Steeleye Span on Tour
Posted by: Tarquin Maynard - Portly on 13 December 2002
Muchachos
Saw Steeleye Span last night in funky Reading. Do you know what? They where excellant. Paid £12 for a return ticket ( they had sold out all 750 tickets )in a nice small venue. Acoustics a bit duff, though but hey, £12 aint bad. Some good musicianship and most of all, Maddy Priors singing. I have voted her one of my top 5 female voices in another thread, and the years have not diminished it at all.
She has a wonderful, effortless control and reaches the high notes without any sign of strain or reduction in the liquid quality of sound she produces. Actually gave me goosebumps a couple of times.
I was minded to compare her voice with that of Beth Orton who has reminded me Maddy Prior in the past. To my ear, Beth Ortons voice, for all her soulful tone, is a shadow of Maddy Priors. Beth Orton simply does not have her soaring range. I puzzled over the best way to describe it - found a metaphor while listening to the Ramones on the way home. If you picture a vocal range as a sine wave, Prior is able to cover the whole lot. Beth hits a plateau half way up the curve. I do enjoy her work, but have thought that I would enjoy it more if she had a greater range.
Back to the point. Get to see them for a jolly pleasant evening.
Mike
Saw Steeleye Span last night in funky Reading. Do you know what? They where excellant. Paid £12 for a return ticket ( they had sold out all 750 tickets )in a nice small venue. Acoustics a bit duff, though but hey, £12 aint bad. Some good musicianship and most of all, Maddy Priors singing. I have voted her one of my top 5 female voices in another thread, and the years have not diminished it at all.
She has a wonderful, effortless control and reaches the high notes without any sign of strain or reduction in the liquid quality of sound she produces. Actually gave me goosebumps a couple of times.
I was minded to compare her voice with that of Beth Orton who has reminded me Maddy Prior in the past. To my ear, Beth Ortons voice, for all her soulful tone, is a shadow of Maddy Priors. Beth Orton simply does not have her soaring range. I puzzled over the best way to describe it - found a metaphor while listening to the Ramones on the way home. If you picture a vocal range as a sine wave, Prior is able to cover the whole lot. Beth hits a plateau half way up the curve. I do enjoy her work, but have thought that I would enjoy it more if she had a greater range.
Back to the point. Get to see them for a jolly pleasant evening.
Mike