Back in Line

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Professional reviews
Back in Line

Studio album by Steeleye Span
Released	1986
Recorded	??
Genre	Folk rock
Length	??:??
Label	Shanachie
All Music Guide link
Steeleye Span chronology
Sails of Silver (1980)	Back in Line (1986)	Tempted and Tried (1989)

Back in Line is an album by the folk rock band Steeleye Span.

This album, the band's 12th, was released in 1986, after almost a hiatus of almost 6 years. It was their first album without founding member Tim Hart, who quit the music business entirely. It was also the last album they recorded with Maddy Prior's husband, Rick Kemp, until They Called Her Babylon; Kemp suffered an shoulder injury that forced him to stop playing for a long time.

Like the previous album, Sails of Silver, this one was primarily new songs written by the band but with a strong historical content. 'Isabel', 'Lanercost' and 'Take My Heart' all deal with the Scottish Wars of Independence and Robert the Bruce, while 'White Man' was a critique of European colonialism, and 'Peace on the Border' dealt with the subject of 18th century rebellions and deportations. 'Scarecrow' was about the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, a Royalist victory during the English Civil War. Only 'Blackleg Miner' was a traditional song, although the album also included a challenging classical violin piece, "Canon by Telemann", which allowed Knight to demonstrate his classical roots. Like Sails of Silver, this album was not well-received by fans, and reviews tend to see the album as being slickly packaged but erratic in quality.

The album featured a live version of 'Blackleg Miner', an early 1900's union protest song the band had first recorded for Hark! The Village Wait. Substantially re-orchestrated with a much funkier feel than the original version, the song produced some controversy when the band performed it in Nottingham in 1986, not long after a major mine strike.

The album's highlights include the energetic funk version of 'Blackleg Miner', a similarly funky 'White Man', which features as complicated a vocal arrangement as Steeleye has ever offered, and 'Isabel', a strong piece sung by Prior, about the Countess of Buchan who helped crown Robert the Bruce. In general, the pieces have a strong rock feel.

The song "Lady Diamond" is a version of a traditional Scottish ballad, "Lady Dysie", a version of which appeared on the Tannahill Weaver's 1984 album, 'Passage'. Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp helped produce several of the Tannahill's albums.