Sails of Silver

1980 studio album by Steeleye Span

Sails of Silver

Studio album by

Steeleye Span

Released| 1980 (US: 1981)
Studio| Sawmills Studios, Golant, Cornwall
Genre| British folk rock
Length| 37:30
Label| Chrysalis
Producer| Gus Dudgeon
Steeleye Span chronology
| Live at Last
(1978)  | Sails of Silver
(1980)  | Back in Line
(1986)

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic|  [1]

Sails of Silver is the eleventh studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. It was released in 1980 by Chrysalis Records. The album was produced two years after the band's ostensible break-up. At the request of Chrysalis Records Peter Knight and Bob Johnson both returned, replacing their own replacements Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick, who departed after the release of Live at Last. Despite being produced by Elton John's producer Gus Dudgeon, Sails of Silver was a commercial failure, and this proved a final straw for Tim Hart, who departed the band, leaving Maddy Prior as the band's sole remaining founding member.

Although the band now sported the same line-up that had brought it to the height of its success, Sails of Silver has often been seen as embodying a different spirit from their classic albums of the 1970s. Prior to Sails of Silver, the band had always performed songs written by other people, predominantly traditional songs, but also a few 20th century pieces, such as the two Brecht songs on Storm Force Ten. But on this album they included several songs they had written themselves, including "Let Her Go Down" and "Senior Service". This was the beginning of a trend that continues down to the present. Every album they have released since Sails has had at least one song written by band members, and Back in Line and Bloody Men were predominantly the band's material.

Maddy Prior has said that, although she likes the album and finds it accessible, the band was in her words "lost" and not particularly confident of the material it had put together. Fans found the album jarring, although they were pleased that the band was touring again, and the band's shows always included their earlier material.[citation needed]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Lead vocals| Length

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1.| "Sails of Silver"| Tim Hart| Maddy Prior| 3:27
2.| "My Love"| Hart| Hart, Prior| 2:54
3.| "Barnet Fair"| Rick Kemp| Prior| 4:34
4.| "Senior Service"| Prior, Kemp| Prior| 3:30
5.| "Gone to America"| Peter Knight| Prior| 4:20
6.| "Where Are They Now?"| Kemp| Prior| 4:10
7.| "Let Her Go Down"| Knight| Knight| 3:36
8.| "Longbone"| Bob Johnson| Johnson| 3:57
9.| "Marigold/Harvest Home"| Knight, Prior| Prior| 3:05
10.| "Tell Me Why"| Trad. arr. Prior, Hart, Johnson, Kemp, Knight, Pegrum| Prior| 3:54

### Reissue

[edit]

When the album was reissued in 1998, three bonus tracks were included:

1. "Thomas the Rhymer" (Live 1997)
2. "My Johnny was a Shoemaker" (Live 1996)
3. "The Lark in the Morning" (Live 1996)

## Personnel

[edit]

Steeleye Span

* Maddy Prior \- vocals
* Tim Hart \- vocals, guitar
* Bob Johnson \- vocals, guitar
* Rick Kemp \- vocals, bass guitar
* Peter Knight \- vocals, violin, keyboards
* Nigel Pegrum \- drums, percussion, woodwind

The final two tracks were recorded when Steeleye Span were supporting Status Quo on tour. The line-up for the final three tracks is as follows:

* Maddy Prior \- vocals
* Gay Woods \- vocals
* Peter Knight \- vocals, violin
* Bob Johnson \- vocals, guitar, keyboards
* Tim Harries \- vocals, bass guitar
* Liam Genockey \- drums, percussion

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sleger, Dave. Sails of Silver at AllMusic

* v
* t
* e

Steeleye Span

* Maddy Prior
* Julian Litman
* Jessie May Smart
* Spud Sinclair
* Liam Genockey

* Tim Hart
* Ashley Hutchings
* Gay Woods
* Terry Woods
* Martin Carthy
* Bob Johnson
* Nigel Pegrum
* John Kirkpatrick
* Tim Harries
* Terl Bryant
* Ken Nicol
* Peter Knight
* Pete Zorn
* Rick Kemp

Studio albums|

* Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
* Please to See the King (1971)
* Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
* Below the Salt (1972)
* Parcel of Rogues (1973)
* Now We Are Six (1974)
* Commoners Crown (1975)
* All Around My Hat (1975)
* Rocket Cottage (1976)
* Storm Force Ten (1977)
* Sails of Silver (1980)
* Back in Line (1986)
* Tempted and Tried (1989)
* Time (1996)
* Horkstow Grange (1998)
* Bedlam Born (2000)
* Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
* They Called Her Babylon (2004)
* Winter (2004)
* Bloody Men (2006)
* Cogs, Wheels & Lovers (2009)
* Wintersmith (2013)
* Dodgy Bastards (2016)
* Est'd 1969 (2019)

Live albums|

* Live at Last (1978)
* Tonight's the Night...Live (1992)

Box sets|

* A Parcel of Steeleye Span (2009)
* Good Times of Old England: Steeleye Span 1972—1983 [12-CD box-set] (2022)

Related articles|

* The King of Elfland's Daughter (1977)

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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