Steeleye Span
Album: Wintersmith
Label: Park
Tracks: 16
Website: http://www.parkrecords.com

Well now, this is a surprise. It was released at the end of last month (before I even heard about it!), heralding the band's latest UK winter tour (starting mid-November). It also heralds the latest, significant lineup change, a major expansion of the ranks following the departure of Ken Nicol, the core long-term foursome (Maddy Prior, Peter Knight, Rick Kemp & Liam Genockey) having been joined by Pete Zorn (sax, acoustic guitar) and Julian Littman (guitar, piano) for the first time on a Steeleye studio album. Wintersmith finds a Steeleye revitalised and once again re-energised, with new blood in its veins. The quality of the playing and singing, and the level of musicianship, can be judged exceptional all round. At the risk of sounding overly partisan, I'd single out Peter's soaring violin lines, but Kathryn Tickell's atmospheric guest contributions, which grace several of the tracks, sure run him close. The recording too is brilliant, full of presence and freshness of attack; here producer Chris Tsangarides has both taken the band back to what might be termed their classic 70s sound and furnished a keen continuation with the dynamics of more recent studio successes such as Bloody Men and They Called her Babylon.

One might be tempted perhaps to summarise Wintersmith as "the legends of folk-rock take on the legends of Terry Pratchett", For, while Wintersmith isn't exactly a concept album as such, it does take its inspiration (and much of its narrative import) from the third of Terry's "Tiffany Aching" books (the series of novels within the Discworld canon which follow the growth of the young trainee witch of that name), although some knowledge of (or sympathy with) which (and witch!) is not necessarily a pre-requisite, since the songs within by and large stand on their own. Having said that, Wintersmith's particular backdrop, that of ancient rituals and secret folk dances, is of course entirely apposite, both as a credible and matching stamping-ground for Steeleye sensibilities, and as suitable subject-matter for a prog-folk-rock kind of musical treatment. Here, then, we encounter this sub-genre par-excellence, much of it recognisably and definitively Steeleye but, one might say, here primarily taking its cue, as opposed to its source, from the realms of fantasy-folk as opposed to strict folk-tradition.

The powerhouse clatter of The Dark Morris Song (and its stick-wielding counterpart Tune), together with the disc's spooky Overture, certainly set the scene strongly, in the approved manner, with stirring, stomping yet mysterious skirling swathes of sound and a typically evocative lyric. The Song is one of three contrasting compositions from Julian's capable pen - the others being You (a passionate, yearning declaration of love) and a defiant pastoral invocation to The Summer Lady (which sports possibly the most "traditional" sounding melody on the whole album, although it's also oddly reminiscent of Steve Tilston's Slip Jigs And Reels!). Composer credits are shared equably over the album's songs, with Rick being responsible for four: best of these is the delicious slow-waltzer First Dance, which brings in guest John Spiers on melodeon, while the others really rock - the soaring elemental anthem Fire And Ice, the upbeat chugging Crown And Ice (complete with storming leccie guitar and fiddle solos), and the title song with its phased Townshend-style guitar riffs. Peter's three songs include the enigmatic mantra The Making Of A Man and the touching closing plea We Shall Wear Midnight). Maddy brings three songs to the table (although I find these a touch too sweet, melodically a little twee, at least compared to the more forthright drive of much of the rest of the album, and I feel that Mr Pratchett's spoken interpolation on The Good Witch jars somewhat). Last but not least, former band member Bob Johnson contributes two songs: the character sketch of The Wee Free Men, set to a feisty, stonking, grinding reel riff, and the pensive Ancient Eyes.

I started this review with the claim that this new offering was a surprise - certainly so in the specific context of it being a Steeleye album (and even though I've been a staunch fan virtually throughout their long career, as indeed has Terry Pratchett himself, we learn - the band played at his 60th birthday!). For in all honesty my initial feeling about the album - obvious excellence of playing and recording aside - was decidedly mixed; I felt it didn't really hang together, that there were too many different "voices" on show, bringing less in the way of unity. It took several of the songs a while to work their magic. And some still haven't quite cast the desired spell (pardon the analogy!). But maybe it does need to be regarded as more of a concept album than it was perhaps intended to be. Whatever, I do feel sure it's destined in time to handsomely repay further effort and exposure.

David Kidman