GOOD TIMES OF OLD ENGLAND: STEELEYE SPAN 1972-1983

This 12 CD boxed set covers Steeleye Span's entire run on Chrysalis, aside from the 1989 album Tempted and Tried (a one-off return to the label which seems to have only ended up there at the last minute, since the advance single was released through other channels). Commencing with 1972's Below the Salt album, it contains all the studio releases from there to the contractual obligation release Sails of Silver, plus the two live albums Live At Last and On Tour (the latter having previously been hard to find outside of Australia). To sweeten the deal, you also get two archival releases, never before released, and a sprinkling of bonus tracks.

The first of the archival live shows hails from the Rainbow Theatre in November 1974. Why this was let to sit in the archives for so long without a release boggles the mind - much like other Rainbow gigs from the era from the likes of Queen or Genesis which only got an official release long after the fact, it's an absolute classic, excellently capturing the band right at the peak of their powers having just wrapped the sessions for Commoners Crown. The performance of Long Lankin, a standout track from that album, is a particular highlight.

The other archival show is a Berklee Performance Centre appearance from the Rocket Cottage tour. This is a bit harder-edged than the earlier show - for Span were dialling up the rock aspect of their folk-rock mix at this time - but still very solid, and with enough differences to feel like good value next to the other three live releases in here.

As far as the sound quality goes, it's pretty solid. The archival live releases and bonus tracks are newly remastered; the bulk of the rest of the material is as it was when released in the now out-of-print Parcel of Steeleye Span boxed sets. Compared with those two packages, I would say this is the better deal: sure, you lose Tempted and Tried from the second box (Another Parcel of Steeleye Span), but that was a bit of an odd one out anyway, and getting On Tour and especially the Berklee and Rainbow shows in its place is a more than adequate trade. In addition, the two Parcel sets didn't dedicate a CD to each album, which meant some albums had their tracks split awkwardly between discs; here each album comes in an individual cardboard sleeve replicating the original LP, which isn't uncommon these days but is far nicer than the Parcel presentation.

Get this and the 2019 All Things Are Quite Silent box, which collects their pre-Chrysalis material, and I don't think anyone would say you are missing anything truly essential from their work.