Below The Salt

Performer: Steeleye Span
Engineer: Jerry Boys
Producer: Steeleye Span; Jerry Boys
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Though it still contains the rock influence that permeates all the band's work, 1972's BELOW THE SALT is one of Steeleye Span's most traditional folk albums. This is a folkie's delight, containing excellent, thoughtful interpretations of eight classic English folk tunes chosen with a historian's eye and a fan's heart by singers Maddy Prior and Tim Hart, plus a dazzling pair of spirited jigs, "The Bride's Favourite" and "Tansey's Fancy," starring fiddler Peter Knight. The spellbinding "Gaudette," an unaccompanied vocal hymn, is the album's most stunning track, but a simple version of the standard "John Barleycorn" sung by Hart--which simply shred's Traffic's contemporaneous version--is nearly as excellent. Prior's best showcase is the closing "Saucy Sailor," which remained a stage favorite for decades. The modest album title refers to the servants' place at table during medieval times, but at this time, Steeleye Span was second only to Fairport Convention in the world of British folk-rock.

Rolling Stone (1/18/73, p.54) - "...polished, authentic sounding..."

On a par with Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span was one of the premier British folk-rock bands in the 1960s and '70s. Like Fairport, it combined traditional U.K. folk songs with a rock-influenced, occasionally electric edge. Though the group has seen numerous personnel changes throughout its long career (which continues into the 21st century), its roster has included some of the biggest names in British folk, including Martin Carthy and longtime linchpin Maddy Prior.

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