Review of Jacqui McShee`s Pentangle In Concert

Introduction

Who? Well, according to the press release and official web site:-

Pentangle is: Jacqui McShee (vocals); Gerry Conway (drums and percussion); Spencer Cozens (keyboards, sequences, backing vocals); Alan Thomson (bass guitar, backing vocals); Gary Foote (flute and saxophones). Four virtuoso instrumentalists fuse folk, jazz, and other influences into a rich and sophisticated sound - the perfect vehicle for Jacqui McShee`s rich smoky voice (so they say anyway).

Originally formed in 1967, `The Pentangle` was inspired by `Bert and John`, a collaborative album by folk musicians Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. Vocalist Jacqui McShee, an established figure on the traditional circuit, who had been working with John for a year then joined. The lineup was completed by Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), forming a quintet which would also embrace blues and jazz forms.

Pentangle was disbanded in 1973, and McShee fronted the John Renborn Band between 1974-81. The original Pentangle reconvened the following year for a European and Australian tour. John was replaced by Mike Piggott, (violin and guitar). McShee, Jansch, Cox and Piggott were joined by Nigel Porttnan-Smith (bass) for 1985, but by 1986 Piggott and Cox had departed and were replaced by Rod Clements (guitar, mandolin) and Gerry Conway (drums). Peter Kirtly (guitar) now featured in the group to replace Rod Clements. This particular line-up continued, through to a live album in Germany, Pentangle Live `94.

The current line-up dates from the mid-1990s when Jacqui McShee formed a new trio with Gerry Conway on percussion and Spencer Cozens on keyboards.

Pentangle`s music continues to be characterised by improvisational virtuosity and a masterful melding of jazz and folk influences. The five-piece`s first studio release, 1998`s Passe Avant, was soon followed by a live concert album, At The Little Theatre. That performance is featured on this DVD, recorded in April 2000 in Chipping Norton. The set list

She Walked Through The Fair
Jabalpur
Once I Had A Sweetheart
The Nightingale
That`s The Way It Is
The House Carpenter
I`ve Got A Feeling
Cruel Sister
The Wife Of Ushers Well
Band Intros
Lovely Joan
We`ll be Together Again

Video

A non-anamorphic 1.55:1 ish transfer which also has a wishy washy NTSC feel to it at times. I can`t work out how they got such a transfer. Either they shot this in widescreen or they didn`t, but this has a lazy halfway house feel - it doesn`t look very good on your old style square television, and it doesn`t look any better on your modern widescreen television.

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack. But. And this is a big but. To me it just sounds like 5 identical soundtracks coming through 5 speakers with some added bass. There`s no separation, no feel of instruments on different channels. It`s all very odd.

Conclusion

Well, if you`ve heard of them, this is the only DVD you have access to, so you might be tempted to buy it. If you`ve never heard of them, this DVD is not going to win you over. A passionless, soulless, pedestrian and plodding performance captured on a bit of a bodge job of a DVD.

If you`re a fan, although I`ve never even heard it, I`d probably stick with the live CD of this performance, because this DVD really adds nothing to the live experience (unless the CD was an audience recording captured by someone on their minidisc player...) A poor picture and poor sound do not make a great present for your loyal fans.