Twila Price tells me that the British folk-rock band Steeleye Span will be performing at The Ark in Ann Arbor on Thursday, June 12th. Tickets on sale now at Ticketmaster. This item is so the four of us who care can jump up and down with enthusiasm. We might drift into talking about some other British Isles folk-rock stuff. (Last year's discussion on Steeleye Span is in oldmusic cf. #186.)62 responses total.
((( Spring Agora #53 <---> Music #40 )))
It's possible that this is the band's first appearance in Michigan. In the 1970's their US tour activity seems to have been concentrated in the East Coast, and since their 1986 reunion US tours have generally been short, less than 10 stops, east coast only.
What's their lineup like these days and how're they in concert? I'm not a huge folk fan but I might be interested in seeing them if people can tell me confidently that they put on a good show..
<void jumps up and down with enthusiasm and starts saving ticket money.> the ark? wow. i'll bet tickets will go fast. anybody know what ticket prices are? if not, i can call ticketmaster tomorrow.
$15 and I have an extra. (Since I bought one for me and one for Bruce, and he, um, decided that he'd rather go for free. He's working it. At least I think so. If you'd like, I'll be more clear about that by tomorrow or Friday at the latest.) Oh, and Ticketmaster has a $1.75 surcharge on that. Don't know exactly their lineup right now, though on the last recording it was Gay Woods and Maddy Prior, Bob Johnson, Rick Kemp, Tim Harries, and Liam Genockey -- Prior, Johnson, Kemp and Harries are the core of what's been Steeleye for the last ten or more years, while Gay Woods was in the original incarnation, and I've never heard of Liam Genockey. On _Time_, which is the latest recording, they sound quite tight, and the harmonies are better than I've heard in years. Of course, I wouldn't care if they sounded totally crappy since I have NEVER heard them in concert, and I have wanted to for over twenty years. They were the first folk band that I ever fell in love with, and this is going to be soooooo exciting! Check out _Time_ if you want a good idea of their current style.
Oh, and for those of you who care who ELSE is coming to the Ark in the coming months: Dougie MacLean in May, Roberts/Barrand ditto, The House Band, Steeleye on June 12, and James Keelaghan on June 13. I think Maura O'Connell is also coming, but since I don't care for her, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention. I believe that I'll be at MacLean and Keelaghan for sure, the House Band probably, and Steeleye for sure, as well.
According to the rec.music.celtic site Ijust visited, they sound really good. Gay Woods is still in the lineup, but the person on bass was new.
<jumping up and down enthusiastically>
I got my tickets at Schoolkids tonight. The service charge there is only $0.75. On the Ark schedule: Roberts/Barrand? The House Band? Maura O'Connell? ack, I'll be at more Ark shows than I have been at all year.
dates: Friday, May 9 Roberts/Barrand Tuesday May 20 The House Band Thursday May 22 Dougie MacLean (though Gareth has a concert that night) Thursday June 12 Steeleye Span Friday June 13 James Keelaghan
Damn, that's probably the same night as the Historic District Commission.
MAURA O'CONNELL Friday, June 6 Two shows: 7:30 & 9:30 pm VASEN Tuesday, June 3 Exhilarating, yet hauntingly beautiful sounds from Sweden Saturday, July 26 - Mustard's Retreat MARTIN SIMPSON & THE BAND OF ANGELS Sunday, May 11 -- a few more shows that I thought people might be interested in.
From recent reviews on Usenet newsgroups, my impression is that most Americans are pretty happy with current Steeleye Span shows, while some British writers aren't too impressed. The Americans I know who saw the titanic Steeleye Span reunion festival in London back in 1995 were all quite pleased with it. Twila, drummer Liam Gennocky has been with the band about as long as Tim Harries. He's a much better drummer than Nigel Pegrum, who tended to play everything with the same thumpty-thump rhythm. I couldn't find the Usenet item which said that Tim Harries wasn't with them on bass; if that is so, it could be because Harries also is in the Irish Christian folk-rock band Iona, and he might have had a conflict. Steeleye Span spent most of the 1980s as a nostalgia act, with varying degrees of success. But the addition of Harries and Gennocky seem to have revitalized them, and going back 25 years to pick up a second woman vocalist, Gay Woods, was a masterstroke. TIME, their current album, doesn't sound much like a stuffy museum piece at all. There are a few tracks on it which are a bit too goopy for my tastes, but "The Old Maid In The Garrett" is up their with the band's best work, and half a dozen other tracks certainly match their 70s standards. I also read on Usenet that Maddy Prior has yet another solo CD out. I'm hoping there will be copies for sale at the June gig. Void, did you have any reaction to the Prior solo CD you borrowed?
i liked it very much, krj. sorry i haven't returned it yet. with everything else that's gone on lately, i sorta forgot i had it. apologies -- when can i bring it over?
I can probably get the loaner CD when I drop off the Steeleye CDs your roommate ordered. No problem, no rush.
GIANT THANKS TO KRJ!!!!! (i started to reconized the music right after I put it on, I have a few friends back in Ga that play this all the time, I just was too stupid to ask what it was)
Just a reminder that the Ann Arbor Steeleye Span concert is Thursday night, June 12, at the Ark. As of Tuesday there were still some tickets available at Schoolkids. Bring earplugs, they'll probably be loud.
Aw, MAN, I'll be missing that, too. . .why didn't all these cool people come last month?
We had a pretty good Grex turnout for the Steeleye Span show. Twila & Bruce Price (anderyn & bru) and their children Gareth and Rhiannon; aruba; kami; void; werewolf; jiffer; and krj. The show was a sellout, and it's been a while since I saw so many happy middle-aged people.
Had a chance when werewolf nearly last-minute cancelled, but she
decided to go. C'mon wolfie, it *was* worth it, wasn't it?
met void and werewolf after thej concert .. for her i think i am safe in saying, for her, 'it was *worth* it!' (and for void too, fwiw). me, iw as out shooting the last (??) batch of hs grads, i think.
I entered a long concert review a bit later in this cf, but let me just say here and now that it ROCKED. My ears probably took damnage, but I don't care. Whooo. Also in attendance (though not grexers) were Juli, Patrick, Alan (and wife and kids) from work, and several people I just know from around town. And some of them (a lot?) aren't middle aged.
(Twila's review is item #48 in the music conference, for those reading this linked item in the Agora conference.)
Why would Steeleye Span be so loud? They dont' strike me as a band that benifits from extra noise the same way that, say, a hard rock group would.
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.
it was great. lari and chris (non-grexers) were there, too. going to that concert was definitely worth it. but then, i'd been waiting ~twenty-three years to see them live (ever since i first saw them perform "all around my hat" on "top of the pops").
Oh, that kind of loud. If it was only a little amplified I can understand.
Thanks for the tape, BTW--just got around to listening to it today.
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.
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 17:59:39 +0200
From: Eduardo Mota <eduardomota@mail.telepac.pt>
Subject: [prior] Time for Maddy to Leave the Bus
Dear Prior Enthusiasts,
John Dagnell, Park Records, sent me a fax two hours
ago. It bring us sad news, I'm afraid.
Maddy will leave Steeleye Span next October.
If you remember well, a few reports on Steeleye
USA Tour made us to believe something went wrong inside
the band.
Today a letter from Maddy, transcribed below, confirms
her departure.
Hope to hear your comments.
Regards,
Eduardo
+ + + + + +
Time For Maddy to Leave the Bus
I have worked in, and enjoyed enormously, working with the band Steeleye Span
for 28 years. People have often asked me how I manage to fit in all my various
musical activities. I have juggled Steeleye, 'solo' work, assorted projects,
the Carnival Band and a demanding home life for some time. With mixed success.
Finally I feel a decision has to be made, and having been the only one to have
never left the band, I've decided to view it all from the outside for a change.
So from the end of the October Tour 1997 I shall cease to work with Steeleye.
Whether this will ultimately result in a permanent separation, I don't know.
Having done a massive 44-day Farewell Tour in 1978, I feel less confident about
making dramatic and irrevocable gestures in these more mature years.
Suffice it to say, I wish them all the best of luck, and am certain that they
will continue to delight audiences for many years.
Cheers,
Maddy
+ + + + +
________________________________________________________
Eduardo Mota (Gouveia, Portugal)
e-mail - eduardomota@mail.telepac.pt
Amazing Blondel - http://www.sectorel.pt/gaudela/blondel/
Gryphon - http://www.sectorel.pt/gaudela/gryphon/
Maddy Prior - http://www.sectorel.pt/gaudela/prior/
_________________________________________________________
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Replies to this message will go to the list. For help send mail to
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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.
According to the web site www.parkrecords.com, the new Steeleye Span album is almost ready for release. No date is given, but the band has an extensive UK tour booked for October to promote the album. This is the Maddy-less band. It looks like it may also be the drummer-less band -- in the photo, there is no picture of Liam Gennocky, or anyone who might be a new drummer. The new album is titled HORKSTOW GRANGE, which happens to be the traditional song that the band's name comes from. The list of the song titles looks pretty traditional. There is a 800K song sample which sounds... interesting... Bob Johnson's electric guitar sounds pretty much like it always does, but it seems odd to hear Gay Woods as the lead singer. I have no information about a USA release.
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.
OK, I have the new Steeleye Span CD in my little hands, and I will try to get a review here by the weekend. I spun it once and liked it a fair bit.
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
I've got the new Maddy Prior album, RAVENCHILD, sitting in the In basket. Tonight at Borders I spotted a new Steeleye anthology from Australia's Raven Records. This seems to be largely a reissue of an Australian Steeleye rarities collection from around 1980, with some additional stuff added for the CD issue. David Bratman discussed this with me when it was originally released, and his observation was that many of the "rare" tracks for the Australian audience were standard tracks for American issues, such as Steeleye's cover of "Rag Doll." So it's not as attractive a release as it might have been; I didn't instantly snap it up. I had hoped that it would have the great lost Steeleye track "General Taylor," but that one continues to elude me.
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>
Sure, David, let me know and I'd be happy to send a copy along. A little bit of speculation which I forgot to add to my previous response: if Raven Records could get the clearances to release this Steeleye rarities collection, *maybe* they can get the clearance to release the live Steeleye album from 1980, which appeared only in Australia. I've just got a tape from David's copy of the LP; I'd love to have my own copy, as it was a fun recording. And I suppose I should mention that Raven Records seems to be an operation run by Australian Fairport Convention fans. I'm pretty sure that Steeleye's recording of "General Taylor" appears only on the old Mooncrest anthology ALMANACK, maybe on TIME SPAN too. However, it hasn't appeared on any of the CD-era anthologies of the first three albums, whose rights were controlled by the Mooncrest label when I got my copies, and which are now controlled by the Castle Communications conglomerate. I'm guessing the tape is just plain lost. (Those first three Steeleye albums must have been milked for a dozen anthologies over the years...)
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.
As an attendee of that six-hour show, who enjoyed myself quite a lot, I'll probably buy this album. But I can't say that the band sounded particularly well-rehearsed or on form during that concert. So unless I change my mind after hearing the album, I doubt I'd recommend it most highly to those who are not Steeleye fanatics. This is in contrast to Fairport Convention's 25th anniversary concert a couple years earlier, which I also attended (how do I manage these things?), and which is also on CD, and with the exception of Robert Plant's guest spot was just marvelous.
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.
The most recent Steeleye Span album, BEDLAM BORN, is sitting in the in basket. We played it once over at Twila's place, and I can't remember a thing about it. Hope I can get back to it soon. Maddy Prior has another Christmas album -- her fourth? -- due for UK release on November 27. I guess the holiday niche has proven profitable for her. Copies won't make it over to the USA in time for 2000 holiday listening, is my guess: if you want one, you'll have to order it from musikfolk.com or amazon.co.uk or somebody like that.
Bedlam Born is cool. (Ken, if you decide you don't like it, I *will* take it off your hands!)
What? And break up the collection?
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...
Oh, I liked a great deal more of it than I thought I would!~
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.
I didn't think Steeleye without Maddy would be at all good, but it was much better than I expected. Though, of course, it's not the same (tm).
News item from Usenet newsgroup uk.music.folk: Maddy Prior was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honors list.
It's not a knighthood (or dameship, or whatever it's called, for women), but still: !!!
More Steeleye news, confirmed on a couple of web sites: Gay Woods quits. In her statement on http://www.gaywoods.homestead.com/Gayquits.html it sounds like she had some conflicts with the band. Peter Knight, on his website, writes: "Once again we have the opportunity to restructure the band and its music..." (http://www.peterknight.net) *My* guess is that since Rick Kemp returned to the band after Bob Johnson left, the next progression is for Mrs. Rick Kemp (Maddy) to come back... failing that, I have no idea what they would do. Some interesting stuff on both those websites for Steeleye Span fans.
Well, I can't say I'm too grieved. But with all the comings and goings, I no longer have much of an idea who _is_ in the band, which is a bit distressing.
Peter Knight on fiddle, Tim Harries on guitar; maybe Rick Kemp on bass although officially he was only filling in; a rotating corps of drummers including Dave Mattacks and Gerry Conway. I still have barely heard the newest album "Bedlam Born," since the living room ate my copy.
I like the newest album, actually. Didn't think I would, but it's grown on me... Mostly because of the guy singers, though. I do not really like Gay Woods' vocals very much.
So the only official members at this point are Knight and Harries? Ye lawks. I already have an album whose official performers are Knight and Harries: it calls itself a Peter Knight solo album. I had a lot of trouble adjusting to the idea, proffered during the mid 70s, of "Fairport Convention" as a band consisting of whoever Swarbrick had gathered around him that week; and the idea of a Steeleye as, likewise, the fiddler and his sidemen, is equally depressing.
I just got a flyer from musikfolk.com listing a Steeleye compilation for May release: "Steeleye Gone Australia." I'm hoping that this will be an issue of the very rare Australian live set from the early 1980s, but I have no real information beyond a title and release date.
Maddy Prior's new release is "Arthur The King," which includes a big Arthur song cycle and some traditional songs. Since Park Records now gets CDs into Borders stores in 2-3 months rather than 12, I'm waiting for the US-distributed copies to show up rather than paying $21 for an overseas order. News from http://www.peterknight.net is that the latest, possibly only temporary, Steeleye lineup is: Tamsyn Alexander (listed as a guest), Tim Harries, Rick Kemp, Terl Bryant (drummer, I guess; never heard of him) and Peter Knight. This lineup may just be only for a folk festival this weekend; however, Peter Knight went to the trouble to put a picture and a few paragraphs about Tamsyn Alexander on his web page. Tamsyn Alexander has been the singer with Sin E', a band I've followed with interest. They blend Irish traditional and "world" influences, and I haven't heard a peep about the band since their record label (BMG's Wicklow) was shut down last year. So it's possible Tamsyn could be available to take the Steeleye singing gig on a regular basis; even if Sin E' is still a going concern, it's now quite common for folk musicians to play in multiple bands to make ends meet. Tamsyn is a much more "controlled," "cool," singer than Gay Woods, maybe with a "darker" voice than Maddy's. This could be interesting; I hope Tamsyn gets to record with them.
I hope they get their act together. I am terrifically fond of the last
two Steeleye albums with Maddy Prior ("Tonight's the Night"
and "Time") - the best Steeleye since their 70s heyday - but the two
subsequent albums have been a great disappointment. The latest one
sounds more like a Peter Knight solo album than anything else: not a
bad thing in itself, but not Steeleye. Rebuilding the band in its old
image will be quite a job.
Very ominous note from Steeleye Span fiddler Peter Knight, posted
on the http://www.peterknight.net website on May 19:
"Tim leaves.
"Tim Harries has had a change of heart and has decided not to battle
on against the odds. I don't feel at present that I want to
reform the band alone, but I will live with it for a while before
making a final decision.
"Good luck Tim and thanks for your wonderful musicianship."
Peter Knight's website also includes a track list for the new
Australian release "Gone To Australia," which looks like it does
include the rare early 1980s live Steeleye album, plus about five
other live tracks recorded in Australia. (David, could you check
the posted track list and maybe confirm that?)
There are also reviews of the one appearance of the temporary
Steeleye Span lineup I described in resp:57
which might turn out to be the final appearance for a while.
Reviewing my previous responses: Guitarist Bob Johnson leaves around August 2000; Gay Woods leaves in January 2001; Tim Harries leaves in May. Wow. I know that Bob Johnson was supposed to be leaving for a career change -- he'd completed a masters degree in psychology, or something like that -- but Steeleye Span hasn't been this unstable since its earliest days. Something seems to have gone seriously wrong with the band. I wonder if the band became unviable, as a business proposition, after Maddy left in 1987?
resp:59 - Ken, the Adelaide 1982 part of the track list contains all but three of the songs recorded live and appearing on the "On Tour" LP (Little Sir Hugh, Thomas the Rhymer, and I Live Not Where I Love), and substitutes three others in their place that weren't on the LP (Barnet Fair, Sligo Maid, and Cam Ye Oer Frae France). (The LP also has two soundcheck songs which aren't on the new CD track list either.) resp:60 - I think it's dead, Jim. There must be many reasons, of which the fact that the last two albums just don't feel like Steeleye may be a big part. It's a hard job holding a part-time band together. They did surprisingly well during the 1985-95 period.
I have to disagree at least somewhat about the difficulties in running a part-time band. Many bands in the current British Isles folk scene are now running on a part-time basis, with members combining and recombining endlessly.
You have several choices: