Customer Reviews

They Called Her Babylon

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having just returned from catching two shows of Steeleye Span's 35th anniversary tour in England, the band and the new material on this CD prove these pioneer English folkies are still finding new territory for their unique blend of traditional melodies, ancient lyrics, and electric interpretations. The lovely voice of Maddy Prior has only improved over the years; the fiddle work of Peter Knight is still the backbone of the band's trademark sound, and new member, guitarist Ken Nicol of the Albion Band, is a supurb addition to Steeleye's always stellar lineup. "Babylon" includes many fine tunes, but it is the title track, based on the story of a women who defended her home against Parlimentarians during the English Civil War, that is the clear highlight. An impressive return to the very best of their folk-rock roots, "Babylon" is a must for old and new Steeleye Spanners alike.

This is a really good album. Just a very small notch below a "5". Some people have a tendancy to overlook the last several albums because they aren't All Around My Hat or Please To See The King or any one of their older albums. Get over it and really give this one a listen. The band continues to evolve and are still capable of turning a great batch of tunes and this one gets better & better with repeated listenings. Gay Wood did a great job on the albums recorded with her, but it's nice to have Maddy Prior back into the band most associated with her. It would have been nice to have Gay & Maddy singing together again, but hey, ya can't have everything.

A great surprise, an excellent release.
Most Steeleye Span fans will find something of value in each of their albums, and I'm no exception. While I've enjoyed their recent offerings, some albums were a bit uneven. So "They Called Her Baylon" was a really nice surprise. The band seems to have a new life, returning to the style that first attracted me. (This album could stand next to "Below the Salt" or "Parcel Of Rogues", it has that same feel.)
Check this one out. You won't be dissapointed.

I don't know how any knowledgeable Steeleye Span fan could not LOVE this album. I have been listening to everything the band has released since 1975, and the addition of Ken Nicol (in the Bob Johnson tradition) + the return of both Maddy Prior and her husband Rick Kemp has returned Span to its glory-days sound of 1974-76, when such albums as COMMONER'S CROWN and ALL AROUND MY HAT were getting ground down to a stub on my turntable after repeated listenings! All their albums over the past 30 years have featured great moments, but the pseudo-Steeleye of the past few years was not really the band, but with its moments, as well. This new record features great songs, superb vocals, and solid, tight, powerful playing by all concerned. This is one of the best folk-rock albums in a long time, and I am so pleased that the "olde English" lads and lasses are at it again!

The more I listen to this album, the more I like it. Maddy Prior returning to the band seems to have revitalized them, and this is easily the best album they've done since Tempted and Tried. No offense to Gay Woods (a fine singer in her own right) but the last couple of albums, though good, haven't really sounded like Steeleye Span albums to me. This album proves, though, that they still have it after all of these years. If you're a fan of the band, don't miss this one!

I am a longtime fan of Steeleye Span, and I love their work, but over the past decade or so their music has become tepid and uninspiring. I was hoping that the return of Maddy Prior to the group would change the downward spiral, but alas, it did not. Babylon's tracks are limp and uninvolving, the music and the vocals sound so flat and lifeless it's disconcerting. It's almost like listening to New Age Lite music. I must reluctantly content myself with going back to their earlier work and living in the past glories of Steeleye Span's music. At one time, these people were the best at what they did; that time has passed.

To be honest, I wasn't much impressed by the most recent offering(s) from Steelye Span (Bedlam Born and They Called her Babylon).

It just seemed like the spark hasn't been there lately. Maybe it's just 'cause the band members are getting old, and aren't the hard rockers, and limit-pushers they used to be.

I've been a fan of Steeleye since I was a kid, and my dad played them on vinyl. But these last two have just been bland. And the songs just seem to be long-winded ballads, and not everly well voiced. A few of the songs, were even pretty badly voiced and felt EXTREMELY forced. Y'know, where the words and the rhythm just doesn't match the music and you get that extremely forced, drawn out note or word to make the words fit the beat.

Not their best showing. I'd recommend "Time" as their best recent release. They still had verve, and pushed some boundaries.

So, yeah, I'd go for their older stuff over their newer, unles you're into long-winded ballads with no heart that all kind of run together. It used to be that each song had its own definite, different feel from the other songs on an album. Lately it's just been a mash of different words to almost the same song.

I hate to say that.

Buy "Time." Buy "Parcel of Rogues," "All Around My Hat," "Sails of Silver," but avoid Bedlam Born (Terry Gay is no Maddy Prior), and They Called her Babylon. I certainly hope their next album, if any, will inject the old spunk into their work. If not, it'll be DOA like these last two...