John Renbourn Faro Annie

Sanctuary's mammoth triple-disc Pentangle overview poses a bit of a dilemma. First of all, it's called Pentangling, which is already the name of a 1973 compilation, and secondly, while not deliberately misleading, it focuses more attention on the solo careers of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch than it does on the entity that supplies the collection's title. Despite these petty gripes, Pentangling is filled to the brim with some of the finest recordings the British folk movement had to offer, and hearing the group as a whole, followed by an entire disc – one apiece – of two of the genre's most gifted guitarists, is rewarding in more ways than one: both men, as well as the band, released material well into the 21st century, but Pentangling focuses only on their treasured late-'60s/early-'70s output. Listeners looking for a more comprehensive take on Pentangle would be better off with Castle's excellent Light Flight: The Anthology, and Renbourn and Jansch both have lovingly packaged retrospectives that fare better than the ones offered here, but as far as entry points go, Pentangling does more than skim the surface.

This 40th anniversary box set, lavishly illustrated and exhaustively annotated, features the best of their album tracks, singles and b-sides. All newly re-mastered, achieving the best sound to date - alongside no less than 30 previously unreleased live, broadcast and studio tracks. Among these lost gems are: their very first recording session from 1967; outtakes from The Pentangle (1968) and Reflection (1971); three 1968 BBC radio session tracks newly in stereo; live concert and television tracks spanning 1968- 73; and rare film soundtrack contributions.