Steeleye Span "Commoners Crown" 1975

From the opening bars of "Little Sir Hugh" -- an extraordinarily brisk and upbeat sounding treatment of an incredibly grim song -- the band playing on Commoner's Crown scarcely sounds like the same group on Now We Are Six or Parcel of Rogues……Now a full-fledged rock group, competing with the likes of Jethro Tull and pumping out higher amperage than Fairport Convention, Steeleye engages in heavy riffing, savage attacks on their instruments, and generally kicks out the jams on this album. But they're also fairly clever, interweaving Bach with traditional Irish music -- actually, Bach-meets-the-Mooncoin-Jig from their previous record -- on "Bach Goes to Limerick." There's not a bad song here, and even if it is more rock than folk, it's all very substantial and vibrant music-making, and maybe the classic Steeleye Span's most engaging album. - AllMusic Review by Bruce EderPersonnel:

Maddy Prior - vocals / Tim Hart - vocals, guitar, dulcimer / Robert Johnson - guitar, vocals / Rick Kemp - bass, vocals / Peter Knight - violin / Nigel Pegrum - drums, flute / Peter Sellers - acoustic ukelele

trax:

01. Little Sir Hugh 02. Bach Goes To Limerick 03. Long Lankin 04. Dogs And Ferrets 05. Galtee Farmer 06. Demon Lover 07. Elf Call 08. Weary Cutters 09. New York Girls - 3:01

…served by Gaius...and more to come...