Release date: March 1971
Label: B&C Records
Produced by: Sandy Roberton
Length: 41:39
Genre: folk rock
Rating: 9/10
After Gay and Terry Woods left, the English folk-rock pioneers Steeleye Span built a new band around bassist Ashley Hutchings, singer Maddy Prior and guitarist/singer Tim Hart, adding two new members who were both veterans of the folk scene, violinist Peter Knight and guitarist Martin Carthy. They reworked their sound and in 1971 made the album “Please to See the King”. With the other female singer, Gay Woods, gone, Hart and Carthy joined Prior on extra vocals, which brought the first big change in sound since the debut “Hark! The Village Wait” (1970), because “Please to See the King” now had male-female vocal harmonies. Another big oddity was the complete absence of drums, which, surprisingly, didn’t hurt them one bit. By then Steeleye Span had become masters of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon melody and virtuosos at crafting nostalgic, often pastoral or sacred arrangements.
What’s more, their sound, mostly thanks to the string arrangements, got a bit fuller and more electrified, which you can hear on the new version of “The Blacksmith”, which sounds completely different with its new arrangements compared to the debut. The album was dominated by rearranged versions of traditional folk songs, which was the golden rule in the era under the great traditionalist Hutchings, before they started writing their own material. The instrumental strengths of this incarnation of Steeleye Span shine on the traditional Irish jig “Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn/The Hag with the Money”, with Knight’s sparkling violin runs front and center.
The traditional Scottish ballad “Prince Charlie Stuart” was an ode to the last pretender to the English throne from the Scottish noble House of Stuart. He was quite popular among the Scots in the 18th century, since for a short time he completely thrashed the English before they finally managed to beat him. “False Knight on the Road” was a rearranged version of a traditional children’s lullaby. On “Boys of Bedlam”, where the band heads into the madhouse for inspiration, the excellent male-female vocal harmonies over banjo and the gradual unfolding of melodies steeped in Celtic charm are a real treat. “The Lark in the Morning” quickly established itself as one of Steeleye Span’s evergreens. The eighteen-minute adventure “The King”, a rearranged version of a traditional Christmas song, proves just how ambitious a collective Steeleye Span were at the time.
With “Please to See the King”, Steeleye Span made their first folk-rock classic and one of the most eventful albums of their long career, proving they didn’t need a drummer to do it. This achievement, which saw Steeleye Span seriously challenge Fairport Convention for the crown of best British folk-rock band for the first time, still rightly stands among fans as one of their most cherished. For the next album Steeleye Span managed to keep the same lineup, but not for long, and new changes in sound were on the horizon again.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. The Blacksmith
2. Cold Haily, Windy Night
3. Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn / The Hag With The Money
4. Prince Charlie Stuart
5. Boys of Bedlam
6. False Knight On The Road
7. The Lark In The Morning
8. Female Drummer
9. The King
10. Lovely on the Water
Steeleye Span:
Maddy Prior – lead vocals, percussion, tambourine
Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar, backing vocals
Tim Hart – lead vocals, guitar, dulcimer
Peter Knight – violin, mandolin, backing vocals, organ, bass guitar
Martin Carthy – lead vocals, guitar, banjo, organ
