A Parcel Of Steeleye Span (Their First Five Chrysalis Albums 1972-1975)

You certainly can't quarrel with the value of this package - five albums (plus a few extras) on 3 disks for the cost of one full-price CD. I loved all these albums (with a few reservations, for which see below) when I originally bought them on vinyl, but had only replaced two of them and (having no equipment for playing LPs any more) hadn't heard the others for over 25 years! As a result, some of the songs almost came as though I was hearing them for the first time. The main downside is that you don't get the full sleeve notes, which means no printed words (but they can probably be found online if you need them). Also only tiny versions of the original sleeve art - but where CD is concerned this is less of a problem. I'll comment on the individual albums separately.Below the Salt: The first album without Ashley Hutchings, and with the addition of Robert Johnson (replacing Martin Carthy on guitar) and Rick Kemp (replacing Hutchings on bass) to the previous members Maddy Prior, Tim Hart and Peter Knight. Some great songs here, including Gaudete in both the original album form and the re-mixed single version, and also The Holly and the Ivy, which was its B-side.Parcel of Rogues: Very similar in general sound to the previous album, with the same lineup. Nothing quite as well-known as Gaudete here, but still a great range of songs including the highly political (in their day) Rogues in a Nation and Cam Ye O'er Frae France. The only extra is Bonny Moorhen, and I can't help wondering why it was left off the original album - it could have replaced Hares on the Mountain, which I never thought up to the the standard of the other tracks. It's a pity this album had to be split between two disks.Now We Are Six: This is literally true, as at this point they recruited drummer Nigel Pegrum (having managed without a percussionist for all except the first album) which slightly changed the general sound. I'd forgotten some of the songs almost completely, including Seven Hundred Elves and Edwin, and the outstanding instrumental The Mooncoin Jig. However, an element of doubt crept in when I heard the mock "primary school choir" tracks, and not everyone will like their version of To Know Him Is To Love Him (with David Bowie on saxophone). Oddly the only extra track is a live version of The Wife Of Usher's Well, which isn't even on this album.Commoner's Crown: This was the album I remembered least well, and it was a very pleasant surprise, from the first track Little Sir Hugh and the rather gruesome Long Lankin to the experimental-styled Dogs and Ferrets. They again have a surprising guest artist - Peter Sellers on ukulele, plus Goon voices, accompanying New York Girls. No bonus tracks, sadly.All Around My Hat: Probably the best-known of the five originals, with the hit single title track, but plenty of other good stuff, with the almost reggae-like Gamble Gold/Robin Hood and the unaccompanied Cadgwith Anthem, and the currently all too appropriate Hard Times of Old England. Again no extras - as the total time is over 77 minutes, there wouldn't have been room.Who would I recomment this to? Anyone who had any of the albums on vinyl and hasn't replaced them yet; anyone who likes modern folk artists such as Seth Lakeman; and almost anyone else if they're prepared to try out a great act - after all, at this price, you haven't much to lose!

EMI - what a paradox you are. I'm still reeling from the brutal marketing decisions you made with Apple concerning the 2009 remastered Beatles (like spending 130 quid to hear Sgt Pepper in Mono), and then I discover this gem of a bargain. Five well-remastered Steeleye Span albums for twelve quid! Yiha!Below The Salt was the unknown one for me and I am well impressed. Sufficiently impressed that I may now buy "Lark In The Morning" - another great deal, this time with the band's first three albums for a fiver!Then the glorious run of albums from the muscular powerhouse of Parcel Of Rogues (the mix still veering over the edge of screechy in this remaster but I love it just the same) through the semi-collapse of Mike Batt's anaesthetic "All Around My Hat" which nonetheless has the brilliant Black Jack Davy and - if I'm in the right mood - Hard Times Of Old England.In between, well there's the truncated pleasure of Now We Are Six (which prompted one waggish reviewer to speculate on what type of distractions were afoot in the studio when they decided to include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the appalling To Know Him Is To Love Him).... which nonetheless contains one of my deepest favourite tracks: The Two Magicians. Splendid!Then, my overall favourite. And unusually, not the first one I owned, that was Parcel of Rogues. But Commoner's Crown was the album which I adored back in my first year at University and I still do. It's worth the twelve quid all on it's own. Hear the smoothness of Long Lankin, Demon Lover, and Weary Cutters. Maddy Prior, you're an angel.This, by the way, is clearly a shot of heaven for Steeleye fans who like to make their own compilations...like what I do. (Sorry, Ernie). I have been distracted for days now....ending up with one collection, but now beginning to start on these discs again which may lead to a second volume.So; for those of you seeking quality sound, the news is a surprise to me: EMI have delivered on this occasion. (They are notoriously unreliable imho).For those of you wondering if you will still like Steelye Span so many years after their folk-rock heyday - fear not! You'll love this organic music more than ever....it will remind you of how dismal is the new music you may be listening to. (They just don't make music this way anymore - see Tony Parsons/Ian MacDonald).And if anyone out there is reading these reviews thinking "Well, it's a good deal, and they sound like an interesting band...naybe I should take a chance..." TAKE IT! You will not regret purchasing this fantastic triple-CD five-album Bargain of the Year. (Should be Re-Issue of the Year in the mags, but will any of them notice?).And a gruding Thanks to someone at EMI who may be a little less mercenary and cynical than the...people?....involved with the Beatles marketing.

A Parcel of Steeleye Span does as it says: It combines their first five Chrysalis albums - Below the Salt (1972), Parcel of Rogues (1973), Now We Are Six (1974), Commoner's Crown (1975), and All Around My Hat (1975) (chronologically, the band's fourth through eighth albums overall) - into one nicely remastered package. Also included are a few stray dogs related to the albums, including the single version of "Gaudete" (which, unlike the LP track, does not fade in at the beginning but comes from a cold start) and a live recording of "The Wife of Usher's Well" from 1974, predating the track's inclusion on All Around My Hat.Of the five, my favourite albums are Below the Salt and Parcel of Rogues, the last ones to feature Steeleye as a drummerless band; all the rhythm is provided by Rick Kemp's bass playing. Nigel Pegrum joined the band for Now We Are Six, my least favourite of this set - not for Pegrum's membership (indeed, the drums put Steeleye on more of an even keel with their closest rivals, Fairport Convention), but more for the rather twee tone of the children's songs included (the title cut and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). Commoner's Crown rebounds a bit from its uneven predecessor, but still not terribly memorable to me. All Around My Hat has Steeleye finding their new feet and kicking away in full folk-rock plumage; the title cut remains one of my favourite Steeleye tracks, along with "Hard Times of Old England."A good remastering job done properly by EMI; downsides? Recording info is a bit scant, and no liner notes, which would have given the listener some insight into what was going on with the band at the time, hence this set is docked a star.Lastly, RIP Tim Hart, who passed away in late December of 2009. You'll be missed, friend.