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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
104 of 105 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the definitive compilation of early Steeleye Span. The two CDs comprise the first three albums, Hark! The Village Wait, Please To See the King, Ten Man Mop, in their entirety, and in the correct track order. Also included are two bonus tracks, an a capella cover of Buddy Holly`s "Rave On"(what you might call a `novelty` track, but nicely sung), and the rousing General Taylor(the singing here is reminiscent of the Watersons, I think), which was previously only ever available on the compilation "Individually and Collectively"(originally released in 1972).
At not much more than a quarter of the price of these three albums on separate CDs, it`s a steal! It`s nicely enough packaged, too, and unlike other budget compilations of this material which often have the wrong band line-up pictured on the cover, the inlay booklet contains some interesting comments from the different musicians concerned, and there are some nice sepia and black and white photos of the two line-ups(Hart, Prior, Hutchings, Woods, Woods on the first album; Hart, Prior, Hutchings, Carthy, Knight on the other two).
For neophytes, it should be pointed out that these three albums are the most traditional-sounding of the Steeleye Span back catalogue, and the band`s sound changed quite markedly after 1971 when Carthy and Hutchings were replaced by Rick Kemp on bass and Bob Johnson on guitar, both of whom came from more rock-orientated musical backgrounds. The first two albums with Kemp and Johnson in the band(Below the Salt, 1972, Parcel of Rogues, 1973) are regarded by most, if not all, Steeleye fans as being classics.
At not much more than a quarter of the price of these three albums on separate CDs, it`s a steal! It`s nicely enough packaged, too, and unlike other budget compilations of this material which often have the wrong band line-up pictured on the cover, the inlay booklet contains some interesting comments from the different musicians concerned, and there are some nice sepia and black and white photos of the two line-ups(Hart, Prior, Hutchings, Woods, Woods on the first album; Hart, Prior, Hutchings, Carthy, Knight on the other two).
For neophytes, it should be pointed out that these three albums are the most traditional-sounding of the Steeleye Span back catalogue, and the band`s sound changed quite markedly after 1971 when Carthy and Hutchings were replaced by Rick Kemp on bass and Bob Johnson on guitar, both of whom came from more rock-orientated musical backgrounds. The first two albums with Kemp and Johnson in the band(Below the Salt, 1972, Parcel of Rogues, 1973) are regarded by most, if not all, Steeleye fans as being classics.
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'm not sure that the cross-over success of All Around My Hat in 1975 did Steeleye Span or the folk-movement any long term favours. They never hit the charts again, and folk and folk-rock, both undergoing something of a renaissance, began their retreat underground, though there is no proven link between the two. The producers of Top Of The Pops may have relished the thought of the band in pixie-garb and tinkling bells skipping around a maypole, Pan's People style, but trivialising hundreds of years of folk heritage to the level of the Wombles couldn't ultimately enhance the movement's credibility. Although they succeeded in popularizing the music and bringing it into the mainstream for a while, something was lost in the process. In particular, it led to their earlier and finest work becoming overshadowed.
Hark! The Village Wait (1970) was a marvelous and groundbreaking album, to stand alongside classics like Liege And Lief, and featured the original line-up that included Gay and Terry Woods. Gay's vocals alongside Maddy Prior's gave the band a very special sound (see A Calling On Song and My Johnny Was A Shoemaker for the full accapella effect). The Woods introduced an element of Irish traditional music to the mix that founder member Ashley Hutchings had originally intended to be purely English, and this continued on the second album, Please To See The King (1971), even though Gay and Terry had left, leaving Maddy as the only girl in the group. In their place came the veritable Martin Carthy (who collected and brought to the band such songs as Cold, Haily, Windy Night; Boys Of Bedlam, based on an 18th century poem; and False Knight On The Road) and Peter Knight, a classically trained violinist. The difference in approach is demonstrated on the song The Blacksmith, a version of which appears on each album, both great, augmented by drums on the earlier arrangement. Please To See The King is an uncompromising, timeless album and both its line-up and style survived for their third LP, Ten Man Mop (1972). That they were not just a vocal-led band is demonstrated on three excellent instrumental medleys of jigs and reels found on Please To See The King and Ten Man Mop.
The Dark-Eyed Sailor is a folk club favourite and there are many wonderful records of it, featuring Carolyn Hester, June Tabor, Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts among many, but I think the stately rendition on Hark! The Village Wait, led by Gay Woods with Maddy Prior's harmonies bests them all. The accapella version of Buddy Holly's Rave On that started life as a bit of a joke also works really well. It is a rare American influence on the record and shows that a good song is a good song regardless.
The important thing to note about The Lark In The Morning - The Early Years is that it is not a compendium of the best of the first three albums; it is all three albums in their entirety, spread over 2 CDs, and therefore represents a considerable bargain. There is even a bonus track: General Taylor, another accapella tune, left over from the Ten Man Mop sessions. It found a place on a various artists compilation the following year.
File under: Essential Folk-Rock
Hark! The Village Wait (1970) was a marvelous and groundbreaking album, to stand alongside classics like Liege And Lief, and featured the original line-up that included Gay and Terry Woods. Gay's vocals alongside Maddy Prior's gave the band a very special sound (see A Calling On Song and My Johnny Was A Shoemaker for the full accapella effect). The Woods introduced an element of Irish traditional music to the mix that founder member Ashley Hutchings had originally intended to be purely English, and this continued on the second album, Please To See The King (1971), even though Gay and Terry had left, leaving Maddy as the only girl in the group. In their place came the veritable Martin Carthy (who collected and brought to the band such songs as Cold, Haily, Windy Night; Boys Of Bedlam, based on an 18th century poem; and False Knight On The Road) and Peter Knight, a classically trained violinist. The difference in approach is demonstrated on the song The Blacksmith, a version of which appears on each album, both great, augmented by drums on the earlier arrangement. Please To See The King is an uncompromising, timeless album and both its line-up and style survived for their third LP, Ten Man Mop (1972). That they were not just a vocal-led band is demonstrated on three excellent instrumental medleys of jigs and reels found on Please To See The King and Ten Man Mop.
The Dark-Eyed Sailor is a folk club favourite and there are many wonderful records of it, featuring Carolyn Hester, June Tabor, Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts among many, but I think the stately rendition on Hark! The Village Wait, led by Gay Woods with Maddy Prior's harmonies bests them all. The accapella version of Buddy Holly's Rave On that started life as a bit of a joke also works really well. It is a rare American influence on the record and shows that a good song is a good song regardless.
The important thing to note about The Lark In The Morning - The Early Years is that it is not a compendium of the best of the first three albums; it is all three albums in their entirety, spread over 2 CDs, and therefore represents a considerable bargain. There is even a bonus track: General Taylor, another accapella tune, left over from the Ten Man Mop sessions. It found a place on a various artists compilation the following year.
File under: Essential Folk-Rock
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This compilation comprises the first three albums by Steeleye Span. The first is good, but not especially ground-breaking. The second (Please to see the King) is the best electro-acoustic folk album ever made. The line-up changed to bring in Peter Knight and Martin Carthy; the imaginative scoring, tight, unusual rhythms, beautiful playing - and Maddy Prior's crystal voice soaring above everything. If this doesn't leave you misty-eyed, get the doc to sign your death certificate, because you have no heart. The third album seeks to recapture the freshness and artistry of the second. It fails, but nobly.
After this, the line-up changed again, still great sounds for a couple of albums. Then they got a drummer. So this compilation gives you the original and best - all good stuff, but the Please to see the King stuff is all sheer perfection. Forever England, forever young.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A folk materpiece
Containig Steelye Spams first 3 albums in their entirety across 2 discs, this is near perfect folk music of the kind nobody makes anymore. quite simply lovely stuff.
Published 4 months ago by George GMK
Nice to have but rather disappointing sound quality
Considering how hard it is to get separate CDs of all the early albums, it's great that these box sets are available. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Big Ears
Early days
This CD has now been deleted as Sanctuary went out of business.
But its wrong to name the Steeleye Span as one hit wonders-they had a 2nd hit with Gaudette
But its wrong to name the Steeleye Span as one hit wonders-they had a 2nd hit with Gaudette
Published 19 months ago by Richard
stale-eye speen
This is a great compilation, much recommended with plenty of first rate tracks. Slightly marred, however, by the inclusion of the incongruous 'rave on', forcing me to skip a track... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Timothy John Myall
Steeleye Span - The Golden Years
This collection covers my favourite Steeleye Span period, and it's a superb package for the price.
The sound quality is more than adequate (I noticed it took a bit of... Read more
The sound quality is more than adequate (I noticed it took a bit of... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2010 by Alan Berry
Steeleye Span meets the loudness war
Yes, they did it again. Besides pushing every frequency range to the limits, they managed to actually cripple the songs with over 200 clipped samples on disc 1 and over 900 on disc... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2010 by Pedro Corbett
Where are the images of the covers?
This set is fabulous on every level except for one thing ....... if you are going to re-package previously released (back catalogue) albums then please give us images of the... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by Joseph Rao
Tyger Tyger Burning Bright!
The Lark in the Morning now makes a fine companion to the more recent release from EMI, a Parcel of Steeleye Span. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2009 by James B. Spink
Five stars for music and sound, but poor presentation
As usual, there is very little information to be found on this page about the sound quality on this 2CD, apart from one customer who is somewhat critical. Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by Philip S. Walker
Poor Sound Quality
These excerpts from the first records has a shrill, harsh quality.
You will be much better-off purchasing the individual CDs from Shanachie. Read more
You will be much better-off purchasing the individual CDs from Shanachie. Read more
Published on 24 May 2009 by auteur inconnu
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