Commoner's Crown

Artist: Steeleye Span
Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

EAN: 5017261203151
ASIN: B0000011OT

Release Date: 2002-02-15

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British Folk

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Listmania:

Female British Folk
Favourite Albums of 1975
The Wonderful World of Steeleye Span
A Steeleye Halloween
10 Essential British Folk-Rock CDs
British folk-rock masterpieces of the 1970s

Tracks:

Little Sir Hugh
Bach Goes to Limrick
Long Lankin
Dogs and Ferrets
Galtee Farmer
Demon Lover
Elf Call
Weary Cutters
New York Girls

Similar Items:

All Around My Hat
Below the Salt
Parcel of Rogues
Now We Are Six
Rocket Cottage

Customer Reviews:

"Long Lankin'" is Steeleye's "Thick as a Brick".......2006-05-30

Commoner's Crown, a halfway decent album, houses probably the best song that Steeleye Span ever did. That song is "Long Lankin'". I would compare this song to any of the best of Jethro Tull. This shows what Steeleye can and sometimes does do. "Elf Call" is farely good, kind of like their "Thomas the Rhymer". "Little Sir Hugh" is a journey, and to top it all off, "New York Girls" with Peter Sellers playing 'acoustic ukelele'. It is fun to listen to, but when you think about it, its pretty stupid. Over all, the album is just as good as something they would do back in 1971, which is very, very good.

A very good and enjoyable album.......2005-11-14

First of all, I agree with what one of the other reviewers that the last track seems out of place compared to the other material on the album, but this album is quite good, the musicianship wonderful, and all the other songs are just beautiful. Maddy Prior certainly has a great voice, and besides the track which many other reviewers really like, that being "Long Lankin," which is just simply amazing, their are about 3-4 tracks in a row on this album that are almost equally as good in my opinion. I would give this 5 stars, but I need to hear more of their other albums to make a comparison. Many years ago I had one of their earlier albums, and it was quite good. I would highly recommmend this album/CD to anyone that collects the British folk-rock music, this band was very good, and this has got to be one of their best according to many reviews I've read.

Wow, this is a controversial album...!.......2005-01-11

...and I'm sure my opinion won't clear anything up, alas, but this has always been a favorite of mine, although admittedly, taken track-by-track, it's not among Steeleye's top recordings (which would be "Hark! The Village Wait", "Below The Salt", and "Parcel Of Rogues", IMO).

So, track by track:

1) Little Sir Hugh - absolutely incredible, one of the best vocal and instrumental arrangements the band ever did, with chilling lyrics, and a great "a capella" vocal break near the end.

2) Bach Goes To Limerick - The album practically falls flat on its face here: by far the most boring instrumental the band recorded in any lineup; a waste of time that goes nowhere, and makes one wonder exactly what they were thinking. Fairport Convention they ain't.

3) Long Lankin - this might just be the best thing they ever recorded; see comments for track one, and amplify them tenfold. A masterpiece on every level, and one of their most rocking tracks before the "All Around My Hat" album.

4) Dogs And Ferrets - enjoyable, but a bit of a throw-away: nothing really substantial here musically or lyrically, but a nice respite from the intensity of the previous track.

5) Galtee Farmer - very amusing lyric, but repetitious musically; nothing special here.

6) Demon Lover - this is one of the songs that Steeleye fans are either going to love or hate; I absolutely love it, especially the moment where Rick's bass brings the chorus back in at the end of Maddy's line "He sunk the ship in a flash of fire to the bottom of the sea". One of their best tracks ever, IMO, although some (most?) purists might be put off by its "pop" aspects.

7) Elf Call - Even more pop-oriented than "Demon Lover"; this again is a love-it-or-hate-it proposition for most Steeleye fans, and I love it; the chorus features one of the most beautiful vocal arrangements they ever did, and this ranks as one of my favorite Steeleye tunes.

8) Weary Cutters - lovely vocals, but again, nothing special. One suspects that by the time of this album, the band were really more interested in offering rock/pop songs with a folk influence, rather than their previously inverse approach, and the more overtly folk-oriented material comes off as largely indifferent on this album as a result.

9) New York Girls - again, this seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it track. I think it's a perfect, irreverent ending to the album, with brilliantly funny lyrics, and nice ukulele playing from special guest Peter Sellers (yes, "Inspector Clouseau").

So, overall, a mixed bag, but tracks 1,3,6 and 7 are so incredible as to make it essential listening, IMO; albeit not quite on the same level as the three albums listed at the start of the review.

One of Their Two Best.......2003-11-13

I must take exception to those previous reviewers who find this album either boring or uninspired. I've owned and listened to all Steeleye Span albums through Back In Line; this is the one I've returned to the most over the years.
One thing about Old English folk tunes is that they can all sound the same after awhile. What the group managed to do during this period was arrange these songs into either rollicking or haunting "modern" folk tunes using various timbres of the instruments of their time while performing them in the spirit of a former time. Every song comes off well, especially the sublimely haunting "Long Lankin" and the a cappella "Weary Cutters". The ensemble singing during the chorus of "Demon Lover" punctuated by the electric guitar statement is sweet. "Galtee Farmer" manages to be both haunting and rollicking at once, driven by a superb guitar and bass line. Granted, "New York Girls" seems out of place but it serves to end the album on a humorous note after the more severe and somber tunes that precede it.
If I recall correctly, this album wasn't made widely available in America upon its original LP release; perhaps that's why it doesn't garner as much of a reputation among American listeners. No matter, because this along with Below the Salt are in my opinion the best examples of Steeleye Span's studio recorded output. I'll also grant that this CD seems a bit pricy, but what can one do about that except buy it used.

At their all-time best!.......2003-09-28

Excuse my huge disagreement with other reviewers, but this album is number one in my collection which I listen to and float away to the Medieval landscape and share a glass of port with the Galtee Farmer, and sink in wonder to the darkest ocean depths in Demon Lover. If you don't fall in love with these incantations, then you've got no business in being a fan of the greatest folk rock band that ever existed! The imagery in the lyrics, accompanied by Span's hardest driving vocals and guitars, is second to none. As a fan of albums from the likes of Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention, among myriad others, I recommend this album as one of my top 2!!

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Molly O'Day and the Cumberland Mountain Folks ~ Molly O'Day

Turning Tide ~ Mimi Baczewski

Trinity ~ Kill II This

Live Insurrection ~ Halford

Take Me to the Promised Land ~ Alexander H

Carramix ~ Raffaella Carra

What the Day Brings ~ Gary Pinto

Air/Cook/Sky ~ Hitomi Yaida

7 Nin No Nana ~ Japanimation

Open Transport ~ MDK