THE HART OF STEELEYE SPAN
By Andrew Means
© Melody Maker
10 June 1972
If the electric axe scything through Child Ballad number thirty has always struck you as an ugly mutation then at least grant electric folk this, that it is an ideal medium for showing the potential of a song. Many a good verse has drowned in last orders or melted ineffectually on the innocent lips of the local Maid Marion. But when the amps light up, the Stratocasters move in and 400 watts cut across your stomach, the bars between the instant and “our fathers of old” can seem perilously thin.
As subtle as electric folk can be it is sheer, evocative dynamism that distinguishes it as a syndrome with its own character. The immediacy of electricity imprints Its messages upon the memory, while the subtleties and ingenuity of an unaccompanied song depend far more acutely upon the receptivity of the listener.
Steeleye Span, as experienced in the powered tradition as any, are nearing completion of their fourth album. It's release will probably be in the autumn and the label has yet to be decided. The group is also scheduled to tour the States in November, and included is a possible appearance at the Philadelphia Festival in August.
In spite of the line-up changes - now six months into the past - the group retains Its feel for traditional music. Rick Kemp is a more aggressive bass guitarist than Ashley Hutchings, favouring fuzz and rock riffs and less prone to the distinctively subdued staccato phrases that hallmarked earlier Steeleye days.
Bob Johnson is over conscious of his predecessor's reputation though he takes a similar role to that once filled by Martin Carthy, he has his own style and like Kemp introduces rock influences. Following it’s predecessors, the new album is entirely traditional.
There was an interregnum between the old line - up and the establishment of the new when Tim Hart enthused about introducing contemporary material into the repertoire. The plan had been abandoned for the album, purely because the mood of the contemporary songs they wanted to do had not been mixed with traditional material.
Obviously, the continuity of a record has to be preserved, and Hart's about the “different psychology” involved in recording traditional and contemporary material recognised a fundamental , even if not insurmountable dividing line. “Somehow or other it just wouldn't seem right," he murmured, “it isn't even a policy decision I'm writing songs and Rick's writing a lot. "But when it actually comes to band material we stick to traditional songs.
“I find it's very difficult to write songs in the same calibre as something that has gone through so much. Maybe we might (record a contemporary song) something came along But at the moment it's a subconscious policy. I haven't really got an outlet for song-writing. It's just something I took up again after I hadn't written for five years.
“I mainly write because I like to write. It's a good thing. I wouldn't like to be a professional contemporary singer and be obliged to write" As their new album will illustrate. The treasure houses of traditional song still have vast resources to offer the intrepid musician. Even the famous five Child volumes are bewilderingly virginal Steeleye's interpretation of “King Henry” embellishes the rancid, macabre earthiness of the ballad with the sensuality of modern electric rock.
The storyline is compelling “A poor, tattered creature of a women, hideously misshapen” demands that Henry gives her shelter in his hunting lodge, that he should slaughter is steed , greyhounds and goshawks to feed her and finally that she should share his bed - at which point the electric guitar interpolates. At length the women transforms into “the fairest lady that ever was seen," accounting for her change in fortune with the story that she had been bewitched by her stepmother until such time as a knight should give her all her will.
The ballad nestles unobtrusively between the related subject matter of “The Marriage Of Sir Gawain” and “Kempy Kay” Less striking in their narratives but equally stirring in performance are “The Sheepcrook And The Black Dog” and “The Spotted Cow,” while Peter Knight has an opportunity to emphasise once more his instrumental dexterity with a set of jigs. While Bob Johnson, Rick Kemp and Maddy Prior provide a simple rhythm on these, Knight overdubs tenor banjo, fiddle and a couple of mandolins.
Steeleye's problems have not all been musical since Hutchings and Carthy split from the band. Recently they underwent a change of management. “We were quite happy to chug along with Sandy Roberton with the old band. When the new band came along, and Bob and Rick weren't contracted to Sandy. The outcome was that the group split under Roberton's wing and committed their business interests to the care of Joe Lustig. “Joe looks after the business and we look after the music"