''Storm Force Ten'' is the tenth studio album by

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

, released in 1977 by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright A ...

. 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 ''Rocket Cottage'' is the ninth studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. It was released in 1976 by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Mike Batt, it was hoped that the album would cement the band's popular and commercial success, b ...

'', Bob Johnson and Peter Knight left the band. As there was still a contractual obligation, they invited

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) 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 ...

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'': :''Steeleye's ninth original LP, ''Rocket Cottage'' was released in late 1976, and appeared only weeks before 'Anarchy in the UK', the debut single by The Sex Pistols, which may have contributed to the less than spectacular chart showing of the Steeleye LP. It was again produced by Mike Batt, but when the follow up to a Top 10 album fails to reach the Top 40, something is amiss.'' 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 Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...

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 Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dra ...

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 of their long tracks because of the masterful variations in tempo, instrumentation and choice of voices. The biggest surprise was the inclusion of two

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

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 Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

. The same arrangement is used here.

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

later recorded it, as did the

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

and

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

. " Pirate Jenny" (The Black Freighter) had been recorded by

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...

in the 1960s and it was later to be sung by

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include ' I Know Him So Well', ' Answer Me' and ' January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had ...

. Maddy gives these two Brecht songs an appropriate flavour of cynicism. According to Hugh Fielder in the pop paper ''Sounds'' in 1977, there is an uncredited musician here - Mike Batt playing synthesizer. The album is unusual in that it is the only Steeleye studio album that does not use a fiddle at all. Instead John Kirkpatrick plays accordion, giving the whole album a very distinct sound from the rest of the band's output. 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, who was also responsible for creating album art for, amongst others,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

for their 1979 ''

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

'' album and Chris Rea for his 1989 '' The Road to Hell'' album.

Reception

'' ''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."

Personnel

;Steeleye Span *

- vocals * Tim Hart - vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

- vocals,

* Rick Kemp -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, vocals * John Kirkpatrick - vocals, accordion *

Nigel Pegrum Nigel John Pegrum (born 22 January 1949) is a music producer and former drummer, most known for playing on many albums by Steeleye Span. Biography Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of the Small Faces, then with Lee Grant And The ...

- drums

Track listing

# "Awake, Awake" (''Traditional'') – 5:07 #: A love song derived from the Song of Solomon. # "Sweep, Chimney Sweep" (''Traditional'') – 4:44 #: This is from the

Copper family The Copper Family are a family of singers of traditional, unaccompanied English folk song. Originally from Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, England, the nucleus of the family now live in the neighbouring village of Peacehaven. The family fi ...

, here sung a capella. (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

1217)Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, Sweep Chimney Sweep Roud Folksong Index, (S162456)
/ref> # "The Wife of The Soldier" (''

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

, Scott'') – 2:40 #: An anti-war song, a sentiment also on "Fighting for Strangers" on the band's previous album, ''

''. # "The Victory" (''Traditional'') – 8:37 #: First published by John Ashton (in ''Modern Street Ballads'') in 1888. According to Roy Palmer this is a re-writing of a ballad about General Wolfe. # "The Black Freighter" (''Bertolt Brecht,

'') – 5:59 #: A barmaid in "

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

" has a fantasy about cutting rich men down to size. The song is also known as " Pirate Jenny". # "Some Rival" (''Traditional'') – 3:23 #: This love song is possibly as old as 1656. Maddy sings it with a gentle acoustic guitar accompaniment. It is also known as "Some Tyrant" and "A Rival Heart" (Roud 587). # "Treadmill Song" (''Traditional'') – 6:11 #: Treadmills were used in English prisons from 1779 to 1902. This was first written down in 1906 in Somerset. Also known at "The Gaol Song" or "Durham Gaol". (Roud 1077) # " Seventeen Come Sunday" (''Traditional'') – 5:09 #: An early version of this song is by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...

(1792). A tale of very young love. (Roud 277)

References

{{Authority control 1977 albums Chrysalis Records albums Steeleye Span albums