Steeleye still rock on to the folky beat (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Steeleye still rock on to the folky beat

11:01pm Monday 14th December 2009 in

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Nobody does anything quite like the rock folk genre of music like Steeleye Span.

They invented it four decades ago, and are still masters of the art all these years later as they demonstrated in such accomplished fashion tonight.

It’s not all just about All Around My Hat – their ‘signature tune’ which came as a bit of an appendix at the encore stage of a great show.

Their act is pure musical class, often seemingly understated, but so controlled, masterful and engaging that it draws you inexorably in.

Maddy Prior’s soaring, cut-glass voice is as clear as ever, and is often seen as the key to the band’s enduring popularity.

And so she is still. But her fellow band members play equal part in the show, in particular the extraordinary fiddle playing of Peter Knight.

He could make either of his violins sing, soar, or sound at times like lead guitar, and in one haunting, complex duet with Maddy his versatility was supreme.

But with the rest of the superb band we were treated to the whole gamut of foot-tapping jigs and folk songs, relating tales of yore, naval adventure, seasonal offerings and the like. Brilliant.