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Solomon's Seal was an album recorded in 1972 by folk-rock band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It was the last album recorded by the original Pentangle line-up, before the band split in 1973. Jacqui McShee has stated that it is her favourite Pentangle album. The album title refers to the Seal of Solomon — a mythical signet ring with magical powers, sometimes associated with the pentagram symbol adopted by Pentangle.

Solomon's Seal was recorded at Sound Techniques studio, London, between February and March 1972. Pentangle's contract with Transatlantic had expired and, amid a dispute with Transatlantic over royalties, the band had switched allegiance to Warner/Reprise, who had been their U.S. distributor. The album was released in September 1972, to coincide with the start of new tour. However, by the start of 1973, the band had split and sales of the album were disappointing, leaving the band members still paying off their debts, against the album's advance royalties, into the early 1980s.

The album opens with their version of Cyril Tawney's song of a sailor's lost love: "Sally Free and Easy". Unlike its usual rendition as a sea shanty, Pentangle treat this to a slow bluesy rhythm. The remainder of the album is divided between traditional songs and the band's own compositions.

It includes some thoughtful arrangements (the use of sitar and recorders in "The Snows", for example) and displays production values of ensuring that every instrument is audible but balanced in the whole sound. However, it lacks some of the riskier features of early Pentangle albums: there are no improvised jazz duets between the two guitarists and no double bass solos, for example. As such, it could be praised for being a very "polished" sound or criticised for lacking the exciting creative edge of earlier Pentangle work. Colin Harper wrote "Solomon's Seal is a record of people's weariness, but also the product of a unit whose members were still among the best players, writers and musical interpreters of their day.

The sixth and final album by Pentangle's original incarnation was, like the preceding Reflection, a disappointment, if only in relation to the high standards set by the group's first batch of LPs. As on Reflection, there's an expansion into some wider use of electric guitars, sometimes mildly distorted. There's a narrower scope of styles than on Reflection, though not to the band's detriment, as the bandmembers concentrate on the folk-jazz-blues blends that were their greatest strengths, rather than venturing into some different styles at which they weren't as capable. Ultimately, there's nothing seriously wrong with the record, other than a certain complacency and lack of the fiery inspiration and risk-taking that had fueled their greatest previous heights. Divided between group originals and traditional folk songs like "Sally Free and Easy" and "Willy O'Winsbury," none of the individual tracks would rate among their best. Among the better ones, though, are "The Cherry Tree Carol," with McShee's habitual haunted vocals, "The Snows," with its dashes of sitar textures, and "No Love Is Sorrow," with its close male-female harmonies. [Source: Wikipedia + AMG]

01."Sally Free And Easy" (Cyril Tawney) – 3:55
02."The Cherry Tree Carol" (Traditional. Arranged Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 2:57
03."The Snows" (Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 3:43
04."High Germany" (Traditional arr. Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 3:15
05."People On The Highway" (Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 4:46
06."Willy O' Winsbury" (Traditional arr. Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 6:50
07."No Love Is Sorrow" (Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 2:41
08."Jump Baby Jump" (Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 3:10
09."Lady Of Carlisle" (Traditional arr. Jansch, Renbourn, Thompson, Cox, McShee) – 4:41