Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Open the Door

 
Album Review: Open the Door

  • Artist: Pentangle
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1985
  • Total Time: 39:05
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Folk

Review

A reunion of four of Pentangle's original members (only John Renbourn is missing), Open the Door is a resounding artistic success. Impeccable jazz-inflected musicianship and folkie vocal harmonies combine to produce one of the best outings released under the Pentangle name in their multi-decade career. Bert Jansch's melodic, bluesy acoustic guitar provides the underpinning driving the compositions, with tonal colorations courtesy of Mike Piggott on violin and guitars. Jacqui McShee's vocals are beautiful, and the rhythm section of drummer Terry Cox and double bassist Danny Thompson nimbly maneuver through the tricky slow to midtempo rhythms. When dissected, this is complex, challenging music, but the listener need not get bogged down in the minutiae of the compositions and arrangements, he or she need merely lie back and enjoy this pastoral ride through the English countryside. This is gorgeous stuff. ~ Jim Newsom, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Open the Door Pentangle, Traditional Pentangle (4:20)
Dragonfly Pentangle Pentangle (3:14)
Mother Earth Milton Nascimento Pentangle (2:43)
Child of the Winter Pentangle Pentangle (5:08)
The Dolphin Pentangle Pentangle (2:45)
Lost Love Bert Jansch Pentangle (3:42)
Sad Lady Pentangle Pentangle (3:48)
Taste of Love Pentangle Pentangle (4:11)
Yarrow Pentangle, Traditional Pentangle (4:38)
Street Song Pentangle Pentangle (5:31)

Credits

Phil Smee (Cover Photo), John Renbourn (Sitar), Bert Jansch (Vocals), Mike Piggott (Guitar (Electric)), Bert Jansch (Guitar (Acoustic)), Bert Jansch (Guitar), Terry Cox (Percussion), John Chelew (Producer), Jerry Boys (Engineer), Danny Thompson (Bass), John Renbourn (Vocals), Terry Cox (Vocals), Terry Cox (Drums), John Renbourn (Guitar), Jacqui McShee (Vocals), Mike Piggott (Guitar (Acoustic))
Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wikipedia: Open the Door (Pentangle album)
Top
Open the Door
Studio album by Pentangle
Released 1985
Genre Folk rock
Label Spindrift
Professional reviews
Pentangle chronology
At Their Best
(1983)
Open the Door
(1985)
In the Round
(1986)

Open the Door is an album by Pentangle. The band had split in 1973 and reformed in the early 1980s. By the time this album was recorded, John Renbourn had left the band to enroll in a music degree course and his place was taken by Mike Piggott. The other band members were unchanged from the original Pentangle line-up: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee and Danny Thompson.

The album was released in 1985 on Spindrift, SPIN 111. Some sources give 1982, 1983 or 1984 (perhaps because recording began in 1983 and the 'published' and 'copyright' dates on the album are 1984, suggesting that it had been planned for an earlier release). In the USA It was released on Varrick VR017 (LP) and CRV017 (Cassette). It was rereleased in 2006 on Talking Elephant, the longest time that has ever passed for an original Pentangle album to become available on CD. Compared to their previous recordings it was relatively poorly reviewed. Varrick is an American label that also brought some Fairport Convention albums back into print.

Track listing

  1. "Open the Door" (Pentangle)
  2. "Dragonfly" (Pentangle)
  3. "Mother Earth" (M Nascimento)
  4. "Child of the Winter" (Pentangle)
  5. "The Dolphin" (Pentangle)
  6. "Lost Love" (Bert Jansch)
  7. "Sad Lady" (Pentangle)
  8. "Taste of Love" (Pentangle)
  9. "Yarrow" (Child 214 - The Braes o Yarrow)(Pentangle)
  10. "Street Song" (Pentangle)

Credits


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Open the Door (Pentangle album)" Read more