''Please to See the King'' is the second album by

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 1971. A major personnel change following their previous effort, ''

Hark! The Village Wait ''Hark! The Village Wait'' is the debut album by the British folk rock band Steeleye Span, first released in 1970. It is the only album to feature the original lineup of the band as they broke up and reformed with an altered membership immediat ...

'', brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with a male vocalist. The band even reprised a song from their debut, "The Blacksmith", with a strikingly different arrangement making extensive use of

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

. Re-recording songs would be a minor theme in Steeleye's output over the years, with the band eventually releasing an entire album of reprises, ''

Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span ''Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span'' is the 17th studio album by Steeleye Span, released in 2002. The album contains new recordings of previously released songs. The project began with a poll on Peter Knight's website, asking fans ...

''. The title of the album is derived from the "Cutty Wren" ceremony. A

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

in a cage is paraded as if it were a king. This rite was carried out on 26 December,

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

's Day, and is connected to early

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

celebrations. The song "The King", appearing on the album, addresses this, and is often performed as a

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

. Steeleye Span returned to this subject on '' Live at Last'' with "Hunting the Wren" and on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' with the song "The

Cutty Wren "The Cutty Wren" and its variants such as "The Hunting of the Wren" are traditional English folk songs. It is also the territorial song for the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha. The origins and meaning of the song are disputed. It i ...

". The custom of

Wrenboys Wren Day, also known as Wren's Day, Day of the Wren, or Hunt the Wren Day ( ga, Lá an Dreoilín), is an Irish celebration held on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day in a number of countries across Europe. The tradition consists of "hunting" a wren ...

is mostly associated with Ireland, but it has been recently revived in England. All songs appearing on the original album are traditional. "The False Knight on the Road" is one of the

Child Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ''T ...

(#3), and concerns a boy's contest with the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

in a game of riddles.

Tim Hart Tim Hart (9 January 1948 – 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Early years Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, England, but moved to St ...

and

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 dr ...

had already recorded a version of the song on their album ''Summer Solstice''. "The Lark in the Morning", one of their more popular songs, has the same title as a different song about a lusty ploughboy, though there are strong similarities. This version was collected by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. "Boys of Bedlam", a variant of "

Tom o' Bedlam "Tom o' Bedlam" is the title of an anonymous poem in the "mad song" genre, written in the voice of a homeless " Bedlamite". The poem was probably composed at the beginning of the 17th century. In ''How to Read and Why'' Harold Bloom called it "the ...

", is told from the perspective of a member of a lunatic asylum. Carthy and Prior open the song by singing into the back of banjos, producing a muffled effect. The band uses the earliest printed version of the song, from ''

Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy ''Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy'' is the title of a large collection of songs by Thomas d'Urfey, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a sin ...

'' by

Thomas d'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonshi ...

. ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' made this its folk album of the year. Music journalist Colin Irwin describes it in his book ''In Search of Albion'' as one of his favourite folk-rock albums. It reached number 45 in the UK album charts, originally on

B & C Records B&C Records (which stood for Beat & Commercial) was a British record label run by Trojan Records' owner, Lee Gopthal. It existed primarily between May 1969 and September 1972. In 1971, the progressive and folk artists that were still signed t ...

; before the year was out the rights were acquired by

Mooncrest Records Mooncrest Records is a British record label that was formed in 1973 as a subsidiary of Charisma Records. They issued albums by Shirley Collins (''No Roses'') (1971), Iain Matthews (''Journeys from Gospel Oak'') (1972), Nazareth (band), Nazareth ...

, which re-released it the same year with different cover art. It was issued in the US at the same time on

Big Tree Records Big Tree Records was a record label founded by Doug Morris in 1970. It was best known for releases by Lobo, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Brownsville Station, Johnny Rivers, Dave and Ansel Collins, Canadian band April Wine April Wine is a C ...

, when the small label was distributed by Ampex. It sold poorly and was deleted quite soon after release. Remaining copies were bought up by a couple of the 'cut-out' distributors and by that time, the band had signed with Chrysalis and the cut-out original sold very well. When stock ran out, poor-quality bootleg copies started to turn up in huge quantities. Musically, this was their most electric, dense recording, with loud guitars and strong looping bass lines and no drums. In 2006, Castle Music re-issued the album as a double CD with numerous additional tracks, taken from radio and TV appearances.

Bonus tracks

Rave On! "Rave On", also written "Rave On!", is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty in 1958. It was first recorded by West for Atlantic Records, which released his version in February 1958 (as Atlantic 45-1174). Buddy Holly recor ...

" is an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of a

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

song. It was meant as a prank to mock

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

' solemnity, but he ended up liking it. In 2006,

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

re-issued the album with the 10 original tracks and 25 bonus tracks, on two CDs. The bonus tracks were all poorly recorded tapes of live BBC radio broadcasts (three from TV). Only six of these were tracks not already available in good studio versions, although the arrangements are different on some. The song "I Was a Young Man" is very different from the version on ''Battle of the Field'' by the

Albion Country Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the m ...

. The song "Gallant Poacher" was also on that album. Steeleye Span's bonus track version is very similar. "College Grove/Silver Spear" is a pair of jigs by Peter Knight. "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" is a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

song, sung a cappella. "Farther Along" is a traditional gospel-blues song, also sung a cappella. "Let's Dance" is the well-known hit by

Chris Montez Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez on January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as hi ...

. "Bring 'Em Down/A Hundred Years Ago" is a pair of sea shanties. "

Hitler's Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Downfall" is actually the instrumental "Bryan O'Lynn", already available in a studio recording.

Personnel

;Steeleye Span *

- vocals, spoons,

tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

- 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 stri ...

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

* Peter Knight -

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, vocals,

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, bass *

- bass, vocals *

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 as ...

- vocals, guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, organ * Sandy Roberton - producer

Track listing

Original album released by B&C Records CAS 1029 in 1971 and re-issued by Mooncrest Records CREST 8 in 1974: # "

The Blacksmith ''The Blacksmith'' is a 1922 American short comedy film co-written, co-directed by and featuring Buster Keaton. Buster plays an assistant blacksmith to the big worker played by Joe Roberts, with predictable results. Cast * Buster Keaton as Bl ...

" # "Cold Haily, Windy Night" # "Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn / The Hag with the Money" # " Prince Charlie Stuart" # " Boys of Bedlam" # " False Knight on the Road" # " The Lark in the Morning" # "Female Drummer" # "The King" # " Lovely on the Water" Additional track on Mooncrest re-issue CREST 005 (vinyl) and CRESTCD 005 (CD) in 1991: :11. "

" Additional tracks on the Castle Music re-issue CMQDD 1253 in 2006: ''BBC "Top Gear" session rec. 23 June 1970'' :11. "

" :12. "Female Drummer" :13. "Rave On!" :14. "I Was a Young Man" :15. "The Lark in the Morning" ''BBC "Stuart Henry Show" session 23 July 1970'' :16. "The King" :17. "Prince Charlie Stuart" :18. "The Bold Poachers" Additional tracks on the Castle Music re-issue CMQDD 1253 bonus CD in 2006: ''BBC "Folk on 1" session 17 October 1970'' :01. "College Grove / Silver Spear" :02. "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" :03. "False Knight on the Road" :04. "Jigs: Hitler's Downfall / The Hag with the Money" :05. "Female Drummer (Mk I)" :06. "Wee Weaver" :07. "Reel" ''BBC "Stuart Henry Show" session 4 February 1971'' :08. "Female Drummer (Mk II)" :09. "General Taylor :10. "Farther Along" :11. "Two Reels" ''BBC "Top Gear" session 27 March 1971'' :12. "Let's Dance" :13. "Bring 'em Down / A Hundred Years Ago" :14. "The Lark in the Morning" ''BBC TV (date unknown)'' :15. "The King" :16. "Jigs: Bryan O'Lynn / The Hag with the Money" :17. "The Blacksmith"

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Chrysalis Records albums Steeleye Span albums Big Tree Records albums