SAILS OF SILVER

Steeleye Span made their name playing folk with rock influences, so the idea of them putting out a whole album of what is essentially rock with folk influences - think Fleetwood Mac crossed with a strong pinch of A-era Jethro Tull - is somewhat disconcerting. The band had actually broken up as a conscious, deliberate decision after recording the Live At Last! album, having decided they'd achieved all they wanted to as a unit, but Chrysalis coaxed them back, giving this something of the reputation of a "contractual obligation" album; certainly, they faded away again pretty soon after this, spending the rest of the early 1980s dormant until exploring new visas away from the label (and without cofounder Tim Hart).

Honestly, as a more commercially-leaning, accessible, and rock-and-pop-influenced take on British folk rock, I don't think it's half bad. The problem comes if you try to regard it as a Steeleye Span album, because it's undeniably pretty distant from their classic sound. Still, Maddy Prior and Tim Hart's vocals are still present and correct, and that's a big help, with their harmonies being as charming as ever. Maybe it's not what we usually want from Steeleye Span - but if you went to a Steeleye Span concert and heard a support act playing music along these lines, it wouldn't be totally incongruous and you might get into it.

Had they left the Steeleye Span name in the dust and put this out as an album for a new "Sails of Silver" project - and perhaps wore disguises so people didn't realise it was just Steeleye Span again - maybe Sails of Silver would have done better... had it fallen through a time hole and gotten published in the mid-1970s. As it is, it was not only out of step with the band's back catalogue, it also feels hopelessly unfashionable for an album from 1980. With the benefit of hindsight, I've grown to like it and think it's been hard done-by, but even then I admit I have to take a moment and remind myself not to judge it on the same criteria as the group's classic work to fully give it a chance.