TEN MAN MOP, OR MR. RESERVOIR BUTLER RIDES AGAIN

Steeleye Span's third album "Ten Man Mop Or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again" from 1972 is the only seventies album by this group I do not have in my collection. Here contribute Maddy Prior(vocals, spoons, tabor), Tim Hart (organ, dulcimer, banjo, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Peter Knight (fiddle, mandolin, violin, tympani, tenor banjo, keyboard, vocals), Martin Carthy (organ, guitar, vocals) and Ashley Hutchings (bass). They had no drummer and that is something I like with early Steeleye Span.

"Gower Wassail" (8/10)opens with a groovy, strong, distinct and very Steeleye feeling. Tim Hart's scratchy voice is wonderful. Then comes an instrumental folk song "Jigs: Paddy Clancey's Jig/Willie Clancey's flancy" (6/10) which is joyful but not their most interesting piece. "Four nights drunk" (5/10) has a funny text but for me it's weak. I have heard better versions of this song by Irish folk grupo The Dubliners and by the swedish progg/folk group Arvika gammeldansorkester (in Swedish). Steeleye Span's version is quite boring. "When I was on horseback" (9/10) is one of the album's highlights with a slow atmospheric vision sung by the wonderful voice of Maddy Prior. "Marrowbones" (7/10) is a nice Steeleye Span song which sounds just like it should sound with a nice melody but it sounds like another SS song. "Captain Coulston" (8/10) is the second best track on this record with an interesting melody and a deep inspiration. It contains a dark bass line and a telling story and shows how clever Steeleye Span was. Then comes another instrumental "Reels: Dowd's Favourite/Pound 10 float/ The morning dew"which is very traditional but sweet and great, perhaps just too much fiddle here (7/10). "Wee weaver" is quite boring and contains not so much interesting(5/10). "Skewball" (8/10) finally concludes this album with a fast and sweat feeling and sung by wonderful Tim Hart and Maddy Prior and a great bass line connects. This is how Steeleye Span should sound. Totally this is a good Steeleye Span record but it doesn't really contain their best works and some tracks are quite weak. Over all Ten Man Mop is a bit too slow and weak.

This is a good record but it's their weakest work from the seventies. For a prog nerd I would recommend "Gower Wassail", "When I was on horseback" and "Skewball" but I would rather recommend you another Steeleye Span record such as: Belew the salt, Parcel of Rogues, Please to see the king, Now we are six, Commoner's crown, Storm force ten, or "Live at last" bacause this is agreat band. Three stars of five.