Storm Force Ten | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1977 | |||
Recorded | September 1977 | |||
Studio | Phonogram Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands | |||
Genre | British folk rock | |||
Length | 41:55 | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Producer | Steeleye Span, Mike Thompson | |||
Steeleye Span chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Q | [2] |
Storm Force Ten is an album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span, the band's 10th effort, released in 1977.
Until their 2013 album Wintersmith, released 36 years after Storm Force Ten, this album was the band's last production to reach the charts, topping out at 191 on Billboard's Pop charts. After Rocket Cottage , Bob Johnson and Peter Knight left the band. As there was still a contractual obligation, they invited Martin Carthy back again. Back in 1971 when Martin Carthy had joined he had recommended John Kirkpatrick but they decided on fiddler Peter Knight instead. This time they accepted his recommendation and Kirkpatrick's fiery accordion playing replaced Knight's fiddle.
John Tobler writes on the 1996 reissue of Storm Force Ten:
The title may refer to the fact that Storm Force Ten is their tenth album or it may be a reference to tensions the band was experiencing after producing 10 albums in just 7 years and performing almost continuously during that period. Mike Batt pressured the band to record Rocket Cottage in only one week. The band nominally broke up after the album was released. Shortly after the album was released vocalist Maddy Prior released her first solo album.
The band had occasionally sung quite long songs - "Long Lankin" on "Commoner's Crown", "The Victory" here, and "Montrose" (over 15 minutes) on their next (live) album. Arguably "The Victory" is the best [ citation needed ] of their long tracks because of the masterful variations in tempo, instrumentation and choice of voices. The biggest surprise [ citation needed ]was the inclusion of two Brecht songs. Martin Carthy had sung "Wife of the Soldier" on Byker Hill , using Brecht's words, but the music of Johnny Scott instead of the original music by Kurt Weill. The same arrangement is used here. PJ Harvey later recorded it, as did the Oysterband and Marianne Faithfull. "Pirate Jenny" (The Black Freighter) had been recorded by Judy Collins in the 1960s and it was later to be sung by Barbara Dickson. Maddy gives these two Brecht songs an appropriate flavour of cynicism. [ citation needed ] According to Hugh Fielder in the pop paper Sounds in 1977, there is an uncredited musician here - Mike Batt playing synthesizer.[ citation needed ]
The album is unusual in that it is the only Steeleye studio album that does not use a fiddle at all.[ citation needed ] Instead John Kirkpatrick plays accordion, giving the whole album a very distinct sound from the rest of the band's output. [ citation needed ] No other Steeleye studio album features an accordion, although Hark! The Village Wait features an English concertina on several songs.
The album cover is by the English commercial artist Adrian Chesterman, [3] who was also responsible for creating album art for, amongst others, Motörhead for their 1979 'Bomber' album and Chris Rea for his 1989 'Road To Hell' album.
Q (May 2007, p. 135): "It was Steeleye Span who carried the British folk rock banner into the '70s, with Martin Carthy's guitar (plus honking accordions and the clear, high voice of Maddy Prior, the band's one constant through endless line-up changes) ringing out on this overlooked album. A shame they should make their most daring music just as punk torched the landscape."
Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved a certified gold record with sales of "All Around My Hat".
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as Richard Thompson, since he emerged as a young musician in the early days of the folk revival.
John Michael Kirkpatrick is an English player of free reed instruments.
Please to See the King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A major personnel change following their previous effort, Hark! The Village Wait, brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with a male vocalist. The band even reprised a song from their debut, "The Blacksmith", with a strikingly different arrangement making extensive use of syncopation. Re-recording songs would be a minor theme in Steeleye's output over the years, with the band eventually releasing an entire album of reprises, Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span.
Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again is the third album by Steeleye Span, recorded in September 1971. It was issued on the short-lived Pegasus label, and then the Mooncrest label, also in 1971. It was not initially issued in the US until Chrysalis acquired the group's first three albums in 1975, when it reissued all three in the UK and US. Tracks like "Four Nights Drunk", "Marrowbones", and "Wee Weaver" are essentially pure folk. It was the last album to feature founding member Ashley Hutchings; he left the band in November 1971, just after its completion, partly because he felt that the album had moved too far toward Irish music and away from English music. The band was also considering touring America, and Hutchings was reluctant to make the trip.
All Around My Hat is a 1975 album by Steeleye Span, their eighth and highest-charting, reaching number 7 on the UK Albums Chart, and staying on the charts for six months. It was produced by Mike Batt, who also produced their follow-up album, "Rocket Cottage". It briefly made the band a household name in the UK. In the United States it became the band's first album to chart, reaching number 143.
Brass Monkey are an English folk band from the 1980s, who reunited in the late 1990s. They were innovative in their use of a brass section which was atypical for English folk music.
Now We Are Six is an album by the British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Its title refers to both its sequence among their albums, and the band's size, in light of the addition of drummer Nigel Pegrum. It reached number 13 in the UK albums chart.
Commoners Crown is an album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span, their seventh release overall and the second album with the band's most commercially successful line-up. It reached number 21 in the UK album charts.
Rocket Cottage is an album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span.
Live at Last is a live album by the British folk rock band Steeleye Span. It is the first live album the band issued, after eight years of performing and releasing 10 studio albums. It was originally intended to be a farewell album. "This then is our eleventh and final album. Steeleye Span amicably disbanded five days after making this recording for reasons that are irrelevant here.”
Sails of Silver is an album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span.
Battle of the Field is a folk rock album by the Albion Country Band, recorded in summer 1973 immediately prior to the band's breakup and only released in 1976 following public demand.
Horkstow Grange is an album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span.
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span is the 17th studio album by Steeleye Span, released in 2002. The album contains new recordings of previously released songs.
Tonight's the Night...Live is the second live album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span.
Landfall is an album by Martin Carthy, released in 1971.
Because It's There is an album by Martin Carthy, released in 1979. It was re-issued by Topic Records on CD in 1995.
Out of the Cut is an album by Martin Carthy, released in 1982. It was re-issued by Topic Records on CD in 1994.