01	The Blacksmith						04:45
	02	Cold, Haily, Windy Night						04:35
	03	Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn - The Hag with the Money						03:17
	04	Prince Charlie Stuart						04:14
	05	Boys of Bedlam						04:19
	06	False Knight on the Road						02:44
	07	The Lark in the Morning						04:29
	08	Female Drummer						04:01
	09	The King						01:30
	10	Lovely on the Water						05:19

Steeleye Span: Please To See The King
Please To See The King
Steeleye Span
B&C CAS 1029 (LP, UK, March 1971)
United Artists UAS 29244 (LP, 1971)
Interfusion SITFL 934599 (LP, New Zealand, 1972)
Mooncrest CREST 8 (LP, UK, 1974)
Chrysalis CHR 1119 (LP, US, 1976)
Big Tree BTS 2004 (LP, US) [rz]
Shanachie 79075 (CD, US 1990) [rz]
Mooncrest CREST 005 (LP, UK, March 1991) [rz]
Mooncrest CRESTCD 005 (CD, UK, March 1991) [rz]



Engineers: Vic Gamm, Jerry Boys, Roger Mayer, Bob Potter, Roger Quested
Produced by Sandy Robertson, September Production Ltd.

Musicians
Maddy Prior - vocals, spoon, tabor, tambourine, bells
Martin Carthy - vocals, guitar, banjo, organ, bells
Tim Hart - vocals, guitar, dulcimer, bells
Ashley Hutchings - vocals, bass guitar, bells
Peter Knight - vocals, fiddle, mandolin, organ, bass guitar, bells



Tracks
Side 1 Side 2
The Blacksmith [4:49]
Cold, Haily, Windy Night [4:37]
Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn / The Hag with the Money [3:21]
Prince Charlie Stuart [4:17]
Boys Of Bedlam [4:22]
False Knight On The Road [2:45]
The Lark In The Morning [4:33]
Female Drummer [4:05]
The King [1:31]
Lovely On The Water [5:20]


The 1991 Mooncrest LP and CD version has a bonus track:

Side 1 Side 2
The Blacksmith [4:49]
Cold, Haily, Windy Night [4:37]
Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn / The Hag with the Money [3:21]
Prince Charlie Stuart [4:17]
Boys Of Bedlam [4:22]
False Knight On The Road [2:45]
The Lark In The Morning [4:33]
Female Drummer [4:05]
The King [1:31]
Lovely On The Water [5:20]
Rave On [1:24]


Thanks to: Steeleye Span Mk. 1 and the Folk Song Journals for The Blacksmith; Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould and Stephen Sedley for Cold, Haily, Windy Night; Martin Byrnes and Sean O'Shea for Bryan O'Lynn and The Hag with the Money respectively; Brigid Tunney for Prince Charlie Stuart; Tom Walsh of the Combine Harvester via Tommy Gilfellon for Boys Of Bedlam; Willie Whyte and Francis James Child for False Knight On The Road; Mr Kent via Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Folk Song Journals for The Lark In The Morning; A Yorkshire girl via Percy Grainger, Bert Lloyd and the Watersons for Female Drummer; Two old ladies in Pembrokeshire via Andy Nisbet for The King and Mr Hilton via Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Folk Song Journals for Lovely On The Water.



Sleeve Notes
Immediately after completing their debut album, Hark! The Village Wait in the spring of 1970, the original line-up of Steeleye Span fell apart as it became clear that the group was composed of two factions with quite different aims: Gay and Terry Wood were in one camp and Ashley Hutchings, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior in the other. 20 years after the event, Tim Hart recalled how the group started, and how it overcame the handicap of losing two of its founders so soon afterwards: ``Ashley knew about Maddy and me - at the Keele Folk Festival, on of the big annual festivals, we all sat around and expressed our annoyance at the fact that the electric input to folk music was coming from the rock side rather than from the folk side, and Davy & Tony Arthur, Maddy and I and Ashley had a long discussion one night. After that Maddy and I happened to give Ashley a lift back to London and we got talking further. At the time, Ashley was trying to form a band with Sweeney's Man, and we were good friends of theirs and knew they were about to split up. Sweeney's Men collapsed when Andy Irvine and Johnny Moynihan left to go solo, so that left Terry and Gay. The joined in with Ashley and Maddy and me, and the five of us decided to form a band. It was a fairly vague sort of thing, really.

``There wasn't a leader as such, which was one of the problems with that first band - Maddy and I were a clearly defined unit with our own ideas, Ashley had his ideas which Maddy and I agreed with, and Terry and Gay had their ideas which tended to pull in a different direction, a different approach to professionalism, and after the first album was completed, there didn't seem much point at continuing, so Gay and Terry left.''

Finding suitable replacements could have been extremely difficult, but in the event was reasonably straightforward, as one of Britain's most notable traditional folk musicians, Martin Carthy, was not only willing to join, but positively eager, as Hart, who suggested Carthy, noted: ``Maddy and I knew Martin, and I got the feeling that he might be interested in joining Steeleye - I knew he was interested in being involved, and he was, so then the four of us had got together. I think another of the reasons why Martin was keen was because Swarb had joined Fairport at that point, so Martin was feeling a little bit miffed because that had screwed up all the dates he and Swarb were booked to do, so Martin was more than happy to get involved with us, the opposition.'' For the uninitiated, violin player extraordinaire Dave Swarbrick (`Swarb') and notable singer/guitarist Carthy were an established and celebrated British traditional folk duo of the late 1960s. Many years later, they reunited and are once again performing and recording together in the 1990s. As far as the reference to ``the opposition'' goes, Fairport Convention was the first British folk/rock band, and one of its founder members was Ashley Hutchings. Other early Fairport alumni included Sandy Denny and Ian Matthews, whose work can also be found on the Mooncrest label. After Fairport's ground-breaking Liege And Lief album, both Hutchings and Denny left the group to launch their own folk/rock bands - Denny's Fotheringay was sadly shortlived, but Hutchings Steeleye Span remains occasionally active today, albeit in much changed form, and has always been widely regarded as the main musical rival to Fairport.

Martin Carthy was not the only new recruit at this point. Hart: ``We rehearsed for a while, the four of us, and decided the group needed an instrumentalist because we were singer-heavy and guitar-heavy, and we wanted another instrument.'' The instrumentalist they invited to join Steeleye was violin player Peter Knight - still associated with the group, although he is now resident in the USA - who turned out to be an excellent choice, as Hart agrees: ``Peter was ideal, because he wasn't just a fiddle player, he was a trained musician, and Martin and I knew quite a bit about music and wanted someone who was a bit more than an ear-playing fiddle player, if you see what I mean, someone who could read music and understood arrangement.'' Knight's presence on Please To See The King is particularly notable on the medley of jigs, for which he later became acclaimed.

For the first time, this version of Please To See The King (an album which reached the Top 50 of the UK album chart in April, 1971) includes a bonus track, one which stands out from the rest of the material like the proverbial sore thumb: a 1950s Buddy Holly hit among wall-to-wall British traditional folk songs probably all at least 100 years old, Rave On. Released as a single, it was not included on either Please To See The King or on the other Steeleye Span album by this line-up of the group, Ten Man Mop Or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again (which will be reissued in all formats on Mooncrest in the near future, but not in the original sleeve before you ask). Rave On was apparently a joke originally, thought up by the rest of the band to amuse Hutchings.

Tim Hart, very much known as a traditional singer, approved, as clearly did Carthy and Maddy Prior: ``Oh yes, it was done as a joke for Tyger - Ashley, as he's now called. He was the most purist folkie of us, being a rock`n'roller, and Maddy and Martin and I were in the car driving somewhere and we thought we'd do it as a joke for Ashley, and he thought it was quite good fun and said `Yes, keep it in', and then the record company thought it might be a good novelty single.'' Which it was, although it wasn't a hit, despite radio play.

Please To See The King included brief notes about three of the tracks, which are reproduced below. [see the texts of Boys Of Bedlam, False Knight On The Road and The King below -ed]

Not only was Please To See The King Steeleye Span's first chart album, it is happily remembered, at least by Tim Hart: ``Yes, that's still one of my favourites, I think, a lot of the music on that, especially Lovely On The Water, one of the great tracks.'' Maddy Prior recalls the highlights of the album with similar pleasure: ``That album had the best selection of songs of the first three albums. I'd always loved The Blacksmith because it's a fantastic song, and Martin plays wonderful driving guitar on Cold, Haily, Windy Night. I learned Female Drummer at school, then I found it in a folk song journal, and we felt it had integrity. Overall, that was a very experimental album - we were trying things that hadn't been done.'' Female Drummer later became a requested Steeleye Span standard. Ashley Hutchings says of The King: ``How did they catch wrens, because they're very fast? But that's a great calling-on song.''

With thanks to Tim Hart, Ashley Hutchings and Maddy Prior,
John Tobler, 1991



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reinhard Zierke, zierke@informatik.uni-hamburg.de
Last updated Sat Feb 17 12:52:00 CET 2001


Date of Release 1971

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The debut of Steeleye Span (Mark II), with Peter Knight on fiddle and Martin Carthy on guitar, is more solid almost every area from repertory to production. The group still had its feet in both modern and traditional sounds simultaneously, so the album mixes very beautiful, distinctly archaic sounding songs such as "Boys of Bedlam" with amplified, electric numbers such as the rousing, ironic "Female Drummer" (which was a highlight of their concerts). Although a second female voice would've been nice, the singing and harmonizing (with help from some careful overdubbing) is still impressive and the performances are tighter, the group's overall sound reflecting the quintet's status as a working band and their experience performing these songs on stage. The use of electric guitars was also unique, and quite different from rivals such as Fairport Convention, occasionally mimicking the sound of bagpipes here. Songs including the haunting "The Blacksmith," the fine guitar workout on "Cold, Haily Windy Night," the dour "Prince Charlie Stuart," the bittersweet "Lovely on the Water," and the playful, cautionary "False Knight on the Road." They would get better on later albums - especially in their approach to the jigs and reels represented here - but this represents a solid second beginning for the band. - Bruce Eder

1. The Blacksmith (Traditional)
2. Cold, Haily, Windy Night (Traditional)
3. Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn/The Hag With the Money (Traditional)
4. Prince Charlie Stuart (Traditional)
5. Boys of Bedlam (Traditional)
6. False Knight on the Road (Traditional)
7. The Lark in the Morning (Traditional)
8. Female Drummer
9. The King (Steeleye Span/Traditional)
10. Lovely on the Water (Traditional)

Martin Carthy - Organ, Banjo, Guitar, Vocals, Bells
Tim Hart - Dulcimer, Guitar, Vocals, Bells, Culca
Peter Knight - Organ, Fiddle, Mandolin, Violin, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals, Bells
Maddy Prior - Tambourine, Vocals, Bells, Spoons, Tabor
Ashley Hutchings - Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals, Bells
Jerry Boys - Engineer
Victor Gamm - Engineer
Keith Morris - Photography
Bob Potter - Engineer
Roger Quested - Engineer
Robert Vosgien - Mastering
Roger Mayer - Engineer
Sandy Roberton - Producer
Fred Carlson - Cover Design

CD Shanachie 79075
1976 LP Chrysalis CHR-1119
LP Shanachie 79075
CS Shanachie 79075


Steeleye Span, Please To See The King (Shanachie, 1971)


Originally released at the beginning of 1971, this folk-rock classic was the first record to be made by the second line-up of Steeleye Span, then consisting of Martin Carthy (guitar, vocals) Maddy Prior (vocals), Tim Hart (guitar, dulcimer, vocals), Peter Knight (violin, mandolin, vocals) and Ashley Hutchings (bass, vocals). In some senses, it was an experimental record, in that there was no drummer (although Maddy played a mean set of spoons here and there), and that Martin Carthy made his debut on electric guitar -- his fingerpicking style produced a different sound from that of other guitarists.

I was fortunate enough to see this line-up of Steeleye Span in March 1971, for the princely sum of 45 pence. In those days, a concert ticket was very much cheaper than a record, which is why I never purchased this record when it first came out. At the time, the hot debate was which band was better: Steeleye or Fairport. In my opinion, there was no question, as it wasn't possible to compare the two groups. Fairport played electric folk-rock music, whereas Steeleye played traditional folk music electrified. Fairport had a much more conventional sound (even in March 1971, riding on the crest of Full House and leading up to Angel Delight) than this lineup of Steeleye ever did (although this changed in later line-ups).

Virtually every track on this disk is a classic. "The Blacksmith" opens the proceedings in fine style, with Maddy singing to a trademark Carthy accompaniment. This is a different arrangement to the one on the first Steeleye record (Hark! The Village Wait), which was rockier and more conventional. The album closes with "Lovely On The Water," with its staccato guitar riff and Shadows-like middle section. In between are eight songs, including "Prince Charlie Stuart," "Boys of Bedlam," and "The Lark In The Morning." All of the songs are played and sung well, and most have stood the test of time, which is not surprising as the songs are all traditional and were written many years before they were recorded.

The only thing which can be faulted with this record is the balance: apart from the two above-mentioned songs, the vocals (especially Martin Carthy's) could be louder, whereas certain instruments (primarily the electric dulcimer played by Tim Hart) could have been quieter. Peter Knight is also a victim of bad mixing, most of his playing being relegated to a low volume. This is a shame, as only a little work would be needed to correct this problem, although it may well be that this release (labelled 1990) was made from a vinyl copy, without access to the master tapes.

I would recommend this disk to anyone who is interested in traditional English music. Although this and its sibling "Ten Map Mop" were landmark records, I think that very little of their experimental sound has percolated through to any of the Steeleye line-ups, or to any other group of the British folk-rock genre. It is instructive to compare "Boys Of Bedlam" as presented here with the version that Maddy has been singing in the past few years to see exactly what inheritance this record has left.

[No'am Newman]



Steeleye Span,
Please to See the King
(1971; Shanachie, 1990)





Steeleye Span's second album, Please to See the King, was recorded in 1971. The lineup of the band for this project consisted of Maddy Prior, Martin Carthy, Tim Hart, Ashley Hutchings and Peter Knight. Even at this early point in the band's recording career, their sound has solidified to something unique and unmistakable. It is earthy and powerful, never ethereal, yet capable of delicacy.

All selections on this album are traditional, and most are English. The opening song is "The Blacksmith." To my mind, this track encapsulates all the elements of the classic Steeleye Span sound: electric instruments, fiddle, passages of a cappella harmony, and a truly stunning vocal by Maddy Prior (who sings lead on six of the album's ten tracks). She delivers the song with all the majesty of betrayed innocence, as if denouncing her seducer in the village square.

"Cold, Haily, Windy Night," which follows, is another tale of seduction and betrayal. Although the male vocalists are not credited individually, it sounds like Martin Carthy singing lead. This is one of those "pleading-at-the-window" songs, in which a soldier complains of the bitter weather as he begs his sweetheart to let him into her room. In this sort of song, when the girl gives in, she generally regrets it -- and this is no exception. It's a fast, minor-key song arranged with spare, open harmonies over a winding fiddle line and pounding bass beat.

Next is the album's only instrumental track, a set of jigs ("Brian O'Lynn" and "The Hag with the Money," a.k.a. "Si Do Mhaimio I"). The jigs do not so much dance as gallop, with a good ensemble feel to the playing.

In "Prince Charlie Stuart," the next track, the prince's military exploits take a back seat to his physical charms, which are detailed with unusual sensuousness (including descriptions of his "soft skin" and "bonny round leg"!). Maddy Prior delivers a langorous vocal over a droning bass line, punctuated in the last verse by ringing accents from the guitar.

"Boys of Bedlam" is a real tour-de-force. It begins with two singers, recorded with a curiously muffled sound, singing the song's angular, archaic-sounding melody as they describe a visit to watch the inmates of Bedlam and Maudlin (hospitals for the insane). Then the full ensemble enters with a splendid, clear sound and the perspective apparently switches to a narrative by one of the madmen, with imagery that might have come from a painting by Hieronymous Bosch. Aside from the jigs, this is also the only track to feature percussion.

"The False Knight on the Road" tells of how a "wee boy" encounters the devil disguised as a knight, and the clever replies with which the boy outwits him. It is performed with breathless haste, the two (male) vocalists frequently overlapping each other's lines in their eagerness. The devil's frustration is palpable as the song whips to a handclapping conclusion.

Next is "The Lark in the Morning," a celebration of love and springtime, and one of the finest tracks on an album with many standouts. Over a walking figure on the guitars, Prior's voice enters solo with the first verse. She is joined over the next two verses by one male voice line at a time, the harmonies spreading and thickening with each addition. Then the voices drop out for an instrumental verse which adds the bass and fiddle. This is repeated with a variation, then all the elements come together in a joyous yet restrained climax, the texture of which reminds me of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence": the guitars continue the walking figure, complemented by a jazzier underpinning on the bass as the fiddle line twines around them both. The effect is of something open, translucent, and yet extremely strong, like lace woven out of fishing line.

Next, the group swings into a jaunty, swaggering rendition of "The Female Drummer." There are so many delights in this track that it is with a start that the listener realizes it features ... no drums! Prior delivers another fine vocal, all cheekiness and bravado, on this tale of a Yorkshire lass who runs away from home, disguises herself as a boy, and joins the army. However, an even bigger standout is Peter Knight's coiling fiddle line. Knight does not try for a pretty sound from his fiddle: it growls and scrapes as if played with a 20-pound bow. Yet, with this technique the fiddle becomes a powerhouse instrument, able to match the drive of the electric guitars.

It is so easy to think of Steeleye Span purely as an electric band that it's always a pleasant shock to hear them abandon their instruments altogether. On the next track they do just that and demonstrate their amazing depth of vocal talent with an a cappella, harmony rendition of "The King." This is the Welsh cousin to the Irish wren-hunting songs, and the performance captures the flavor of mummers standing outside the door in the frosty air.

The closing track, "Lovely on the Water," takes on the time-honored theme of a sailor's farewell to his sweetheart. Classical music fans may know this song as "The Springtime of the Year," which Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged. Steeleye Span's setting is considerably bleaker, as well as longer. The young man is joining the navy to fight in a war, and as he sombrely exchanges mementos with his beloved and arranges his finances, there is strong awareness that he may not return. The tale unfolds against a pointillistic backdrop of plucked notes complementing Prior's vocal. At the end, another voice joins in with a stark, open harmony, slightly distanced, as the perspective pulls back to show that similar scenes are taking place all across Tower Hill. It never fails to send a shiver down my back.

Please to See the King is a powerful album, dark in tone overall but relieved by moments of warmth and humor. The performances are uniformly excellent, particularly the vocals.

Note: I understand that some versions of the CD release contain a bonus track, "Rave On." My own copy does not, so I have not included it in this review.

[ by Juliet Youngren ]