Commoner's Crown
Encyclopedia
Commoners Crown is an album by the electric folk
band Steeleye Span
, its seventh release overall and the second album with the band's most commercially successful line-up. It reached number 21 in the UK album charts.
The album's title refers to a sculpture produced by Shirtsleeves Studio. The sculpture is composed of hundreds of tiny human figures assembled to form a crown. The tiny figures also decorate the liner notes.
during its folk rock phase. Several of the tracks feature strong rock drumming and heavy guitar riffs, but the material remains almost entirely traditional folk music, with the exception of 'Bach Goes to Limerick', a surprising attempt to interweave a classical Bach violin piece with a traditional Irish fiddle piece.
The lead track, 'Little Sir Hugh' is based on a medieval song about the English saint Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln, a 13th century boy supposedly murdered by Jews. The original song's lyrics are sharply anti-Semitic, but the band deleted the anti-Semitic elements.
In addition to 'Little Sir Hugh', the album's highlights include 'Long Lankin', the band's longest song to date and something of a fan favourite, and 'Demon Lover'.
by inviting comedian and actor Peter Sellers
to play the ukulele
on the closing track, 'New York Girls'. The band decided that it wanted a ukulele on the song, but no one in the band knew anyone who played the instrument. Finally someone remarked that Sellers was known to play it, and they decided to ask him, even though none of them knew him at all. To their surprise, he agreed, and the song became one of only two recordings he made with a rock band. The other was "After the Fox", recorded with The Hollies in 1966. He also contributes some vocals spoken in character as Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister
(originally portrayed by Sellers and Spike Milligan
in the BBC radio comedy programme, The Goon Show
), which many fans of the band found distracting. On the original vinyl release, the song ended with Sellers saying "I say, are you a matelot? Careful what you say, sir - we're on board ship here". The subsequent CD releases omitted the quip. [The current 2009 3 disc EMI box set A PARCEL OF STEELEYE SPAN reinstates the quip] The song is also unusual in the sense that all the male band members (except Nigel Pegrum) take lead vocals on two verses each (Rick Kemp singing verses 1 and 5, Tim Hart 2 and 6, Peter Knight 3 and 7 and Bob Johnson 4 and 8), with Maddy Prior singing the chorus. Despite this odd note, 'Commoner's Crown' is often cited as one of the band's best efforts.
Guest:
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
band Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
, its seventh release overall and the second album with the band's most commercially successful line-up. It reached number 21 in the UK album charts.
The album's title refers to a sculpture produced by Shirtsleeves Studio. The sculpture is composed of hundreds of tiny human figures assembled to form a crown. The tiny figures also decorate the liner notes.
Description
By this point, the band had evolved into a full-fledged rock sound, comparable to Jethro TullJethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
during its folk rock phase. Several of the tracks feature strong rock drumming and heavy guitar riffs, but the material remains almost entirely traditional folk music, with the exception of 'Bach Goes to Limerick', a surprising attempt to interweave a classical Bach violin piece with a traditional Irish fiddle piece.
The lead track, 'Little Sir Hugh' is based on a medieval song about the English saint Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln, a 13th century boy supposedly murdered by Jews. The original song's lyrics are sharply anti-Semitic, but the band deleted the anti-Semitic elements.
In addition to 'Little Sir Hugh', the album's highlights include 'Long Lankin', the band's longest song to date and something of a fan favourite, and 'Demon Lover'.
New York Girls
The band continued the whimsical streak demonstrated on Now We Are SixNow We Are Six (album)
Now We Are Six is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span. Its title refers to both its sequence among their albums, and the band's size, in light of the addition of drummer Nigel Pegrum...
by inviting comedian and actor Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
to play the ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
on the closing track, 'New York Girls'. The band decided that it wanted a ukulele on the song, but no one in the band knew anyone who played the instrument. Finally someone remarked that Sellers was known to play it, and they decided to ask him, even though none of them knew him at all. To their surprise, he agreed, and the song became one of only two recordings he made with a rock band. The other was "After the Fox", recorded with The Hollies in 1966. He also contributes some vocals spoken in character as Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister
Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister
Henry Crun and Minnie Bannister are two of the charactersfrom the 1950s United Kingdom radio comedy series The Goon Show. Crun and Min are performed by Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, respectively...
(originally portrayed by Sellers and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
in the BBC radio comedy programme, The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
), which many fans of the band found distracting. On the original vinyl release, the song ended with Sellers saying "I say, are you a matelot? Careful what you say, sir - we're on board ship here". The subsequent CD releases omitted the quip. [The current 2009 3 disc EMI box set A PARCEL OF STEELEYE SPAN reinstates the quip] The song is also unusual in the sense that all the male band members (except Nigel Pegrum) take lead vocals on two verses each (Rick Kemp singing verses 1 and 5, Tim Hart 2 and 6, Peter Knight 3 and 7 and Bob Johnson 4 and 8), with Maddy Prior singing the chorus. Despite this odd note, 'Commoner's Crown' is often cited as one of the band's best efforts.
Personnel
- Maddy PriorMaddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
(vocals) - Tim HartTim HartTim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
(vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, appalachian dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
) - Bob JohnsonBob Johnson (musician)Robert "Bob" Johnson is a British guitarist formerly in the electric folk band Steeleye Span from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001....
(vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) - Rick KempRick KempRick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
(bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
) - Peter Knight (violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) - Nigel PegrumNigel PegrumNigel Pegrum was a drummer with The Small Faces and Steeleye Span before becoming a producer.- Biography :Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of The Small Faces, then played drums with Lee Grant And The Capitols before joining Spice, who subsequently changed their name to Uriah Heep...
(drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
)
Guest:
- Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
(ukelele) on New York Girls
Track listing
- "Little Sir HughSir HughSir Hugh is a traditional British folk song, Child ballad # 155, Roud # 73.-Synopsis:Some boys are playing with a ball, in Lincoln. They accidentally throw it over the wall of a Jew's house . The daughter of the Jew comes out, dressed in green, and beckons to a boy to come in to fetch it. He...
" (Traditional) – 4:44 - "Bach Goes To Limerick" (HartTim HartTim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
, JohnsonBob Johnson (musician)Robert "Bob" Johnson is a British guitarist formerly in the electric folk band Steeleye Span from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001....
, KempRick KempRick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
, Knight, PegrumNigel PegrumNigel Pegrum was a drummer with The Small Faces and Steeleye Span before becoming a producer.- Biography :Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of The Small Faces, then played drums with Lee Grant And The Capitols before joining Spice, who subsequently changed their name to Uriah Heep...
, PriorMaddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
) – 3:41 - "Long LankinLamkin"Lamkin" is an English ballad. It gives an account of the murder of a woman and her infant son by a man, in some versions, a disgruntled mason, in others, a devil, bogeyman or a motiveless villain...
" (Traditional) – 8:40 - "Dogs and Ferrets" (Traditional) – 2:43
- "Galtee Farmer" (Traditional) – 3:47
- "Demon LoverThe Daemon Lover"The Daemon Lover", also known as "James Harris", "James Herries", or "The House Carpenter" is a popular English ballad. It tells the story of a man , who returns to a former lover after a very long absence, and finds her with a husband and a baby...
" (Traditional) – 5:54 - "Elf Call" (Traditional) – 3:54
- "Weary Cutters" (Traditional) – 2:04
- "New York Girls" (Traditional) – 3:12