''BOiLeD iN lEaD'', sometimes referred to as ''BOLD NED'', is the first album by Twin Cities-based folk-punk band

Boiled in Lead Boiled in Lead is a rock/world-music band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founded in 1983. Tim Walters of ''MusicHound Folk'' called the group "the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s." Influential record producer and mu ...

, self-released on its own label, The Crack. It received widespread critical praise after its release; record producer and musician

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

called it "the most impressive debut record from a rock band I've heard all year." It is more strongly centered on a blend of alt-rock and traditional Celtic folk than the band's subsequent albums, though the Hungarian dance tune "Arpad's Guz" gives a hint of the band's later eclecticism. Boiled in Lead's first vocalist, Jane Dauphin, plays a larger role here than on '' Hotheads'', her second and final album with the band, singing lead on most of ''BOiLeD iN lEaDs songs and helping anchor its sound in traditional folk. Bassist Drew Miller also performs lead vocal on a few songs, including "Byker Hill", but after this album would stay strictly an instrumentalist. The album includes several folk standards including "

Byker Hill "Byker Hill" is a traditional English folk song about coal miners, Roud 3488 that has been performed by many contemporary acts. There are at least three different tunes to which the song is sung. Byker Hill is in the east end of Newcastle, as is t ...

" and the Scottish ballad "

Twa Corbies "The Three Ravens" () is an English folk ballad, printed in the song book ''Melismata'' compiled by Thomas Ravenscroft and published in 1611, but it is perhaps older than that. Newer versions (with different music) were recorded right up through ...

," as well as a cover of the Yardbirds' "

Over Under Sideways Down "Over Under Sideways Down" is a 1966 song by English rock group the Yardbirds. A composition credited to all members of the group, it combines elements of blues rock and psychedelic rock. It was first released as a single in May 1966 as a follow-u ...

." The song "The Man Who Was Boiled in Lead" is a version of Scottish writer

John Leyden John Caspar Leyden, M.D., (8 September 1775 – 28 August 1811) was a Scottish indologist. Biography Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh University ...

’s ballad "Lord Soulis", based on the death of Scottish lord

William II de Soules William II de Soules (d. 1320/1321), Lord of Liddesdale and Butler of Scotland, was a Scottish Border noble during the Wars of Scottish Independence. William was the elder son of Nicholas II de Soules, Lord of Liddesdale and Butler of Scotland ...

, who was, according to legend, killed by his tenants at

Ninestane Rig Ninestane Rig ( en, Nine Stone Ridge) is a small stone circle in Scotland near the English border. Located in Roxburghshire, near to Hermitage Castle, it was probably made between 2000 BC and 1250 BC, during the Late Neolithic or early Bronze Age ...

in 1320 by being boiled alive while wrapped in a sheet of lead, to defeat his mastery of black magic. (Despite the title, Boiled in Lead did not take its band name from this song but the Irish

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the content ...

The Twa Sisters "The Twa Sisters" ("The Two Sisters") is a traditional murder ballad, dating at least as far back as the mid 17th century. The song recounts the tale of a girl drowned by her jealous sister. At least 21 English variants exist under several names ...

" as performed by folk group

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including f ...

on their album ''

Dúlamán "Dúlamán" (Irish for " channel wrack", a type of edible seaweed) is an Irish folk song. The lyrics of the song relate to the Irish practice of gathering seaweed, which has been done for various purposes, including as fertilizer, bathing, and ...

'', as well as the New Year's tradition in Nordic countries of

molybdomancy Molybdomancy (from and -mancy) is a technique of divination using molten metal. Typically, molten lead or tin is dropped into water. It can be found as a tradition in various cultures, including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Ger ...

, or casting molten lead into snow to foretell the future.) The album's cover image is a 1538 woodcut by

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

, "Bones of All Men." ''BOiLeD iN lEaD'' was later collected on the album '' Old Lead'', along with the band's second album, '' Hotheads'', and two previously unreleased tracks.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 1985 debut albums Boiled in Lead albums