Steeleye Span: Original Masters

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Now for some folk-rock royalty, a band whose reign is into its seventh decade and is now uncontested.

Although I bought the singles Thomas The Rhymer and All Around My Hat in 1974 and 1975 respectively, it wasn't until the summer of 1976, when I bought this excellent compilation, that I really put on my smock and got up on the Steeleye Span horse and cart, clip-clopping off down the country lanes in search of a comely wench while always being sagely aware of troublesome elves. I have been there ever since.

The group have pretty much always recorded traditional folk ballads and poems that often dated back centuries, initially with an acoustic backing but progressing by 1972 to electric folk-rock. Most sons are delivered by the crystal clear voice of Maddy Prior, but quite a few also feature male vocals. A notable and seriously beautiful feature to their sound is Peter Knight's emotive violin playing. The band has changed line-ups and members considerably over the years (often due to death) but they are still with us in 2024.

The first disc (or sides 1 & 2 on vinyl) of these two contains mainly recordings from post 1974, a period which saw the band at their most commercial.

Anyway, let's put on our lowland brogue and skip it o'er the meadow....

We begin with an epic serving of narrative Steeleye folk-rock on the sad tale of Sir James The Rose and his fate (listen to the song). I was instantly captivated by this song upon first hearing. Black Jack Davy is a haunting tale of female infidelity  and then we get the rumbustious singalong fun of All Around My Hat, the band's big hit single. 

The Wife Of Usher's Well is a beautifully melodious (with all vocalists taking roles), but sad tale of a wife who loses all three of her sons, presumably in some overseas conflict. Another perversely infectious track (in its bleakness) is the adaptation of the hymn To Be A Pilgrim, Fighting For Strangers, about a soldier going to fight on foreign lands, as so many young men did in the 18th/19th centuries. 

Thomas The Rhymer is a true Steeleye Span classic. Adapting the folk legend of "Thomas The Rhymer", a Scottish Borders character from a village called Earlston (where he is commemorated to this day) who has dalliances with the Queen of Elfland. The song undergoes many changes in pace and ambience. Some slow, haunting build up lead in and out of the heavy electric guitar riff of the rousing "harp and carp, come along with me" chorus and we get to hear Nigel Pegrum's true value on the drums for the first time. Then it is back to the insistent build up to the final chorus, with Maddy Prior on fine form - "don't you see yon bonny, bonny road....". Great stuff. 

Seven Hundred Elves is a fine, atmospheric song. It is a fast paced, full band backed slightly unnerving tale of woodland elves coming from out of the woods to take their revenge on the callous farmer who chopped down the trees in the wood, destroying their habitat. Classic Steeleye Span.

The frightening tale of Long Lankin involves the murder (and possible rape) of a housewife on her own in her house by a mysterious visitor. It is a truly unnerving song. These songs, grisly as they are, are this collection's highlights. I have no idea what the perplexing Elf Call is about, however! It has a great drum and guitar sound I have to say. 

While the first disc featured the band's commercially-oriented electric folk and "full band" recordings, drums 'n' all, on the second disc (vinyl sides 3 & 4) we delve into some of the acoustic and early electric guitar and vocals (no drums) material. 

One such song is the rollicking Cam Ye O'er Frae France, from 1973's Parcel Of Rogues album, with Maddy Prior singing in Borders dialect about George 1 and his mistress - "riding on a goosie" in somewhat saucy terms against a crashing electric and sharp acoustic backing and a full drum sound, often in military marching style. Great stuff again. I love it. I now live in the Scottish Borders, by the way, so the song has added appeal.

Bonny Moorhen is an attractive, appealing rustic acoustic number. Alison Gross is an amusing but dark tale of a young man pressurised by an ugly old witch into "relations". He refuses and she turns him via spell, into a worm. A powerful electric guitar riff adds to the tension of the song.

Steeleye often put some jaunty, instrumental jigs on their albums, and we duly get one here in the Irish-style The Mooncoin Jig. Put down your ale, good sir, and grab your goodwife for a reel. Drink Down The Moon/Cuckoo starts as a slow, beautiful ballad highlighting Maddy Prior's voice and ends as an upbeat, violin jig with lyrics about the cuckoo and its proclivities for squatting in other birds' nests.

Blackleg Miner is an early (1970) Steeleye Span classic. Tim Hart is on lead vocals on this biting condemnation of a miner breaking a strike. It is backed by a thumping drum and cutting guitar sound.

Skewball is a pleasant finger-picking backed number about horse racing. This one is very traditional folk as well, another one with heavy Irish influences. It has some seriously heavy electric guitar interjections as well, though. Lovely On The Water is one of my favourite songs from the group's early days, featuring another evocative and beautiful vocal from Maddy Prior over a slightly Eastern-sounding solo guitar. 

One Misty Moisty Morning shows that the group's new use of electric guitar (in 1973) knows no bounds. Even wah-wah is used above Maddy Prior's soaring folk voice. It is a narrative, rousing folk song backed by the afore-mentioned guitar, plus bass and some razor-sharp acoustic guitars. Really impressive and unique for the time. 

Saucy Sailor is another Prior-led beguiling tale and we end the collection with the group's first big hit, the Christmas a capella incantation Gaudete. The only hit single sung entirely in Latin, I believe. 

As I said earlier, the first disc is for you if it is poppier folk rock you are after and the second one will suit the purists more, although it still has its fair share of electric interjections. Personally I like the whole lot. Verily. 

Secondary, 3 of 5

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