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Thread: Steeley Span 2015 NA Tour

  1. #26
    Two sightly overlooked albums: Bedlam Born (2000), sacrilegiously not featuring Maddy Prior. This has some huge songs. Tim Harries' John of Ditchford could nestle quite happily on a Led Zepplin album & Bob Johnson, on his swan song - not counting the Present re-recordings - is at his imperious best. Four years later, Maddy's back in the fold, Ken Nicol has come in for B.J. & the band made They Called Her Babylon, another monster. The title track is worth the money on its own & the rest of the album is not far behind.

    They'd both make my Steeleye top five.

  2. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by the ferret View Post
    Two sightly overlooked albums: Bedlam Born (2000), sacrilegiously not featuring Maddy Prior. This has some huge songs. Tim Harries' John of Ditchford could nestle quite happily on a Led Zepplin album & Bob Johnson, on his swan song - not counting the Present re-recordings - is at his imperious best. Four years later, Maddy's back in the fold, Ken Nicol has come in for B.J. & the band made They Called Her Babylon, another monster. The title track is worth the money on its own & the rest of the album is not far behind.
    Bloody Men is really good too, including a bonus disc with a 20-minute suite by Rick Kemp about Ned Ludd (the father of the "Luddites"). And their Christmas album ("Winter") is wonderful too, and proggy in places.

    I'll maintain though that Wintersmith is their best since the '70s.

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3LockBox View Post
    Ummm... Steely Dan? Steeleye Span?
    +1 my thought exactly. And what is a N.A. tour?

  4. #29
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    Saw them in toronto last week and they were very good. The set was a bit short as they were doing 2 shows that night but a really good selection including When I was on Horseback which I didn't expect.

    Rick Kemp isn't with them at all on the tour - the bass player is his and Maddy's son Alex. He's quite good though not the monster Rick is.

    Maddy's voice is showing her age slightly -she doesn't quite have the top range she used to but she's still one of my favourite singers.

    Overall a really good show.

  5. #30
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeterG View Post
    And what is a N.A. tour?
    Not Applicable...To you in Ireland.

  6. #31
    Member Garyhead's Avatar
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    Yes. Saw them in Seattle last Tuesday (7/14). There was no mention of Rick Kemp on tour. Maddy said "her son" was the one held at the border that was supposed to play bass tonight. They started rehearsal with a local bass player at 4PM for a 7:30PM show! We were wondering why there was an intermission in a two hour show, they said they had to teach the 2nd half! Talk about pressure! Really enjoyed the Wintersmith tunes. The new fiddle player is not Peter Knight....but she has her own style that works well! And she has a wonderful voice! She will add a new dimension going forward...Maddy's voice has held up remarkably well....The vocal ensemble was just fine considering Rick Kemp wasn't there. Their Merch. also didn't make it across the border.....I snagged one of only 20 tee shirts they had on hand.
    The venue was a Dinner-theater ...... food & service were excellent! The staff did not distract from the show and you didn't hear dish-clinking all evening.......my only disappointment was how the City of Seattle has deteriorated into a urine-permeated, hobo infested hell hole. I think it has also become a destination for the pot tourist. So many "baked" young'ins staggering the boulevard with the staggering hobos.....And this was at Westlake Mall! I was also in Pioneer Square.....smelled the same. It used to be fun in downtown Seattle......
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  7. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by PeterG View Post
    +1 my thought exactly. And what is a N.A. tour?
    I forgot one fucking E and I can't help if you can't fig out wtf NA is short for....

  8. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by bRETT View Post
    Bloody Men is really good too, including a bonus disc with a 20-minute suite by Rick Kemp about Ned Ludd (the father of the "Luddites"). And their Christmas album ("Winter") is wonderful too, and proggy in places.

    I'll maintain though that Wintersmith is their best since the '70s.
    Agreed that Winter & Bloody Men are excellent. The Wintersmith is definitely a masterpiece. good to see Bob Johnson involved again. Great writer! The difficulty deciding its place in the canon, is the canon is so bloody strong. There are very few bog standard Steeleye albums & the odd track aside (Twinkle, Twinkle) it depends on my mood where the albums would rank.

    A truly world class band.

    A Steeleye aside: Is anyone else a fan of Peter Knight's new combo Gigspanner? Check 'em out they're fab!

  9. #34
    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Garyhead View Post
    There was no mention of Rick Kemp on tour. Maddy said "her son" was the one held at the border that was supposed to play bass tonight. They started rehearsal with a local bass player at 4PM for a 7:30PM show! We were wondering why there was an intermission in a two hour show, they said they had to teach the 2nd half! Talk about pressure!
    Yup, I thought I heard her say "my son" but when I went to their website it only mentioned Rick Kemp as touring. But I've seen a recent update where that's been changed. Anyways, whoever that was that is sitting in really proved himself a professional. And it's the first time I've actually seen someone play an old style Gibson bass outside of YT videos from the 60s.

    Quote Originally Posted by Garyhead View Post
    Really enjoyed the Wintersmith tunes.
    Ditto. They collaborated with fantasy author Terry Pratchett on that. Apparently it's the first time a SS album has charted since the 70s! I have a feeling it will expand their audience with a new generation of fantasy readers. Better SS than Blackmore's Night!

    They cast a pretty wide net with the set list, even digging into Maddy's 1971 album with Tim Hart. But it was all really good. Not a bad song in the entire show IMO.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by progman1975 View Post
    I forgot one fucking E and I can't help if you can't fig out wtf NA is short for....
    My point is that the first two gigs are in the UK! It would've been sufficient to write Steeleye Span 2015 Tour as it isn't just a North American tour.
    Last edited by PeterG; 07-20-2015 at 07:18 AM.

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