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Steeleye Span: Recollections

Recollections

Recollections
Steeleye Span

Chrysalis L 37753 (LP, Australia, 1981)

This is an Australian-only release with some rare tracks and introductions.

From the Down Home catalog: “An exciting collection of 18 tracks features unfamiliar and rare material - several tracks only previously available on singles, special edited versions of Elf Call and Montrose not issued elsewhere. verbal Christmas greetings from the group, Maddy's recollections on the origin of the group and a previously unissued bit of foolishness that was recorded at one of their regular sessions.”

Some of these tracks were reissued in 1999 on the compilation A Rare Collection 1972-1996.

Album concept and compilation by Warren Barnett
Artwork by Michael Cowdroy
Cover notes by Glenn A. Baker
Additional track research by Chris Lennis
Track annotations and cover design by Warren Barnett
Mastered at Festival Records, Sydney, Australia by Warren Barnett

Musicians

Maddy Prior: vocals [1-18];
Peter Knight, vocals, fiddle [2, 5-9, 11-12, 14, 17-18];
Tim Hart: vocals, dulcimer, guitar [2-3, 5-14, 16-18];
Bob Johnson, vocals, guitar [2, 5-9, 11-12, 14, 17-18];
Martin Carthy: vocals, guitar [3, 10, 16];
John Kirkpatrick: vocals, accordion [3, 10, 16];
Rick Kemp: bass [2-3, 5-14, 16-18];
Nigel Pegrum: drums [3, 5-7, 9-14, 16-17]

Tracks

Side 1Side 2
  1. Introduction by Maddy Prior (1.54)
  2. The Boar's Head Carol (3.33)
    single-only release
  3. Seventeen Come Sunday (5.00)
    from Storm Force Ten
  4. Rollercoaster (3.32)
    from Maddy Prior: Woman in the Wings
  5. Gamble Gold (Robin Hood) (3.37)
    from All Around My Hat
  6. Elf Call (2.47)
    Australian-only single edit
  7. London (4.37)
    from Rocket Cottage, with an introduction by Maddy Prior
  8. Rag Doll (3.04)
    single-only release
  9. Harvest Home (0.55)
    from Sails of Silver
  1. Montrose (3.57)
    Australian-only single edit
  2. Bonny Moorhen (4.12)
    from Original Masters
  3. Cadgwith Anthem (2.41)
    from All Around My Hat
  4. Overseas (3.09)
    from Tim Hart: Tim Hart
  5. The Bosnian Hornpipes (1.40)
    from Rocket Cottage, with an introduction by Peter Knight
  6. Lass of Loch Royal (4.01)
    from Silly Sisters: Silly Sisters
  7. Hunting the Wren (2.47)
    from Live at Last!
  8. Campton Races (2.02)
    from Rocket Cottage
  9. The Holly and the Ivy (3.31)
    single-only release, but with Christmas messages by band members

Texts

Introduction by Maddy Prior

We're from the North of England, in Blackpool, which... Blackpool's a sort of entertainment's town. And I always sung when I was a kid, I've always done the singing and bit of acting, at school. We used to have all sort of festivals. And then I got involved in folk clubs, which is really all the way it all started. And so I got involved in a casual way to start with. And I gradually got more and more serious about it and started to do gigs on my own. I was all on my own for a while and then i joined up with Tim. We were together for about four years cause when the band started, we didn't immediately stop doing folk clubs ...

London

Introduction by Maddy Prior: “All large cities have songs written about them at some time or another. Chicago, New York have had songs about them. London has one that comes from the eighteenth century, that Rick managed to dig up from a song book called New Academy of Compliments which sounds rather fun. It's a slightly satirical view of London, as seen from the equivalent of the West End, rather the in-fashion side of London, the austere eccentricities of clothes, powdered wigs and all that sort of thing.”

The Bosnian Hornpipes

Introduction by Peter Knight: “The next song isn't a song at all. It's ... a song, but it hasn't got any words, because we all made the words up as we went along whis was tremendously exciting. This song is a sort of, eh, mathematical bit of musical nonsense. It's quite good fun, it's a hornpipe. Well it's a hornpipe rhythm anyway. It's not a traditional tune, it's one that's been written. It was written by a music stand actually that was fed into a computer, that links to the music stand. And this is how it turned out. It passes through several of the normal cadences, eh, utilising all the obvious harmonies that tadpoles can think of... Well I rather like tadpoles, they're rather nice. It's called The Bosnian Hornpipes, nothing at all to do with the joke about bees, they're very very big, much bigger than the ordinary bee. It's called The Bosnian Hornpipes or The Bosnian Hornpipes.”