For those unaware, Fairport Convention co-founder and bassist Ashley Hutchings and legendary singer, Sandy Denny parted ways with the band after their classic Liege And Leaf album.

Hutchings recruited Tim Hart and Maddy Prior (an established folk duo) and Terry and Gay Woods, naming their new band after a character in the traditional song “Horkstow Grange.”

While their line-up fluctuated (Terry Woods would leave and later become the bassist in the classic Pogues line-up a decade later), the band solidified and continues to this day.

Staying true to their folk roots, the band found themselves not only supporting Jethro Tull on tour, but signing to Chrysalis Records. Their breakthrough sixth album released in 1974, Now We Are Six, referring to both number of album releases and band members, (with a cameo from David Bowie on saxophone!) That release included the track “Thomas The Rhymer,” which has become a Steeleye concert staple.

On their fourth tour of the US, Steeleye Span played New York’s fabled Bottom Line in July of 1974, showcasing not only material from their new and previous albums, but adding the classic jig and reel medleys the band had become known for in performance.

The 74-minute set includes their #14 UK hit “Gaudete,” the classic “John Barleycorn,” and much more. Many of the US tour dates were headlining shows, they garnered good press and some were broadcast on local FM radio, including the Bottom Line show which was carried on WNYU-FM.

Live At The Bottom Line, 1974 documents what may have been Steeleye Span’s longest and most successful tour of the US, and we’re lucky that on this New York City night, the tapes were rolling to capture this fantastic ever-evolving live band. Slàinte mhath!

1. Beg Your Leave
2. Irish Jigs (including Paddy Clancy’s)
3. Alison Gross
4. Song Introduction to “Cam Ye O’er Frae France”
5. Cam Ye O’er Frae France
6. Song Introduction to “John Barleycorn”
7. John Barleycorn
8. Song Introduction to “Little Sir Hugh”
9. Little Sir Hugh
10. Song Introduction to “Two Magicians”
11. Two Magicians
12. Saucy Sailor
13. Robbery With Violins/Kitty Come Down From Limerick/O’Rourke’s Reel
14. Summer Is A Comin’ In
15. Staines Morris/In Peascod Time
16. One Misty Moisty Morning
17. Gaudete
18. Thomas The Rhymer
19. The Musical Priest/The Silver Spear/The High Reel
20. Nautical Medley: Hearts Of Oak/A Life On The Ocean Wave/Rule Britannia
21. Royal Forester
22. The Mason’s Apron

All tracks previously unissued.

A highly influential British band who helped deliver folk-rock to the mainstream in the mid-’70s, Steeleye Span have enjoyed a lengthy tenure at the vanguard of British roots music, innovating their country’s traditional songs while adding a host of their own original material to its canon.

Along with Fairport Convention, with whom they share many similarities, they are the most recognizable and enduring group to have sprung from Britain’s late-’60s folk-rock movement.

This devastatingly good live recording from 1974 opens on the melodically pleasing Beg Your Leave, the frenetically-charged Irish Jigs (including Paddy Clancy’s), and the guitar-picked Alison Gross, and they are followed by a quick Song Introduction to “Cam Ye O’er Frae France” and then the jaunty Scottish track itself, another quick Song Introduction to “John Barleycorn” (which includes the reveal that they had gone to see The Exorcist that afternoon) and the flourishing song thereafter, a Song Introduction to “Little Sir Hugh” and the fervently-driven cut itself, and then the Song Introduction to “Two Magicians,” (which, we are told with a smirk, informs us the song was collected by a remote tribe in the Andes), backed by the rhythmic track itself.

Next up is the dutiful hipway of the forthright balladry of Saucy Sailor, and the funky Robbery With Violins/Kitty Come Down From Limerick/O’Rourke’s Reel and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the mid-tempo handclapper Summer Is A Comin’ In, the simply mesmerizing Staines Morris/In Peascod Time, the veritably playful One Misty Moisty Morning, the live set rounding out on the harmonized Gaudete, the drum-led rocker Thomas The Rhymer, and then we get the dynamic Musical Priest/The Silver Spear/The High Reel and the impassioned Nautical Medley: Hearts Of Oak/A Life On The Ocean Wave/Rule Britannia, the live set closing on the spirited Royal Forester and the tireless fiddle work found within the propulsive The Mason’s Apron.

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