PETER KNIGHT’S GIGSPANNER BIG BAND - Live
Private Label GSCD005
Peter Knight has long been a hero of mine, as Steeleye Span was the band that persuaded me, at the age of 16, that imitating James Taylor wasn’t the only thing to do with my guitar. Peter left the Span in 2013 and has since worked extensively with Roger Flack on guitar and Sacha Trochet on hand drums and percussion as the Gigspanner trio. This live album is the result of the Gigspanners’ love of the music of Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin (now Edgelarks). This makes the GS big band a five-piece, with vocals, and Peter’s legendary fiddling at the centre of it.
The music is immensely varied – from the delicate The Butterfly, via an extended (over seven-minute) rollicking instrumental, King Of The Fairies, to a dramatic retake on the Steeleye favourite, Hard Times Of Old England. This latter moves a long way from the Mike Battified, Wombley version on All Around My Hat to bring out the sadness in the lyrics. The recording quality is excellent (live albums are occasionally not). Hannah Martin is a fabulous singer, with more than a hint of June Tabor on Banks Of The Nile. So... if you like Steeleye and the wondrous June, you’ll love this. I do.
www.gigspanner.com
Alan Murray
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