Steeleye Span – Hark! The Village Wait

Steeleye Span – Hark! The Village Wait

Hark! The Village Wait is the groundbreaking 1970 debut album from Steeleye Span, one of the most important bands in the development of British folk rock. Recorded at London's Sound Techniques studio and produced by Sandy Roberton and Steeleye Span, the album brings traditional English folk songs into a contemporary setting, combining centuries-old material with electric guitar, bass, banjo, concertina, harmonium and drums.

Formed in 1969, Steeleye Span were founded around musicians Ashley Hutchings, Tim Hart, Maddy Prior, Terry Woods and Gay Woods, with the intention of taking traditional folk music and presenting it through an electric band format. Hutchings had recently left Fairport Convention, and the emergence of Steeleye Span alongside Fairport's own folk-rock experiments helped establish a distinctly British approach to combining traditional songs with rock instrumentation.

The album is particularly significant because it features the original Steeleye Span line-up, which split up before the record was even completed and never performed together live. Terry and Gay Woods subsequently departed, with Martin Carthy and Peter Knight joining the reformed group and helping create the different sound heard on the band's second album, Please to See the King.

Rather than simply modernising the arrangements, Hark! The Village Wait preserves much of the character of traditional folk music while introducing subtle rock instrumentation. Maddy Prior and Gay Woods' contrasting female vocals are particularly important to the album's identity, while Tim Hart, Terry Woods and Ashley Hutchings provide the instrumental framework. Guest drummers Gerry Conway and Dave Mattacks appear across the sessions, adding a rhythmic dimension that separates the record from more strictly acoustic folk recordings.

Side A opens with the atmospheric A Calling-On Song, an a cappella performance that would establish a recurring tradition in Steeleye Span's work. The Blacksmith and Fisherman's Wife continue the album's traditional storytelling, before the powerful mining song Blackleg Miner introduces a harder edge. Dark-Eyed Sailor and Copshawholme Fair complete the side, balancing romantic balladry with lively folk instrumentation.

Side B begins with All Things Are Quite Silent, followed by The Hills Of Greenmore and the wonderfully concise My Johnny Was A Shoemaker. The six-minute Lowlands Of Holland is one of the album's most atmospheric performances, while the haunting Twa Corbies and One Night As I Lay On My Bed provide a suitably traditional conclusion.

Most of the album consists of traditional material, although the arrangements are distinctly Steeleye Span. Fisherman's Wife, for example, uses lyrics associated with folk singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl, while A Calling-On Song was adapted by Ashley Hutchings from an old Earsdon sword-dance tune.

The title itself has an interesting historical meaning. A "wait" was a small group of musicians employed by towns and cities from Tudor times into the 19th century, particularly associated with seasonal and civic music. The title therefore reflects the album's deep connection with Britain's traditional musical heritage.

For collectors of Steeleye Span vinyl, British folk rock, traditional English folk and progressive folk, Hark! The Village Wait is an essential early release. It is particularly recommended for fans of Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Sandy Denny, Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch and British folk revival music.

A hugely important debut and a fascinating document of British folk music at a turning point, Hark! The Village Wait captures Steeleye Span before their classic line-up settled into place and provides an essential link between traditional folk music and the electric folk-rock movement of the early 1970s.

Tracklist

Side A

1. A Calling-On Song
2. The Blacksmith
3. Fisherman's Wife
4. Blackleg Miner
5. Dark-Eyed Sailor
6. Copshawholme Fair

Side B

1. All Things Are Quite Silent
2. The Hills Of Greenmore
3. My Johnny Was A Shoemaker
4. Lowlands Of Holland
5. Twa Corbies
6. One Night As I Lay On My Bed