bewildering.
It could indeed have been a disaster. There were a number of blown opportunities and false starts in trying to move beyond the Horseshoe before the arrival of New York publicist Jo Lustig, who became the group’s manager in early 1968. He immediately oversaw the release of a first album, The Pentangle, secured substantial print, radio and TV coverage and curtailed all group and solo live appearances, invariably in small clubs, to allow for their relaunch as a concert hall act – a scam that worked perfectly.
The Festival Hall concert on June 29 was thus widely anticipated and, as Melody Maker’s review concluded, ‘Will go down on record as a great success and a highlight in the group’s career’. This was literally correct: the show was recorded for this, the second album, and featured an extraordinarily wide-ranging repertoire, utilising the quintet’s virtuosic membership in a whole range of solo, duo, trio, quartet and full band combinations. Never again would the balance between them be so perfect or the interplay so fresh and dynamic. Traditional and contemporary folk songs shared space with modern jazz covers, medieval dance pieces, blues and group originals closer to the folkish end of the rock underground than the whimsical style of their perceived rivals, the Incredible String Band.
The live half of the set includes most of the concert bar first-album material (pointless to issue at the time), a couple of solo tracks and a failed crack at Sweet Child – a complex piece which was subsequently done full justice for the equally eclectic studio half. Conversely, Haitian Fight Song was tried in the studio but the live version retained. The group reached a commercial peak with the UK Number 5 LP Basket Of Light the following year, but creatively and critically Sweet Child was the apogee.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The White Album.
Record label: Apple
Produced: George Martin
Recorded: Abbey Road, London; May 30–October 14, 1968
Released: November 22, 1968 (UK) November 25, 1968 (US)
Chart peaks: 1 (UK) 1 (US)
Personnel: John Lennon (v, g, p, o); Paul McCartney (v, b, p, g, d); George Harrison (v, g); Ringo Starr (d); George Martin (p); Chris Thomas (harpsichord); Eric Clapton (g)
Track listing: Back In The USSR.; Dear Prudence; Glass Onion; Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da; Wild Honey Pie; The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Happiness Is A Warm Gun; Martha My Dear; I’m So Tired; Blackbird; Piggies; Rocky Raccoon; Don’t Pass Me By; Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?; I Will; Julia; Birthday; Yer Blues; Mother Nature’s Son; Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey; Sexy Sadie; Helter Skelter; Long, Long, Long; Revolution 1; Honey Pie; Savoy Truffle; Cry Baby Cry; Revolution 9; Good Night
Running time: 93.15
Current CD: CDS 7 46443 8
Further listening: Let It Be (1970); Anthology 3 (1997)
Further reading: Revolution: The Making Of The Beatles’ White Album (David Quantick, 2002); www.getback.org/bwhite.html
Download: Not currently legally available
Following a particularly relaxing and fertile meditation break in India, The Beatles presented over 30 songs for consideration for the follow-up to Sgt. Pepper, deciding to record as many as possible for a double.
The normal state of Beatles sessions was soon disrupted by the presence of Lennon’s constant companion, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. ‘Once I found the woman, the boys became of no interest whatsoever,’ Lennon would explain later. ‘The old gang of mine was over the moment I met her.’ It was the first time anyone had been allowed access to the band’s inner working process and McCartney, Harrison and Starr were naturally thrown by both Lennon’s distraction and Yoko’s vocal opinions on their music. Things were further aggravated by Lennon’s extreme mood swings, caused by his recently acquired heroin habit. Tired of the tension, long-time engineer Geoff Emerick quit. Equally sick of the atmosphere (and disheartened by McCartney’s drumming instructions), Ringo walked out for two weeks. McCartney pragmatically (and skilfully) took over on drums for a few tracks and later took to recording on his own in an adjacent studio, which Lennon later confessed to being stung by: ‘I can’t speak for George but I was always hurt when Paul knocked something off without involving us.’ But then, McCartney had felt equally excluded by Lennon and Yoko contriving the nine-minute sound collage Revolution 9 without him.
With the breakdown of both communication and the old team spirit, the tormented sessions actually produced a rich, amazing record encompassing an incredibly wide stylistic range. From the compellingly visceral (Helter Skelter, Yer Blues, Birthday) to the comically whimsical (Honey Pie, Goodnight, Martha My Dear); from the obscured confessional (Julia, Everybody’s Got Something To Hide) to political commentary (Revolution, Blackbird), the whole is rated by some as the pinnacle of The Beatles’ genius, by others as disappointingly indulgent.
Producer George Martin famously tried to persuade the band to trim the fat and make it a ‘really super’ single album, starting a debate that continues to this day. McCartney’s having none of it: ‘Come on, it’s The Beatles’ White Album.’
The Kinks
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
Chart success on the wane, Ray Davies conceives one of the quintessentially English pop albums.
Record label: Pye (UK) Reprise (US)
Produced: Ray Davies
Recorded: Pye Studios; November 1966–August 1968
Released: Original 12-track stereo version released and withdrawn September 1968; revised 15-track mono album released November 22, 1968
Chart peaks: None (UK) None (US)
Personnel: Ray Davies (v, g, k); Dave Davies (v, g); Pete Quaife (b, v); Mick Avory (d); Nicky Hopkins (k); Rasa Davies (v); Alan Mckenzie, Brian Humphries (e)
Track listing: 15-track mono album: The Village Green Preservation Society; Do You Remember Walter; Picture Book; Johnny Thunder; Last Of The Steam Powered Trains; Big Sky; Sitting By The Riverside; Animal Farm; Village Green; Starstruck; Phenomenal Cat; All My Friends Were There; Wicked Annabella; Monica; People Take Pictures Of Each Other. 12-track stereo album: The Village Green Preservation Society; Do You Remember Walter; Picture Book; Johnny Thunder; Monica; Days; Village Green; Mr Songbird; Wicked Annabella; Starstruck; Phenomenal Cat; People Take Pictures Of Each Other
Running time: 36.15
Current CD: Castle SMETD102 is a 3-disc collection with mono and stereo versions of the album plus a raft of rarities and unreleased tracks
Further listening: Something Else (1967); Arthur (1969)
Further