Steeleye Span, and their relatives and followers

Apr 2 05:43 UTC 1996

This item spins off the discussion of Steeleye Span which began in the 
"Mood Music" item in Agora.  For those who weren't around in their 
heyday: Steeleye Span was the most commercially successful of the 
British bands which set traditional folk songs and tunes to 
rock instrumentation.

response 2 of 37:

Apr 2 06:04 UTC 1996

First, let's answer the tacky materialistic questions posed by void.
 
Of the 11 canonical albums released by Steeleye Span's 1970s 
lineups, seven are available on CD in the USA:
  HARK! THE VILLAGE WAIT         PARCEL OF ROGUES **
  PLEASE TO SEE THE KING         NOW WE ARE SIX   **
  TEN MAN MOP                    ALL AROUND MY HAT
  BELOW THE SALT

That leaves four unavailable:
  COMMONERS CROWN                STORM FORCE TEN
  ROCKET COTTAGE                 LIVE AT LAST

COMMONERS CROWN has been issued in Australia, but that edition 
is generally not available in the USA.

PARCEL OF ROGUES has some sound glitches; the UK edition (BGO label)
of NOW WE ARE SIX is preferred over the USA edition because the UK 
version has the nearly-seven-minute version of "Thomas the Rhymer."
 
These are generally stock items at Schoolkids, at an exorbitant 
price of $17.  (Note there are $2 and $3 coupons in the April issue 
of CURRENT.)   Elderly Instruments in Lansing is likely to be much cheaper.

Here's a list of the reunion albums; all are in print on CD in the 
USA except as noted.
 
  SAILS OF SILVER    (Mercifully unavailable on CD anywhere)
  BACK IN LINE
  TEMPTED AND TRIED
  TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT, LIVE
  THE COLLECTION, LIVE      (UK only)
  TIME               (US release in mid-april, review coming soon)

response 4 of 37:

Apr 2 07:28 UTC 1996

...sigh....

response 6 of 37:

Apr 2 15:33 UTC 1996

   This is just too cool. I recently hooked another friend of mine on Steeleye
SPan and he's going to be ecstatic to hear that they're together again. And
I'm also sure he'll like to know about the CD info. Thanks!

   <and, if there's any news about a US tour, please let me know!!!!>

response 8 of 37:

Apr 2 20:00 UTC 1996

if it were not for the $17 price tag, I would definitely get myself one f
these albums...they sound great!

response 10 of 37:

Apr 3 06:40 UTC 1996

   Thanks for the info, krj. If anyone is going to Australia, and would be
interested in bringing back a copy of _Commoners' Crown_, *please* send me
some e-mail. Soon as I get the bills paid, I'm off to Schoolkids to obtain
at least _Parcel of Rogues_ and _All Around My Hat_. It's a real shame that
_Rocket Cottage_ is unavailable.

   <void starts saving for concert tickets>

response 12 of 37:

Apr 3 14:46 UTC 1996

aruba....does it give any kind of listing as to song titles? I could judge
better that way.

response 14 of 37:

Apr 3 21:17 UTC 1996

I wanted to dig out my copy of SPANNING THE YEARS before offering 
any judgements.  It's a two-CD set, 35 songs.  I can think of three
reservations which might apply:
 
1) If you're not into folk music, you may not appreciate how 
   acoustic the first nine tracks are -- four of them are acapella!
 
2) There are ten songs from the reunion years, including three 
   from the awful SAILS OF SILVER album.  Some of them, though, 
   are live versions of old songs, and Steeleye's little-known 
   recording of "Tam Lin" is at least interesting.
 
3) The odd-and-weird tracks are not well chosen.  "Rave On," the 
   acapella version of the Buddy Holly song, is available on three 
   other CDs.   "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (the Phil Spector song)
   is unremarkable except for the saxophone solo by David Bowie;
   I'm sure that's the only reason that track made the compilation.
   I'd much rather have seen the inclusion of "General Taylor"
   and "The Boar's Head Carol," both of which are very rare.
   (But this point matters only to fanatics.  *ahem*)
 
But, we're measuring against some imaginary perfect anthology.
A sizable sampling of Steeleye's most well-known and popular 
songs are here: the two minor hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around 
My Hat," plus "The Blacksmith," "Lovely on the Water," "Alison Gross,"
"Cam Ye O'er Fra France," "Thomas the Rhymer," "Long Lankin," 
"New York Girls," "Fighting For Strangers."  
 
There's also a good essay from Maddy Prior on the history of the band.
I'd go for it, especially if you can get a good record club price.

response 16 of 37:

Apr 4 06:46 UTC 1996

Thanks for the review, Ken.

response 18 of 37:

Apr 5 16:14 UTC 1996

I like Steeleye Span, so does my wife.

response 20 of 37:

Apr 6 15:45 UTC 1996

Probably not in the USA.  "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat" charted in 
England.

response 22 of 37:

Apr 8 01:55 UTC 1996

Well, Steeleye was my introduction to the primal obsession of my old
age, and I still love them. I even (don't look, krj) liked Sails
of Silver a lot. (Why is it everything *I* like is never going
to make it to CD? I ask
you, is this fair?)  I can recall sitting in a rocking chair, nursing
Rhiannon , and singing along to "Little Sir Hugh" and "Sir James the
Rose". 

response 24 of 37:

Apr 9 13:52 UTC 1996

   We're young, we'll adjust...or maladjust, as the case may be.