SAILS OF SILVER

Classic line up sails close to Love Beach

After the release of "Storm force ten" in 1977, Steeleye Span effectively disbanded. The band was however contractually obliged to come up with one more album to fullfil their deal with Chrysalis. When a reunion to meet this obligation was mooted a couple of years later, Martin Carthy and John Kilpatrick had long since decided that their departure was to be permanent, so the possibly of reconvening the classic line up was examined. So it was that fiddle player Peter Knight and guitarist Bob Johnson returned to the fold, and work was started on what would become "Sails of silver".

Although "Sails of silver" was performed by the line up which recorded some of the band's most admired albums, the approach to recording was radically different to what fans were used to. Noted producer Gus Dudgeon was brought in to make the album more commercially appealing, but it is the presence for the first time of a number of songs written by band members which sets the album apart from what had gone before.

Admittedly, the opening title track offers promise, with all six band members receiving a writing credit. The song is a sort of sophisticated "All around my hat", with a catchy refrain on the chorus. I have to confess to liking the song immensely although I also have to clarify that it is pop folk rather than prog folk. The following "My love" reverts to the tried and tested policy of interpreting traditional songs, the arrangement here being simple and highly accessible. So it is with "Barnet fair", where Rick Kemp takes the bones of a traditional number and transforms it into a pop song.

"Senior service" was co-written by Kemp with Maddy Prior. Without wishing to be too unkind, it is quite the worst song the band had recorded up to this point, devoid not only of folk but of any redeeming features at all; so bad is it, it could have been a Eurovision song contest entry! "Gone to America" which closes side one is based once again on a traditional song, this time adapted by Peter Knight. Maddy's performance here sounds rather like that of the great Judy Collins, the song being a fine ballad rounded off by some good lead guitar sounds. It is not really Steeleye Span as such, but it is at least well done.

"Where are they now" has echoes of Renaissance's later works, where that band too tried to move into the cluttered pop market. Peter Knight's violin work on the track is superb, but sadly it is ruthlessly curtailed. There then follows a couple of songs where the band's main vocalists take a back seat. This exercise in democracy is flawed in terms of making the fatal error of not exploiting your strengths but Peter Knight at least tries to write something with folk overtones. "Let her go down" is a reasonably pleasant diversion with a passable vocal arrangement. The band composed "Longbone" on the other hand is uninspired pop rock, pure and simple.

The two part " Marigold/Harvest Home" is the final band written song, the latter part being a traditional hymn. As such, this piece at least reminds us of what the band were all about, offering a tantalising glimpse of what went before. "Tell me why" is a final variant on a traditional song, where Maddy gives another fine delivery of a haunting ballad. The powerful refrain contrasts well with the soft verses, and the song at least strays towards prog territories.

"Sails of silver" clearly sets out to be an accessible album with an overtly pop flavour. The ten tracks are all of a radio friendly length, with simple melodies and easy on the ears arrangements. The rear sleeve image is not quite as unpalatable as that of "Love beach", but its heading that way. To the extent that this was an album with a specific remit, it succeeds in its objective. Unfortunately, it did not succeed commercially, and only served to alienate a significant number of fans of the band who despaired at the band's new direction. As an album of pop songs with the occasional folk tinge it works reasonably well. On any other level this is a poor entry in the wonderful discography of a great band.

This would be Steeleye Span's last album for some six years. Co-founder Tim Hart left the band and music for good, and the rest of the band pursued other interests, both music related and in other fields.

The ever morphing British folk rock institution that STEELEYE SPAN had become over the course of the 1970s had supposedly disbanded days after their farewell concert documented by "Live at Last" in 1978. It was therefore a surprise to find the classic lineup resurface just 2 years later. Whether this was at the request or demand of Chrysalis records is unclear, but it doesn't seem like anyone who mattered was happy with the result. Producer Gus Dudgeon might have briefly revived the fortunes of LINDISFARNE a few years earlier and, while that effort was predictably slick, at least it bottled the sloppy sweetness that was at the core of their popularity.

"Sails of Silver" offers no such qualified success as it bleaches the group's roots and parades a parody of power balladry to a bewildered public. It's not all dismal, with the opening two numbers offering promise that they might be able to achieve the unthinkable but the premise is so ludicrous that it could not have withstood 40 minutes even if the quality hadn't subsequently careened off the tracks. Workaday rhythms, forgettable tunes, and a pervading suspicion that the band is trying to fool us make this a rather uncredible retooling. "Let Her Go Down" and "Harvest Home" seem authentic enough to effect a waterlogged rescue but they don't nearly make up for the generic indignities of "Barnet Fair", "Senior Service", "Where are they now", and "Longbone", any of which could have been a fair throwaway number on previous outings but here are like a gaggle of unsavory hall monitors you can't get past without a whiff of their stale cigarettes.

If you need any further evidence of the destructive nature of this debacle, it propelled long time member Tim Hart out of the industry for good. It is fortunate that the group kicked off a more than respectable revival later in the decade that persists to this day, for if "Sails of Silver" had been their final voyage they might still be lost.

Steeleye Span made their name playing folk with rock influences, so the idea of them putting out a whole album of what is essentially rock with folk influences - think Fleetwood Mac crossed with a strong pinch of A-era Jethro Tull - is somewhat disconcerting. The band had actually broken up as a conscious, deliberate decision after recording the Live At Last! album, having decided they'd achieved all they wanted to as a unit, but Chrysalis coaxed them back, giving this something of the reputation of a "contractual obligation" album; certainly, they faded away again pretty soon after this, spending the rest of the early 1980s dormant until exploring new visas away from the label (and without cofounder Tim Hart).

Honestly, as a more commercially-leaning, accessible, and rock-and-pop-influenced take on British folk rock, I don't think it's half bad. The problem comes if you try to regard it as a Steeleye Span album, because it's undeniably pretty distant from their classic sound. Still, Maddy Prior and Tim Hart's vocals are still present and correct, and that's a big help, with their harmonies being as charming as ever. Maybe it's not what we usually want from Steeleye Span - but if you went to a Steeleye Span concert and heard a support act playing music along these lines, it wouldn't be totally incongruous and you might get into it.

Had they left the Steeleye Span name in the dust and put this out as an album for a new "Sails of Silver" project - and perhaps wore disguises so people didn't realise it was just Steeleye Span again - maybe Sails of Silver would have done better... had it fallen through a time hole and gotten published in the mid-1970s. As it is, it was not only out of step with the band's back catalogue, it also feels hopelessly unfashionable for an album from 1980. With the benefit of hindsight, I've grown to like it and think it's been hard done-by, but even then I admit I have to take a moment and remind myself not to judge it on the same criteria as the group's classic work to fully give it a chance.