Est'd 1969

A reinvigorated Steeleye Span set their stall against an illustrious past with Est'd 1969 and it's up there with the best. Class Span, in fact, with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson throwing some flute shapes across the prog-folk of ‘Old Matron’. The highlight of the set is the haunting setting for Child Ballad 36, ‘Mackerel of the Sea’, a haunting, spine-chilling companion to Span classic ‘Alison Gross’. Around it are wrapped another Child Ballad, ‘The Boy and the Mantle (Tree Tests of Chastity)’, and ‘The Cruel Ship's Carpenter’, on which the lead vocal goes to Benji Kirkpatrick, an excellent recent addition to the band. Covers include a standout ‘January Man’, while the Punch-and-Judy double act of ‘Domestic’ features a Casterbridge-like auctioning of a bride with one of the great songs of the tradition, ‘My Husband's Got No Courage in Him’, with Maddy Prior delivering a leering, contemptuous vocal.

There's a strong favour of 70s folk and prog-folk, and veteran drummer Liam Genockey knows how to strike those skins, with plenty of room for some retro riffing, shredding and a harpsichord solo. It's great that they've hit such a vital current for the 23rd album of their career. It stands with the best of them.