PENTANGLE – CRUEL SISTER LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1970 ORIG FOLK BERT JANSCH

Pentangle – Cruel Sister
(Transatlantic Records  1970  TRA228)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners and some light rubbing – initials in top right corner

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Pentangle (or The Pentangle) are a British folk-jazz band with an eclectic mix of folk, jazz, blues and folk rock influences. The original band was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and a later version has been active since the early 1980s. The original line-up, which was unchanged throughout the band’s first incarnation (1967–1973), was: Jacqui McShee (vocals); John Renbourn (vocals and guitar); Bert Jansch (vocals and guitar); Danny Thompson (double bass); and Terry Cox (drums).

The name Pentangle was chosen to represent the five members of the band, and is also the device on Sir Gawain’s shield in the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which held a fascination for Renbourn.

In 2007, the original members of the band were reunited to receive a Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and to record a short concert that was broadcast on BBC radio. The following June, all five original members embarked on a twelve-date UK tour.

Cruel Sister was an album recorded in 1970 by folk-rock band Pentangle. It was the most folk-based of the albums recorded by the band, with all the tracks being versions of traditional songs. Whereas their previous album had been produced by Shel Talmy, and featured quite a heavily produced, commercial sound, Cruel Sister was produced by Bill Leader, noted for his recordings of folk musicians.

“Lord Franklin” is a version of the traditional ballad, also known as “Lady Franklin’s Lament”, which describes Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to discover the Northwest Passage. John Renbourn sings the lead vocal and plays both acoustic and electric guitar.

“Cruel sister”, the song which provides the title for the album, is a traditional ballad (known in some versions as The Twa Sisters), telling the story of the violent rivalry between two sisters for the love of a knight.

The whole of side two of the album is taken up with an extended version of the ballad “Jack Orion”, previously recorded by Jansch on his own Jack Orion album. “Jack Orion” is a version of the child ballad “Glasgerion”. The arrangement on Cruel Sister develops through several sections with different rhythms and instrumentation.

The album cover features engravings by Albrecht Dürer. The front cover displays his “The Men’s Bath” (Das Männerbad) (date unknown). The picture on the back cover is his The Sea Monster (Das Meerwunder), dating from 1498.

Track listing

All songs are public domain.

1. “A Maid That’s Deep In Love” (arranged by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Terry Cox) – 5:30
2. “When I Was In My Prime” – 2:57
3. “Lord Franklin” (arranged by Jansch, Jacqui McShee, Renbourn) – 3:23
4. “Cruel Sister” (arranged by Jansch, Renbourn, Cox) – 7:03
5. “Jack Orion” (arranged by Jansch, Renbourn, Cox) – 18:38

Personnel

• Terry Cox – drums, percussion, dulcitone, glockenspiel, vocals
• Bert Jansch – acoustic guitar, appalachian dulcimer, recorder, concertina, vocals
• Jacqui McShee – vocals
• John Renbourn – acoustic and electric guitars, sitar, recorder, vocals
• Danny Thompson – double bass