response 25 of 62:

Jun 13 20:21 UTC 1997

Okay, *you* try having a full drum kit,  
guitar, electric bass, keyboards, and fiddle 
and two very loud vocalists and amplifying it 
even a little means loudness. Actually, it was 
wonderful. 

response 27 of 62:

Jun 14 01:42 UTC 1997

Oh, that kind of loud.  If it was only a little amplified I can understand.

response 29 of 62:

Jun 15 19:38 UTC 1997

senna in #24: the whole *point* of Steeleye Span was to be loud!
The idea, back in 1970, was to take English, Irish and Scottish 
folksongs and arrange them for rock band instrumentation.
 
Contemporary bands doing the same sort of thing seem to be more 
influenced by dance club idioms: Shooglenifty and Afro-Celt Sound System,
to grab the first two examples which come to mind; also the 
new Hedningarna album.

response 31 of 62:

Jul 10 04:37 UTC 1998

So here's a quick review/set list for Tuesday's Maddy Prior show 
at the Ark.  Opening for Maddy was Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell,
and I can't think of much to say about a solo instrumentalist.  
I've enjoyed Tickell's recordings for years, and it was great to get 
a chance to see her.
 
Prior had a backup band of two people: Nick Holland on keyboards, and 
Troy Donnockly on uillean pipes, electric guitar, bouzouki.
Holland has been playing with Prior for a while -- I think he was 
here for her last Ark show -- and his playing has a 
tendency to lean too much towards MOR.  Donnockly, on the other hand, 
added some really interesting textures.
 
Set list:
"Hindlorn," a Child ballad; from the new album?
"Bewcastle"
"Honest Work," a Todd Rundgren song which Prior does acapella
I don't have a title about this one: it's about the child Jesus playing
   ball with some princes.  Prior introduced it as "from the Apocrypha,"
   and said it reflected the Victorian belief that Jesus was an 
   Englishman.
"Boys of Bedlam," from early Steeleye Span
"The Crooked Road," perhaps?  Maddy said the lyrics were from 
   G.K. Chesterton, on the premise that English roads had been 
   laid out by drunkards.
"The Blacksmith," another early Steeleye Span song
   Maddy sang this acapella.
"Saucy Sailor," in an arrangment close to the Steeleye one.
the "Winter" songs from Prior's YEAR cycle, including "Long Shadows" 
   from Maddy's first solo album.
an instrumental with pipes and keyboard, and Prior on bodhran
"Heart of Stone," a new song by Prior and Rick Kemp
"Sheath and Knife," a Child ballad
 
encore:  "Somewhere Along The Road," another Rick Kemp song.
   Kathryn Tickell came out to play fiddle.

response 33 of 62:

Sep 9 18:41 UTC 1998

A Usenet writer from the UK reports having found the album in his 
local megastore.  He bought it and gives it an essentially positive
review.  I'm trying to get a copy ordered from the UK as soon as I 
can; I'm too impatient to wait for a USA release.

response 35 of 62:

Dec 16 18:06 UTC 1998

I finally wrote a quickie review for Usenet on rec.music.celtic and I will 
recycle it here:
 
-----

Schimmelhorn@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> > SO how is it?  I would be a bit uncertain to pay alot for a 
> post Maddy import cd unless I heard alot of glowing reviews.

I just gave it another spin today.  I find it solidly interesting.
Almost all the songs are traditional, with the band's own songwriting 
contributions at a minimum, and where Steeleye is concerned I have 
found this to be a good thing.  Bob Johnson's strong  
contributions on electric guitar and singing are almost the only 
ties to the Steeleye Span of the past; I find myself thinking that
in most senses this is a new band, keeping only the name.
Gay Woods' singing seems to have a rougher, looser feel to it than 
I remember from the past.

Borrowed drummer Dave Mattacks fits in very well; there's only one 
song with the over-the-top "Celtic boogie" style from the late 70s.
The downshifted percussion brings back memories of some of 
the early, pre-drummer Steeleye works.  I miss Liam Gennocky a bit, 
though.

I'd rank HORKSTOW GRANGE as about as good an album as Steeleye has recorded 
since the 1978 breakup, and far superior to everything from the 1980s.
If you like the fundamental electric folk idea of traditional-ish music
played with rock instrumentation, I think you'll find HORKSTOW GRANGE
worth your US $20.  Even without Maddy Prior.

 -- Ken Josenhans, critic wannabee
    krj@netsun.cl.msu.edu 

response 37 of 62:

Sep 14 21:06 UTC 1999

Ken, it's been a long time since I've played that Australian Steeleye 
rarities LP; but despite the fact that some of what were rarities to 
Australians were regular tracks to Americans (like "Rag Doll" on LIVE 
AT LAST), it had some otherwise unavailable stuff well worth having, 
including a stunning "Boar's Head Carol" that was worth the price of 
the album all by itself.

I'll look for this in the next couple days, but if I can't find it I 
may ask you to pick a copy up for me.  (There's no Borders in this 
neighborhood.)

I actually heard Steeleye's version of "General Taylor" once, and I 
remember who had it.  Inquiries are clearly in order.  <note to self>

response 39 of 62:

Oct 21 17:07 UTC 1999

From the Park Records ad in the November FOLK ROOTS:  The next Steeleye 
Span release will be a live album called "The Journey," drawn from the 
1995 live benefit in London which retraced the history of the band 
in a six hour show.  

response 41 of 62:

Aug 23 22:16 UTC 2000

From Peter Knight's web site, http://www.peterknight.net ::

Another lineup change for Steeleye Span: longtime guitarist Bob Johnson
has left the band.  Johnson's electric guitar sound was a bit of a 
Steeleye trademark, and he was probably the third greatest contributor
of songs to the band, after Maddy Prior and Tim Hart.  His specialties
were the gruesome murder ballads.

Tim Harries switches from bass to electric guitar, and Rick Kemp 
(Mr. Maddy Prior) comes back to play bass again.  The drummer's spot
is rotating between Gerry Conway, Dave Mattacks and two folks whose
names I do not know.

New album, "Bedlam Born," is scheduled for a late September release
in the UK.  Needless to say I'll be in line to get an import, I won't 
wait a year or so for US distribution.
 
Peter Knight's website also includes all sorts of other interesting stuff
for Steeleye fans, and a good deal of material about his solo projects.

response 43 of 62:

Nov 22 23:42 UTC 2000

Bedlam Born is cool. (Ken, if you decide you don't like it, I *will* take it
off your hands!)

response 45 of 62:

Nov 23 04:35 UTC 2000

If only I had not been under the mistaken assumption that you had Bedlam Born,
Twila , I could've sent you my copy. I listened, liked a few songs, but I
remain even more lukewarm about this one than the last, Horkstow Grange. I
sold my copy on half.com, only recently...

response 47 of 62:

Nov 24 18:05 UTC 2000

I've completely forgotten _Horkstow Grange_, which I think I've 
listened to only once.  So I'll buy _Bedlam Born_, because a band 
doesn't lose my loyalty lightly (only Clannad and the Bobs have ever 
achieved this).  But I don't expect much of it.  Steeleye without 
Maddy - it's just not the same at all.  Thanks, Ken, for alerting us to 
its existence.

response 49 of 62:

Jan 8 19:34 UTC 2001

News item from Usenet newsgroup uk.music.folk:

Maddy Prior was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honors list.