''Levelling the Land'' is the second full-length album by the
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
folk-punk
Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...
group, The
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...
, released in 1991. The album reached number 14 in the UK album charts
and has since gained platinum status through ongoing sales. The original album pressing, contained ten tracks but following the success of the single "Fifteen Years", which peaked at #11 on the UK charts in May 1992,
the song was added as track three to later pressings.
This was the first Levellers album to feature the input of Simon Friend as songwriter, vocalist and musician. He replaced Alan Miles, who had sung and played guitar and mandolin on the previous album, ''
A Weapon Called the Word.'' "Liberty Song" on this album was co-written by Miles.
Track listing
* All band members are given writing credits on all the tracks.
#"One Way" – 4:08
#"The Game" – 3:28
#"Fifteen Years" – 3:11 (not on initial pressing
)
#"The Boatman" – 5:56
#"Liberty Song" – 4:29 (co-written by original member Alan Miles)
#"Far From Home" - 3:22
#"Sell Out" – 4:17
#"Another Man's Cause" – 4:35
#"The Road" – 4:00
#"The Riverflow" – 3:02
#"
Battle of the Beanfield
The Battle of the Beanfield took place over several hours on 1 June 1985, when Wiltshire Police prevented The Peace Convoy, a convoy of several hundred New Age travellers, from setting up the 1985 Stonehenge Free Festival in Wiltshire, England. ...
" – 3:41
The 2007 re-issue of the album also included the bonus tracks:
#"Last Days of Winter"
#"Dance Before the Storm"
#"Hard Fight"
#"
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels, Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album ''Million Mile Reflections''.
The song is written in the key of D minor. Vassar Clements originally wr ...
"
#"Plastic Jeezus"
A bonus live disc was recorded at Glastonbury in 1992:
#"The Game"
#"World Freak Show" (co-written by original member Alan Miles)
#"Dance Before the Storm"
#"The Boatman"
#"Far From Home"
#"Sell Out"
#"The Riverflow"
#"Battle of the Beanfield"
#"Jig/Three Friends"
#"Liberty Song"
#"One Way"
#"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Personnel
* Mark Chadwick - lead vocals, guitars, harmonica
* Simon Friend - backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 4 and 11, guitars, mandolin, banjo, harmonica
* Jeremy Cunningham - bass guitar, album artwork
* Jonathan Sevink - fiddle
* Charlie Heather - drums/percussion
* Alan Scott - producer
References
{{Authority control
1991 albums
Levellers (band) albums
China Records albums