09-07-2019, 20:37
STEELEYE SPAN ~ Est'd 1969
![[Image: 81gpH2R-HRL._SS500_.jpg]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81gpH2R-HRL._SS500_.jpg)
This release coincides with Steeleye Span’s golden anniversary, and they have not lost their Midas touch. I should imagine there are very few bands out there who can claim 50 years in the saddle and who are as fit and able as they ever were! It’s nothing short of astonishing. Maybe that’s what progressive folk does for you??!! Apparently, they’re touring and performing the album (or the majority of it) live, with great aplomb.
Their musicianship is beyond reproach – engaging songs with strong lyrics and excellent melodies, fantastic strings which is always a big plus in my book, and the voices, well – Maddy Prior’s timbre has changed, as it should have - she’s 71 and she is still quite capable of delivering exactly what it takes, albeit a couple of tones deeper.
What they have here really cannot be classed as folk, all on its own – there is undoubtedly folk, but there are more than a few positively rocking and some almost alt moments. The album sweeps along with complete assurance; the arrangements are woven like a gorgeous rich tapestry – this is super strong, warm, decisive, well-made music (Ian Anderson makes a guest appearance here – on “Old Matron”). What an absolute pleasure.
Nothing yet on YouTube – Spotify notified me of the release and I listened on Deezer.
https://www.deezer.com/en/album/99043382
Standout tracks for me were “Mackerel of the Sea” - https://open.spotify.com/search/results/...0the%20sea, “January Man” - and “Roadways”.
There IS a sampler on YT …
This release coincides with Steeleye Span’s golden anniversary, and they have not lost their Midas touch. I should imagine there are very few bands out there who can claim 50 years in the saddle and who are as fit and able as they ever were! It’s nothing short of astonishing. Maybe that’s what progressive folk does for you??!! Apparently, they’re touring and performing the album (or the majority of it) live, with great aplomb.
Their musicianship is beyond reproach – engaging songs with strong lyrics and excellent melodies, fantastic strings which is always a big plus in my book, and the voices, well – Maddy Prior’s timbre has changed, as it should have - she’s 71 and she is still quite capable of delivering exactly what it takes, albeit a couple of tones deeper.
What they have here really cannot be classed as folk, all on its own – there is undoubtedly folk, but there are more than a few positively rocking and some almost alt moments. The album sweeps along with complete assurance; the arrangements are woven like a gorgeous rich tapestry – this is super strong, warm, decisive, well-made music (Ian Anderson makes a guest appearance here – on “Old Matron”). What an absolute pleasure.
Nothing yet on YouTube – Spotify notified me of the release and I listened on Deezer.
https://www.deezer.com/en/album/99043382
Standout tracks for me were “Mackerel of the Sea” - https://open.spotify.com/search/results/...0the%20sea, “January Man” - and “Roadways”.
There IS a sampler on YT …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson