This two-CD set reissues the 1993 studio album
One More Road on the first disc and the 1994 live release Live 1994 on the second, serving as a thorough document of
Pentangle's concert and studio activities during this period. It wasn't, of course, one of the more celebrated periods of
Pentangle's career, as only singer
Jacqui McShee and guitarist
Bert Jansch remained from the original late-'60s/early-'70s quintet, which was by far the most popular and creative of the band's lineups. Yet while
One More Road isn't a record you would group with the best of the original
Pentangle's efforts, it was pretty respectable on its own terms.
McShee's voice was still as regally haunting as it had been in
Pentangle's prime, and the newer members of the group at least had some similar roots in folk-rock music of the '60s and '70s, with drummer
Gerry Conway having played in
Fotheringay and
Fairport Convention; bassist
Nigel Portman Smith having been in the more obscure
Magna Carta; and guitarist-singer
Pete Kirtley having played with
Alan Price,
Alan Hull, and
Kevin Coyne. Yes, the mood is more low-energy and mellow than the early
Pentangle records, and lacking in the sense of risk sparked by the interaction among the original quintet. But it's still quality, somber British folk-rock, mixing newly penned group originals with a few revisitations of the past; "High Germany" and "Willy O' Winsbury" had been recorded in different versions by the original
Pentangle on
Solomon's Seal, while "Are You Going to Scarborough Fair?" had of course been made familiar to folk and pop audiences in the '60s by
Martin Carthy and
Simon & Garfunkel. There are some missteps, notably
Pete Kirtley's lead singing on "Endless Sky," which is a big comedown in the midst of the vocal magnificence of
McShee. But the use of African rhythms and a politically compassionate lyric on "Somali" demonstrates
McShee and
Jansch could still move into unexpected directions.
The less impressive Live 1994 was recorded during a German tour in autumn 1994. Most of the dozen songs selected for the album had originally appeared in different versions on numerous
Pentangle and
Bert Jansch solo records, including the
Pentangle favorites "Bruton Town" (here retitled "Bramble Briar") and "Cruel Sister," though some of the most recent songs had first been recorded on
Pentangle studio releases of the '90s. There's nothing seriously flawed with this record; the sound is decent though not great, and the performances are sturdy British folk-rock. Within the whole of
Pentangle's discography, however, it has to be considered one of the less essential items, both because of the absence of three original members, and the existence of considerably more exciting recordings by that original lineup (and better versions of some of the songs by earlier lineups of
Pentangle, or
Jansch as a solo artist).
McShee's singing is certainly the most attractive element of the record, and is heard to good advantage on an a cappella performance of a traditional tune "When I Was in My Prime." But while this two-CD set is not one of
Pentangle's more notable compilations, it is well packaged, including both historical liner notes and lyrics for the
One More Road songs.
–
Richie Unterberger, Rovi