''Spiral Staircase'' is

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

musician

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...

's second album. Produced by

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

and released in the UK in 1969, its opening track, " Streets of London", has become McTell's

signature tune A signature song is the one song (or, in some cases, one of a few songs) that a popular and well-established recording artist or band is most closely identified with or best known for. This is generally differentiated from a one-hit wonder in th ...

. "Rizraklaru" is an anagram of "Rural Karzi". The sleeve design was by Peter Thaine, a friend of McTell from Croydon Art College.

Track listing

All titles by Ralph McTell except where stated. ;Side One #" Streets of London" - 4:06 #"Mrs Adlam's Angels" - 2:43 #"Wino and the Mouse" - 0:59 #"England 1914" - 3:04 #"Last Train and Ride" - 2:31 #"The Fairground" - 4:07 ;Side Two #"Spiral Staircase" - 3:30 #"

Kind Hearted Woman Blues "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" is a blues song recorded on November 23, 1936, in San Antonio, Texas, by the American Delta bluesman Robert Johnson. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03416 and ARC 7-03-56. Johnson perform ...

" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

) - 2:43 #"Bright and Beautiful Things" - 1:53 #"Daddy's Here" - 4:22 #"Rizraklaru (Anag.)" - 1:44 #"(My) Baby Keeps Staying Out all Night Long" (

Buddy Moss Eugene "Buddy" Moss (January 16, 1914 – October 19, 1984) was an American blues musician. He is one of two influential Piedmont blues guitarists to record in the period between Blind Blake's final sessions in 1932 and Blind Boy Fuller's de ...

) - 1:52 #"Terminus" - 1:53

Personnel

*Ralph McTell - guitar, vocals ;Famous Jug Band on "Last Train and Ride" and "Spiral Staircase" *Brian "Brock" Brocklehurst - double bass *Mick "Henry VIII" Bartlett - jug *"Whispering Mick" Bennett - washboard *Peter Berryman - second guitar *

Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. He was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of seven, his famil ...

- orchestral arrangements *Brian Gascoigne - musical direction

Production credits

*Producer: Gus Dudgeon for Tuesday Productions *Engineer:

Tom Allom Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard, Kix and Rough Cutt. Allom is a membe ...

at Regent Sound *Sleeve design: Peter Thaine *Liner notes: Ben Klein

Awards and accolades

*McTell's song "Streets of London" won the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for songwriting in 1974. *A re-recorded version of "Streets of London" became a world-wide hit single in 1975. *During his 60th birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in November, 2004, McTell was presented with a

Gold Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

of ''Spiral Staircase''.

Release history

Many of the tracks on this album also feature in the '' Spiral Staircase - Classic Songs''

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

Track variations

The UK 2007 CD release includes four bonus tracks that were re-mixed or re-recorded in 1970 for "Revisited":"Spiral Staircase" CD inlay, 2007.
:14. "Spiral Staircase" :15. "Last Train and Ride" :16. "The Fairground" :17. "Terminus"

References

{{Authority control Ralph McTell albums 1969 albums Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon Transatlantic Records albums