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Grex > Music2 > #40: Steeleye Span comes to Ann Arbor |  |
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Message |
| 13 new of 62 responses total. |
dbratman
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response 50 of 62:
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Jan 11 01:11 UTC 2001 |
It's not a knighthood (or dameship, or whatever it's called, for
women), but still:
!!!
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krj
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response 51 of 62:
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Jan 19 20:00 UTC 2001 |
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.
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dbratman
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response 52 of 62:
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Jan 23 23:39 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 53 of 62:
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Jan 24 03:51 UTC 2001 |
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.
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anderyn
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response 54 of 62:
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Jan 24 12:10 UTC 2001 |
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.
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dbratman
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response 55 of 62:
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Jan 26 07:43 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 56 of 62:
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Mar 3 19:12 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 57 of 62:
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May 9 17:14 UTC 2001 |
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.
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dbratman
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response 58 of 62:
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May 9 21:37 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 59 of 62:
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May 29 16:15 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 60 of 62:
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May 30 06:46 UTC 2001 |
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?
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dbratman
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response 61 of 62:
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May 30 17:06 UTC 2001 |
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.
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krj
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response 62 of 62:
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Jun 1 18:53 UTC 2001 |
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.
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