Bloody Men (album)
Encyclopedia
Bloody Men is the 20th studio album by the British electric folk
band Steeleye Span
.
This album represents a continuation of the band's recent surge of activity. In 2002, the band was in a state of near collapse, since three members of its line-up at the time, Tim Harries
, Gay Woods
, and Bob Johnson
, had all departed, leaving long-time member Peter Knight and recently-returned member Rick Kemp
as the only remaining members. That same year, Knight persuaded former members Maddy Prior
and Liam Genockey
to return and coaxed Johnson out of retirement to record the album Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span
. Ken Nicol came on board to replace Johnson, and the band has been relatively active since then, releasing two albums, They Called Her Babylon
and Winter in 2004, and 'Bloody Men' late in 2006, as well as touring extensively.
During its heyday in the 1970s, Steeleye almost exclusively recorded their arrangements of traditional songs, with occasional forays into versions of 20th century songs by other artists such as Buddy Holly and Bertold Brecht. But starting in the early 1980s, the band's albums have increasingly focused on a mixture of traditional songs and their own compositions, and 'Bloody Men' continues that trend, albeit with a new twist. The album consists of 2 CDs, the first a mixture of traditional and original pieces. The second CD is the 5-song "Ned Ludd" cycle, written mostly by Kemp, about the 19th century Luddite
movement. The band has never attempted a multi-song cycle like this before.
The album opens with the bawdy "Bonny Black Hare", on which Prior sings in a gravelly voice and Knight plays his violin rather like an electric guitar, a successful experiment that goes unrepeated on the album. Other highlights include a hard-rock cover of "Cold Haily Rainy Night", which the band first offered on Please to See the King
, the brisk "The 3 Sisters" and the cheerful "Lord Elgin".
The notes for "Lord Elgin" say that "this song is not what it seems on the face of it," indicating that it is a riddle-song. A probable solution is at the bottom of the page. The song "Whummil Bore" is about a servant looking through a whummil bore (a hole bored with a gimlet-like tool) and watching a lady getting dressed. The instrumental "First House in Connaught" is a cover of a track from Tempted and Tried
, the first time the band has ever covered one of its own instrumental pieces.
The Ned Ludd cycle begins with a song about the enclosure
movement in Early Modern England, effectively a pastoral ode to preindustrial England, and then moves on to the plight of the workers who have been displaced by industrialization. The third song is an appeal to the mythical Ned Ludd to destroy the machines and lead the workers in a rebellion. The fourth and fifth songs deal with the Peterloo Massacre
of 1819, in which the British cavalry charged into a peaceful crowd of protesters supporting a repeal of the Corn Laws
. Neither the Enclosure Movement nor the Corn Laws were directly related to the Luddite Movement, but in the cycle these serve to explore the wider problems of common workers.
Disc 2
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 represents a continuation of the band's recent surge of activity. In 2002, the band was in a state of near collapse, since three members of its line-up at the time, Tim Harries
Tim Harries
Tim Harries is a British bass player.Harries studied music at the University of York, graduating in 1981 before going on to study Double Bass with Tom Martin at the Guildhall School of Music...
, Gay Woods
Gay Woods
Gay Woods is an Irish singer. She was one of the original members of Steeleye Span.-Early years:Gabriel Corcoran was born in Dublin, a neighbour of her future husband Terry Woods . Gay's elder brothers shared Terry's love of hillbilly music and blues. Gay and Terry performed together in 1963 at...
, and Bob Johnson
Bob 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....
, had all departed, leaving long-time member Peter Knight and recently-returned member 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:...
as the only remaining members. That same year, Knight persuaded former members Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
and Liam Genockey
Liam Genockey
Liam Genockey is an Irish drummer.Liam Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi-pro groups, then in the early 70's playing with Torbay based rock band Adolphus Rebirth...
to return and coaxed Johnson out of retirement to record the album Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span
Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span is an album by Steeleye Span, which is frequently mistaken for one of the band's many compilation albums. Although all but one of the songs had been previously released, the album is actually a collection of new studio versions of the songs involved...
. Ken Nicol came on board to replace Johnson, and the band has been relatively active since then, releasing two albums, They Called Her Babylon
They Called Her Babylon
They Called Her Babylon is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span.The album, the band's 18th studio album, was released in 2004. The album is perhaps most noteworthy for the return of Maddy Prior, the band's most central member, who had departed the band in 1996...
and Winter in 2004, and 'Bloody Men' late in 2006, as well as touring extensively.
During its heyday in the 1970s, Steeleye almost exclusively recorded their arrangements of traditional songs, with occasional forays into versions of 20th century songs by other artists such as Buddy Holly and Bertold Brecht. But starting in the early 1980s, the band's albums have increasingly focused on a mixture of traditional songs and their own compositions, and 'Bloody Men' continues that trend, albeit with a new twist. The album consists of 2 CDs, the first a mixture of traditional and original pieces. The second CD is the 5-song "Ned Ludd" cycle, written mostly by Kemp, about the 19th century Luddite
Luddite
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
movement. The band has never attempted a multi-song cycle like this before.
The album opens with the bawdy "Bonny Black Hare", on which Prior sings in a gravelly voice and Knight plays his violin rather like an electric guitar, a successful experiment that goes unrepeated on the album. Other highlights include a hard-rock cover of "Cold Haily Rainy Night", which the band first offered on Please to See the King
Please to See the King
Please To See The King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A substantial 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...
, the brisk "The 3 Sisters" and the cheerful "Lord Elgin".
The notes for "Lord Elgin" say that "this song is not what it seems on the face of it," indicating that it is a riddle-song. A probable solution is at the bottom of the page. The song "Whummil Bore" is about a servant looking through a whummil bore (a hole bored with a gimlet-like tool) and watching a lady getting dressed. The instrumental "First House in Connaught" is a cover of a track from Tempted and Tried
Tempted and Tried
Tempted and Tried is the 13th studio album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span. The album was recorded after a three-year hiatus after the release of Back in Line. After releasing ten albums in fairly rapid succession during the 1970s, the band entered something of a creative dry spell, with...
, the first time the band has ever covered one of its own instrumental pieces.
The Ned Ludd cycle begins with a song about the enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
movement in Early Modern England, effectively a pastoral ode to preindustrial England, and then moves on to the plight of the workers who have been displaced by industrialization. The third song is an appeal to the mythical Ned Ludd to destroy the machines and lead the workers in a rebellion. The fourth and fifth songs deal with the Peterloo Massacre
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation....
of 1819, in which the British cavalry charged into a peaceful crowd of protesters supporting a repeal of the Corn Laws
Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were trade barriers designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The barriers were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
. Neither the Enclosure Movement nor the Corn Laws were directly related to the Luddite Movement, but in the cycle these serve to explore the wider problems of common workers.
The Line-up
- Maddy PriorMaddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
(vocals) - Peter Knight (violin, vocals)
- 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:...
(bass, vocals) - Ken Nicol (guitar, vocals)
- Liam GenockeyLiam GenockeyLiam Genockey is an Irish drummer.Liam Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi-pro groups, then in the early 70's playing with Torbay based rock band Adolphus Rebirth...
(drums, percussion)
Track listing
Disc 1- Bonny Black Hare
- The Story of the Scullion King
- The Dreamer & the Widow
- Lord Elgin
- The 3 Sisters
- The 1st House in Connaught
- Cold Haily Windy Night
- Whummil Bore
- Demon of the Well
- Lord GregoryThe Lass of Roch Royal-Synopsis:A woman comes to Gregory's castle, pleading to be let in; she is either pregnant or with a newborn son. His mother turns her away; sometimes she tells her that he went to sea, and she goes to follow him and dies in shipwreck. Gregory wakes and says he dreamed of her...
(Child ballad 76)
Disc 2
- Ned Ludd Part 1 (Inclosure)
- Ned Ludd Part 2 (Rural Retreat)
- Ned Ludd Part 3 (Ned Ludd)
- Ned Ludd Part 4 (Prelude to Peterloo)
- Ned Ludd Part 5 (Peterloo the Day)