Back in Line
Encyclopedia
Back in Line is an album by the electric folk
band Steeleye Span
.
This album, the band's 12th, was released in 1986, after a hiatus of almost 6 years. It was their first album without founding member Tim Hart
, who quit the music business entirely. It was also the last album they recorded with Maddy Prior
's husband, Rick Kemp
, until They Called Her Babylon; Kemp suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to stop playing for a long time.
Like the previous album, Sails of Silver
, this one was primarily new songs written by the band but with a strong historical content. "Isabel", "Lanercost" and "Take My Heart" all deal with the Scottish Wars of Independence and Robert the Bruce, while "White Man" was a critique of European colonialism, and "Peace on the Border" dealt with the subject of 18th century rebellions and deportations. "Scarecrow" was about the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, a Royalist victory during the English Civil War. Only "Blackleg Miner" was a traditional song, although the album also included a challenging classical violin piece, "Canon by Telemann", which allowed Knight to demonstrate his classical roots. Like Sails of Silver, this album was not well-received by fans, and reviews tend to see the album as being slickly packaged but erratic in quality.
The album featured a live version of "Blackleg Miner", an early 1900s union protest song the band had first recorded for Hark! The Village Wait
. Substantially re-orchestrated with a much funkier feel than the original version, the song produced some controversy when the band performed it in Nottingham in 1986, not long after a major mine strike.
The album's highlights include the energetic funk version of "Blackleg Miner", a similarly funky "White Man", which features as complicated a vocal arrangement as Steeleye has ever offered, and "Isabel", a strong piece sung by Prior, about the Countess of Buchan who helped crown Robert the Bruce. In general, the pieces have a strong rock feel.
The song "Lady Diamond" is a version of a traditional Scottish ballad, "Lady Dysie", a version of which appeared on the Tannahill Weaver's 1984 album, Passage. Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp helped produce several of the Tannahill's albums. The album was originally released on the "Flutterby
" label. A single was released from this album - "Somewhere in London/ Lanercost". This suggests that "Somewhere in London" was recorded on the same sessions as the album. When Park Records re-released the album in 1991, this lost track appeared at the end, together with two live tracks - "Spotted Cow" (the first track on Below the Salt) and "One Misty Moisty Morning" (the first track on Parcel of Rogues.
Guest:
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
band Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst 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"....
.
This album, the band's 12th, was released in 1986, after a hiatus of almost 6 years. It was their first album without founding member Tim Hart
Tim Hart
Tim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
, who quit the music business entirely. It was also the last album they recorded with Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
's husband, Rick Kemp
Rick Kemp
Rick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
, until They Called Her Babylon; Kemp suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to stop playing for a long time.
Like the previous album, Sails of Silver
Sails of Silver
Sails of Silver is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span.The album was produced two years after the band's ostensible break-up, at the request of Chrysalis Records. Peter Knight and Bob Johnson both returned, replacing their own replacements Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick, who had...
, this one was primarily new songs written by the band but with a strong historical content. "Isabel", "Lanercost" and "Take My Heart" all deal with the Scottish Wars of Independence and Robert the Bruce, while "White Man" was a critique of European colonialism, and "Peace on the Border" dealt with the subject of 18th century rebellions and deportations. "Scarecrow" was about the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, a Royalist victory during the English Civil War. Only "Blackleg Miner" was a traditional song, although the album also included a challenging classical violin piece, "Canon by Telemann", which allowed Knight to demonstrate his classical roots. Like Sails of Silver, this album was not well-received by fans, and reviews tend to see the album as being slickly packaged but erratic in quality.
The album featured a live version of "Blackleg Miner", an early 1900s union protest song the band had first recorded for Hark! The Village Wait
Hark! The Village Wait
Hark! The Village Wait was the 1970 debut album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span. The album is the only one to feature the original lineup of the band, as they broke up and reformed with a slightly altered membership immediately after its release, without having ever performed live...
. Substantially re-orchestrated with a much funkier feel than the original version, the song produced some controversy when the band performed it in Nottingham in 1986, not long after a major mine strike.
The album's highlights include the energetic funk version of "Blackleg Miner", a similarly funky "White Man", which features as complicated a vocal arrangement as Steeleye has ever offered, and "Isabel", a strong piece sung by Prior, about the Countess of Buchan who helped crown Robert the Bruce. In general, the pieces have a strong rock feel.
The song "Lady Diamond" is a version of a traditional Scottish ballad, "Lady Dysie", a version of which appeared on the Tannahill Weaver's 1984 album, Passage. Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp helped produce several of the Tannahill's albums. The album was originally released on the "Flutterby
Flutterby Records
Flutterby Records was a British record label existing from 1985 to 1989.There were only 4 records on this label. "FLUT 1" was the single "Somewhere in London/ Lanercost". "FLUT 2" was the album Back in Line. "FLUT 3" was the single "Padstow /Reels:The First House in Connaught/ Sailor' s Bonnet" ,...
" label. A single was released from this album - "Somewhere in London/ Lanercost". This suggests that "Somewhere in London" was recorded on the same sessions as the album. When Park Records re-released the album in 1991, this lost track appeared at the end, together with two live tracks - "Spotted Cow" (the first track on Below the Salt) and "One Misty Moisty Morning" (the first track on Parcel of Rogues.
Track listing
- "Edward" (Bob JohnsonBob Johnson (musician)Robert "Bob" Johnson is a British guitarist formerly in the electric folk band Steeleye Span from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001....
) – 6:20 - "Isabel" – 5:22
- "Lady Diamond" (JohnsonBob Johnson (musician)Robert "Bob" Johnson is a British guitarist formerly in the electric folk band Steeleye Span from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001....
) – 4:41 - "Canon by Telemann" – 1:44
- "Peace on the Border" – 4:23
- "Blackleg MinerBlackleg MinerBlackleg Miner is a 19th-century English folk song, originally from Northumberland ....
" (Traditional) – 4:06 - "White Man" (Knight) – 4:39
- "LanercostLanercost (song)Lanercost is a folk song by the folk rock group Steeleye Span. It was released as the B-side of the single "Somewhere in London" in 1985. It then featured on their 1986 album Back in Line and was later included on the 1999 A Rare Collection 1972-1996....
" – 4:32 - "Scarecrow" – 4:13
- "Take My Heart" – 3:58
Personnel
- Maddy PriorMaddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
(vocals) - Bob JohnsonBob Johnson (musician)Robert "Bob" Johnson is a British guitarist formerly in the electric folk band Steeleye Span from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001....
(vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Rick KempRick KempRick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
(vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Peter Knight (vocals, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) - Nigel PegrumNigel PegrumNigel Pegrum was a drummer with The Small Faces and Steeleye Span before becoming a producer.- Biography :Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of The Small Faces, then played drums with Lee Grant And The Capitols before joining Spice, who subsequently changed their name to Uriah Heep...
(drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
)
Guest:
- Vince Cross (DX7Yamaha DX7The Yamaha DX7 is an FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially Pop music from the 1980s...
)