| Basket of Light | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1969 | |||
| Recorded | IBC Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk jazz,folk rock[1] | |||
| Length | 40:07 | |||
| Label | Transatlantic | |||
| Producer | Shel Talmy | |||
| Pentangle chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable)[2] |
Basket of Light is a1969 album by thefolk rock groupPentangle. It reached no. 5 on theUK Albums Chart. A single from the album, "Light Flight", the theme fromBBC1's first colour drama seriesTake Three Girls, reached no. 43 on theUK Singles Chart. Another single from the album, "Once I Had a Sweetheart", reached no. 46 in the charts.[3]
The album's liner notes state that "Springtime Promises" was written "after a ride on a number 74 bus fromGloucester Road to Greencroft Gardens on an early spring day".
The album was included in the books1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[4] and1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.
All tracks are written by Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson, Terry Cox and Jacqui McShee, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Light Flight" | McShee | 3:14 | |
| 2. | "Once I Had a Sweetheart" | Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee | McShee | 4:37 |
| 3. | "Springtime Promises" | Jansch | 4:04 | |
| 4. | "Lyke-Wake Dirge" | Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee | Renbourn, Cox and McShee | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Train Song" | Jansch and McShee | 4:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hunting Song" | McShee and Jansch | 6:41 | |
| 2. | "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" | Lona Stevens, Zell Sanders | Renbourn and McShee | 3:34 |
| 3. | "The Cuckoo" | Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee | McShee | 4:26 |
| 4. | "House Carpenter" | Traditional, arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee | McShee and Jansch | 5:27 |
The album cover uses photographs of Pentangle's 1968 concert in theRoyal Albert Hall. A note about the instrumentation states that "All the instruments played on this album are acoustic."
Basket of Light was released as a UK LP in October 1969, as Transatlantic TRA2O5. The U.S. version, in the same year was Reprise R56372. The album was re-released as a digitally remastered CD in 2001, as Castle CMRCD207, which includes two alternate takes of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" and the non-album B-sides: "Cold Mountain" and "I Saw an Angel".
