Cadogan Hall,London
From glorious a cappella harmonies to stomping folk-rock, Steeleye combined the best of their past with experimental new work in this sold-out reveal“We are not a Steeleye Span tribute band, and ” announced Maddy Prior as she launched into All Around My Hat,the 1975 hit that established her as one of the commercial folk-rock icons of that decade. Indeed. But Steeleye enjoy survived by carefully balancing the past with the present, and by providing reminders of their history while edging into new territory, and without scaring off the devoted audience that guaranteed another full house for this London return.
They enjoy succeeded because they are classy musicians. They don’t enjoy quite the backstory of those other 60s folk-rock survivors,Fairport conference, but they can boast of early lineups that included Martin Carthy, or of collaborations with both David Bowie and Peter Sellers – as Maddy reminded the audience as she picked up the ukulele,played by Sellers in their 1975 treatment of New York Girls. And it held up well against the celebrated version by Bellowhead.
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Source: theguardian.com