Posts
Please To See The King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A substantial personnel change following their previous effort, Hark! The Village Wait, brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with a male vocalist. The band even reprised a song from their debut, "The Blacksmith", with a strikingly different arrangement making extensive use of syncopation. Re-recording songs would be a minor theme in Steeleye's output over the years, with the band eventually releasing an entire album of reprises, Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span.
The title of the album is derived from the "Cutty Wren" ceremony. A winter wren in a cage is paraded as if it were a king. This rite was carried out on December 26, Saint Stephen's Day, and is connected to early Christmas celebrations. The song "The King", appearing on the album, addresses this, and is often performed as a Christmas carol. Steeleye returned to this subject on Live at Last with "Hunting the Wren" and on Time with the song "The Cutty Wren". The custom of Wrenboys is mostly associated with Ireland, but it has been recently revived in England.
All songs appearing on the original album are traditional. "The False Knight on the Road" is one of the Child Ballads (#3), and concerns a boy's battle of with the devil in a game of riddles. Hart and Prior had already recorded a version of the song on their album 'Summer Solstice'. "The Lark in the Morning", one of their more popular songs, has the same title as a different song about a lusty ploughboy, though there are strong similarities. This version was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams. "Boys of Bedlam", a variant of Tom o' Bedlam", is told from the perspective of a member of a lunatic asylum. Carthy and Prior open the song by singing into the back of banjos, producing a muffled effect. The band uses the earliest printed version of the song, from Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy by Thomas d'Urfey.
Melody Maker made this their folk album of the year. Music journalist Colin Irwin in his book "In Search of Albion" describes it as one of his favourite folk-rock albums. It reached number 45 in the UK album charts, originally on B & C Records but before the year was out the rights were acquired by Mooncrest Records who re-released it the same year, with different cover art. It was issued in the US at the same time on Big Tree, when the small label was distributed by Ampex. It sold poorly and was deleted quite soon after release. Remaining copies were bought up by a couple of the 'cut-out' distributors and by that time, the band had signed with Chrysalis and the cut out original sold very well. When stock ran out, poor quality bootleg copies started to turn up in huge quantities.
Musically, this was their most electric, dense recording, with loud guitars and strong looping bass lines and no drums.
01. Blacksmith
02. Cold, Haily, Windy Night
03. Bryan O'LynnThe Hag with the Money [Jigs]
04. Prince Charlie Stuart
05. Boys of Bedlam
06. False Knight on the Road
07. Lark in the Morning
08. Female Drummer
09. King
10. Lovely on the Water
11. Rave On
Maddy Prior / vocals, spoons, tabor, tambourine
Tim Hart / vocals, guitar, dulcimer
Peter Knight / violin, mandolin, vocals, organ, bass
Ashley Hutchings / bass, vocals)
Martin Carthy / vocals, guitar, banjo, organ
Link
pass: bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com
"For the first time in over two decades, Steeleye Span sounds like a bona fide band again. While their string of sporadic comeback albums from the past 20 years were generally decent (although not spectacular), they seemed to lack the intangibles that distinguish a true and cohesive group effort from a reformed assemblage that only half-heartedly recaptures their past glory. While only fiddler Peter Knight and guitarist Bob Johnson remain from that period, Bedlam Born is the closest Steeleye Span has come to recreating their '70s heyday. Bassist Tim Harries, who has been with them since 1989's Tempted and Tried, provides the most out-and-out rock & roll moment on this album with his electric guitar debut on "John Ditchford." At least three other tracks ("Well Done Liar," "The Beggar," and "We Poor Labouring Men") also display a noticeable rock angle that hearkens back to albums like Rocket Cottage and Parcel of Rogues. But this album is equally divided between the raucous and the reflective, the traditional and the contemporary; "Who Told the Butcher" and "Poor Old Soldier" with their electric piano accompaniment and Peter Knight lead vocals sounds like Sails of Silver-period Steeleye. Lead singer Gay Woods adds a maturity and firmness of voice not necessarily found in Maddy Prior, the legendary vocalist whom she eventually replaced. They are different types of singers but both are equally suited for Steeleye Span. Woods provides captivating vocals on "Beyond the Dreaming Place," "The Connemara Cradle Song," and the chilling "The White Cliffs of Dover." After appearing on just three tracks on Horkstow Grange, longtime Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks returns to make a full-time contribution on Bedlam Born, thus significantly solidifying the foundation of this band."
01.Well Done Liar
02.Who Told The Butcher
03.John Of Ditchford
04.I See His Blood Upon The Rose
05.Black Swan
06.Beggar
07.Poor Old Soldier
08.Arbour
09.There Was A Wealthy Merchant
10.Beyond The Dreaming Place
11.We Poor Labouring Men
12.Connemara Cradle Song
13.Stephen
14.White Cliffs Of Dover
Gay Woods, vocals, bodhrán;
Bob Johnson, vocals, acoustic & electric guitar;
Peter Knight, vocals, keyboards and violin;
Tim Harries, bass & electric guitars, keyboards, vocals;
with Dave Mattacks, drums and percussion
Link
pass: bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com
