A Green Man Review

Several Annies, do pay attention now as there will be a quiz afterwards!

Well, now. Mackenzie has asked me in as tonight’s guest lecturer. He likes to keep these seminars going through the summer months, you know, when otherwise the staff and denizens of  the Kinrowan Estate get too caught up in the long days and short nights in Oberon’s Wood. Remember, Masters and Mistresses, you are supposed to be writing about books here.

And what does it mean, to write ‘about’ books? Hey? Any of you bright-eyed boys and girls ever paused to think about it, in your rush between the reference stacks and Jack’s in barrel? I’ve seen that barrel, and a mighty void it is, too. What are you all about as you proffer your analyses of art to the waiting ether?

Some might consider it a self-referential waste of time, especially the business of review and literary critique. ‘Them as can, do,’ the saying goes. ‘Them as can’t do, teach. And them as can’t do neither, criticize.’ Of course, that old saw is usually trotted out by someone who has written a bad book and been caught at it. There is power and skill needed to review a tale properly, so as to catch the casual reader’s interest and send it on like a well-aimed sling stone to find the original work itself.

But you may need to ask yourselves — and a frightening question it is — are you committing metafiction? When you write about another’s world, are you outlining the borders for the uninformed, or extending them? Are you lighting the path or creating a detour? It’s not my business or concern to tell you that — no, it’s not, so you can put away your notes and that dismayed look, young woman — it’s merely my intent to make you think about it. To read deeply and then to talk about it is a serious thing.

We all walk into books hoping. We hope for joy or mere amusement; for fulfillment of a dream and the filling of an idle hour; for a clear look at something we have glimpsed in dreams, or the first look at what has been unimaginable. When we consent to read a tale, we’re consenting to a journey that we have to take on faith. We hope to be well and safely conveyed the whole way, and not left robbed of our time by some nameless highwayman. We trust the writers to know the way and show us all the best sights. At their best, all writers take us on the perfect road; at your best, you are sharing your experience on that road.

Consider yourselves cartographers, ladies and gentlemen. Every book opened is a new world discovered. Worlds are vast things. They harbor as much danger as delight; neither one is always easy to find, and maps are required. Not all worlds will sustain life — a warning to the explorer behind you on the road can give warning that ahead is a deadly insufficiency of oxygen, or warmth, or wit. A bright red ‘Here Be Dragons’ pulls in as many eager travellers as it warns off the timid ones: someone languishing for the company of dragons may never find their heart’s desire without your directions.

So sharpen your pens and calibrate your compasses. The folk on staff all brought out their brightest inks, and the maps displayed in the books are grand examples to emulate.

Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pouring down,
And it looks like the old man’s getting on.

‘Brown-eyed Women’

Summer’s fully upon us here on this Scottish estate. We generally  get a summer much more pleasant than is commonplace in Scotland as we share a Border with what Yeats called the Celtic Twilight – the Fey really, really like warm summers. (And alas, cold winters as well, there being Summer and Winter Courts.) So I’m sitting under one of the Great Oaks planted a hundred and fifty-odd years ago by Lady Alexandra Margaret Quinn, Estate Head Gardener here for a very long time, who’s buried beneath them.

I’ve got a murder of crows overhead looking to see if they can steal anything from me as I’m eating lunch outside, but there’s naught that catches their interest, mercifully. Oh, eventually I’ll treat them to something from my repast but not right now.

I’ve got my iPad in hand, a most tasty Lady in The Wood IPA named in honour of that Estate Head Gardener to drink, and I just got a note texted to me that Chasing Fireflies are doing a contradance this evening with Gus, our Estate Gardener calling, so I need to get this done soon. Go ahead and get yourself one of those ales and I’ll have this Edition for you soon… Now where was I?

Craig was favorably impressed with Paul Green’s Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns. ‘It is very easy to get lost in the Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns, so make sure to set aside a good deal of time when you pick it up to “just look something up.” There are plenty of discoveries awaiting, and some old favorites to revisit.’

David waxed nostalgic about Singing Cowboys by Douglas B. Green (a.k.a. Ranger Doug of Riders In the Sky) . ‘Douglas B. Green has compiled a beauty of a book here. If you have any interest in the era or subject at all Singing Cowboys is a treasure trove of trivia and memorabilia. And it has a CD too! So you can listen to 10 of the greats as you peruse the pages. Aah . . . memories!

Donna found Nicholas Griffin’s Dizzy City enjoyable but a bit disturbing. ‘As I was reading this book, I realized how much it reminded me of Theodore Dreiser’s rather bleak urban fiction, particularly The Titan, and of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is certainly about a very skilled con artist. Griffin does a good job of capturing the grittiness of New York City and of revealing the motivations and tricks of people who live by their wits. I learned more about cons from reading this book than I ever wanted to know.’

Farah did an in-depth review of two books about the author of the Mary Poppins stories: Giorgia Grilli’s Myth, Symbol and Meaning in Mary Poppins: the Governess as Provacteur, and Valerie Lawson’s Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P. L. Travers. One she liked, the other she didn’t. ‘Although Lawson’s aim is not to illuminate the books, her account of Travers’ interests and obsessions offers a complex critique of Travers’ work, which helps to explain why they are as unnerving as they are fascinating. The same is not true of Giorgia Grilli’s account.’

Michael got a kick out of Chris Marie Green’s Night Rising, the first book in her Vampire Babylon series. ‘Night Rising is the first in a trilogy by Chris Marie Green, better known for her romances under the name Crystal Green, and it certainly seems as though she’s made the transition to urban fantasy without a hitch. Green plays with the Hollywood conceits perfectly, from the all-encompassing drive to “make it big” found in everyone from bartenders to gas station attendants, to the fear of falling into obscurity by those who have made it big. Hollywood’s tendency to chew up child actors and spit them out is brought up, as is the manner in which some celebrities die mysteriously, leaving behind legends.

Naomi found a lot to like in Single White Vampire Seeks Same, an anthology edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Brittany A. Koren. ‘It’s really hard to pick out a couple of tales to spotlight, as they were all so good! The first story in the book caught me completely off guard and had me chuckling, yet it also had me thinking very hard on the ramifications. “Personal Wishes” by Mickey Zucker Reichert has Cupid putting away his trusty bow and arrows, and trying something new. The Godling of love riding around on a subway is just too priceless a picture to let go of! Yet he is still doing his best to bring couples together with their ideal others.’

Robert has four reviews for, two from Jane Lindskold and two from Patricia McKillip.

The first is Changer: ‘Urban fanstasy is a subgenre with as many sets of criteria as there are practitioners. Ranging from the Celto-Amerindian universe of Charles de Lint’s urban Canada and Neil Gaiman’s eclectic universe of the Dreaming, with even hybrids such as Mark Anthony’s Last Rune paying tribute to fairies and hobgoblins, Lindskold has stepped neatly in and taken as her purview the myths and legends of all places, all peoples, and set them down in the contemporary American Southwest.’

He follows up with the sequel, Legends Walking: ‘Jane Lindskold has followed up Changer with Legends Walking, which opens a few weeks after Changer closes. The same characters appear, many in expanded roles, new athanor characters participate, and the story takes on added complexity as several plot lines develop.’

He next has a review of Winter Rose: ‘The story is told in McKillip’s characteristically elliptical style, kicked up an order of magnitude. Sometimes, in fact, it is almost too poetic, the narrative turning crystalline then shattering under the weight of visions, images, things left unsaid as Rois and Corbet are drawn into another world, or come and go, perhaps, at will or maybe at the behest of a mysterious woman of immense power who seems to have no fixed identity but who is, at the same time, all that is coldest and most pitiless of winter.’

He finishes up with Solstice Wood, a sequel of sorts to Winter Rose: ‘McKillip has always been a writer whose books can themselves be called ‘magical,’ and it’s even more interesting to realize that she seldom uses magic as a thing of incantations and dire workings, or as anything special in itself. It just is, a context rather than an event, and perhaps that’s the way it should be.’

Craig reviewed the DVD edition of the BBC’s celebrated miniseries I, Claudius, and a documentary about a 1937 failed attempt to bring the story to film. ‘Based on two novels by Robert Graves, I, Claudius was a groundbreaking miniseries, and is still today considered by some to be the totem by which all other miniseries are measured. It stars Derek Jacobi as the titular emperor and autobiographer. As narrator, Claudius tells us his family history from his grandmother Livia’s marriage to the Emperor Augustus Caesar to the end of Claudius’ own life, at the hand of others.’

Kelley submitted a review of a British style pub in Portland, Oregon, as well as a couple of beers he sampled there. One of them was Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Nectar: ‘The Hazelnut Brown Nectar is a daytime beer, a lunchtime beer. We felt this was a beer meant to go with a sandwich, hearty enough to provide sustenance, but refreshing enough for the middle of the day. Not surprisingly, it was nutty, with a yeasty edge, and a bit malty in the finish. Its color happened to match the mahogany-colored broth in the Murphy’s Stew perfectly. If hops aren’t your thing, you should try this.’

Craig revisits an old favorite in Jeff Smith’s SHAZAM!, the DC revival of the old original Captain Marvel character. ‘There was always a certain kind of “Gee whiz!” quality to the Captain Marvel stories I remember, and it’s this quality that Jeff Smith captures in spades. Captain Marvel isn’t the type of character who, in my view, lends himself to the kinds of darker existential angst that tends to dominate the superhero genre of today. If things like Peter Parker’s eternal guilt over his failure to save Uncle Ben, or Bruce Wayne’s constant toeing of the fine line between hero and criminal, or even Superman’s loneliness as the last survivor of a destroyed planet, are what you look for in a superhero tale, then Captain Marvel probably isn’t for you.’

Big Earl reviewed From Paris With Love by the legendary Jamaican band Skatalites. ‘The Skatalites were the original house band for Jamaican musicians in the early ’60s, backing literally every artist on the island. A jazz band that stumbled across a new beat and attack, their ensemble playing gave the world ska, and later reggae. Comprised of very talented players, the band often chose cheeky songs to cover, like “The Pink Panther Theme” or “Baby Elephant Walk,” and managed to to make even the most trite material sound vital.’

Gary reviewed some Catalonian jazz on Èlia Lucas Quartet’s Introspecció. ‘The young Catalonian pianist and composer has a wealth of music education and experience already, and plays in various jazz, pop and indie groups. She lives in Barcelona, where she teaches music and is studying for a degree in classical music. That interest in classical is reflected in many of the compositions on Introspecció. The other three members of the quartet – Edu Pons on alto and soprano sax, Tomàs Pujol on double bass and Kike Pérez on drums – bring her compositions and ideas to life.’

Gary was also thrilled with the klezmer music he found on Yale Strom & Hot Pstromi’s The Wolf and the Lamb, which he said ‘is exactly the sort of high quality release I’ve come to expect from Arc. The choice of music, the performances, and the wealth of background information that come with this recording are exemplary. The detailed liner notes for each song and the album as a whole and the choice artwork and photography enhance the experience of listening to this vibrant, living music.’

John was supportive of the artists in his review of three albums by diverse singer songwriters: Marc Broussard’s Momentary Setback, Jens Hausmann’s Back on the Track, and Penny Nichols’s I’ll Never Be That Old Again. ‘Diversity is the name of the game, and with two American singer songwriters dealing in varied parts of the roots arena, and an American-born guitarist/singer now based in Germany, the recipe is made for an interesting musical journey.’

Patrick liked the music but not the faux-Irish singing on Glass In Hand by the Chicago band St. James Gate. Glass in Hand is fine pub – or bar – fare, but it does not rise above that level, though it has the potential. If these guys lose the accents and sing “Whiskey in the Jar” in the same style they tackle “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” their music would be much better off.

Peter was supportive of More Electric, an album by Canadian guitarist Shane Simpson. ‘Shane is very much a guitarist’s guitarist. His style and ability carry his songs. I found myself admiring and listening to the guitar work more than the actual song content. On this side of the water, if you are a fan of Albert Lee you are sure to pick up on Shane Simpson.’ His wife liked it too; read it to find out why!

Peter also gives a nice review to a CD so rare we couldn’t even find a photo of its cover art! ‘This is the sort of thing a lot of bands send out to prospective venues and festivals when looking for a booking,’ he says of The Skirlers’ Cutting the Bracken, but he liked it anyway for its authentic live feel. ‘True, some of the songs or tunes are not without the odd ‘nervous’ mistake, but this does not matter one jot. You’ll be hard placed to spot them anyway! And that’s part of the charm of the album. I have a feeling this album is just a taste of what the Skirlers are like live.

Sean brings word of an archival recording of music from a lengthy documentary series about the lives of working people that was on the BBC in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Singing the Fishing collects some of those songs, mostly written and arranged by Ewan MacColl, and performed by MacColl, Charles Parker, and Peggy Seeger. ‘In an age when much folk music has lost touch with its underlying narrative, Singing the Fishing is a reminder of the magnificent potential that is locked inside this art form.’

What Not comes courtesy of Mia who looks at four of Folkmanis’s creations, to wit Blue Dragon, Green Dragon, Three Headed Dragon, and Phoenix and she says, ‘Oooooh, shiny! I have a box of dragons here! Folkmanis makes the best puppets ever, and their dragons are some of the finest of their puppets.’

I rather like ‘Brown-Eyed Women’ quite a bit but my favorite version isn’t the one with Garcia singing that the Dead did, but rather is one someone here found some years back. The late Robert Hunter who wrote much of what they played including this song and my favourite version is done by him during a show at Biddy Mulligan’s in Chicago on the tenth of October some thirty years ago. So let’s now listen to him doing that song.

Everyone ignores two important facts: one person’s crap is another person’s beloved book, and publishing has always produced books in great volume. ― Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Discoverability

There’s a contradance going on just now, but my left knee, injured many decades ago, is acting out, so I decided to stay in the Pub and listen to the Neverending Session which has been playing a lot of hambos (think of them as a sort of a mazurka if you wish) this evening as I write up these notes. Gary Whitehouse as always did the music, graphic novel and film sections. 

Speaking of the latter, we should welcome sone folk who are both great writers and all around nice to have around, Lis Milner, Warner Holme and Paul Weimer, who’ve been here for some months now. Welcome! 

We’re doing nothing but works by Roger Zelazny this time so we’re leading with a review by April of his longest work: ‘Roger Zelazny’s Amber series spans three decades, ten volumes, several short stories, a RPG, graphic novels and even a recent revival attempt (John Betancourt’s Dawn of Amber series). Packed into those original books and stories is a wealth of characters, settings, items and plots — far too much minutiae for any but the most die-hard fan to remember. And that’s where Krulik’s The Complete Amber Sourcebook comes in. The Sourcebook is not for someone who has not read the entire series, as spoilers are literally everywhere. Krulik assumes an audience already familiar with the core set of books.’

She also has look at an unusual novel from a SF writer doing his only thriller: ‘Dead Man’s Brother is a delight to read — Roger Zelazny’s language and characters seem right at home in this genre — and regrettably over all too fast at less than 300 pages. If only more such jewels were left to unearth…’

Cat leads off a review in this way: ‘If you started listening to audiobooks over the past ten or so years, considered yourself to be extremely lucky as you’re living in a true Golden Age where narration, production, and ease of useless is extremely good. But long ago, none of that was something you could take as a given as it most decidedly wasn’t.’ Now read his review of Roger Zelazny’s Isle of Dead to see if this older audiobook transcended these limitations.

And he says ‘Roadmarks features a protagonist somebody is trying to kill as he moves along a time-travelling road. As one does. ‘Zelazny really didn’t do plots all that well, but he was gifted at developed unique characters and settings. So, like so many of his novels, this one’s true strengths lies in the unique nature of the setting, combined with the character development…’

The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Biblography of Roger Zelazny is, Iain notes, ‘a bibliography which was prepared as part of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, a six volume undertaking, of which you’ll find the first volume, Threshold, reviewed here.’ Read his review on this bibliography which only diehard Zelazny fans or libraries with a strong  sf emphasis should consider buying, so quite naturally we have a copy.

Let’s not give away what happening in the story Lis reviews A Night in the Lonesome October: ‘ Snuff is our narrator, here, and he’s a smart, interesting, likable dog. He’s the friend and partner of a man called Jack, and they are preparing for a major event. Jack has a very sharp knife, which he and Snuff use in gathering the necessary ingredients for the ancient and deadly ritual that will be performed on Halloween.’

Robert has a rather unusual book by him — well, unusual for Zelazny, at least — Damnation Alley: ‘One of the key elements of Zelazny’s work was his complete disregard for the boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream literature. Consider that, within a science fiction framework he frequently introduced mythological characters, not as mythic archetypes but as actual characters, and pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable stylistically within the genre into more widely accepted literary conventions. And, having said that, I’m faced with Damnation Alley, a novel from early in his career (1969) that seems, on its surface, to undercut my points.’

While poking around in the back reaches of the Library, he also ran across an old favorite, Roger Zelazny’s collection The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth and Other Stories: ‘Although he published his first story in the early 1950s, Roger Zelazny didn’t really impact the science fiction scene until 1963. That’s when I remember reading “A Rose for Eccelsiastes” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (with their best cover ever illustrating Zelazny’s story). He followed it up the next year with the title story of this collection, which won him his first Nebula award. Zelazny and his contemporaries went on to become the American branch of science fiction’s New Wave, and pushed the envelope until it was altered beyond recognition.’

Lest we get too comfortable with all this summer sunshine, Asher reviewed the creepy Darkness Falls. ‘What I like so much about Darkness Falls, as well as Craven’s They, is that besides that light and deft touch, you can really feel with the film what it was like to be afraid as a child. Both films, especially this one, rely on suspension of jaded adult comfort with an ordinary good night’s sleep. That sense that the worst thing lurking in the shadows of suburbia is a conventional axe-wielding psychopath, escaped from the local asylum, is being challenged again.’

Gary loves cookies, so he was eager to try Trader Joe’s Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe’s sandwich cookies. His verdict? ‘They’re tasty and definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. I don’t think they need to be as sugary as they are, but then I’m not the one making gazillions of dollars selling high-end snacks to the bougies, so what do I know?

Not exactly a graphic novel, but it’s filled with graphic art: David got his rave on about Paul Grushkin & Dennis King’s The Art of Modern Rock, detailing concert posters from the indie music explosion of the early 2000s. ‘There are 1,800 of these posters presented in The Art of Modern Rock. One thousand, eight hundred! And they are accompanied by photographs and brief biographies of many of the artists who created them. At first perusal I missed these photos altogether! It was the posters I was looking at. Page after page of beautiful, then bizarre, then disturbing, then funny, wait…funny and disturbing…images. Drawings, paintings, solarized photos, sometimes organized according to artist, sometimes by theme, the images were just so rich and plentiful that on my first time through I simply looked at them.’

Alistair dug into No. 1 Scottish, the first album by students on the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama’s own label. ‘However, put any notions out of your heads of school yearbooks, of end-of-year brag productions to convince proud parents that their investment is not being consumed in the Horseshoe Bar. This is a thoroughly professional release, standing proudly as a sampler of the best of Scottish traditional music as interpreted by some of Scotland’s most accomplished young performers.’

David reviewed a tribute disc to a Canadian folk singer that many people in the U.S. have probably never heard of. Here’s what he has to say about One Voice: A Tribute to Norm Hacking. ‘Norm Hacking is a big man with a big heart and a lot of friends. Many of them gathered in the last year to put together this collection of some of Hacking’s best songs, performed with affection and skill. Wayne Marshall, a guitarist and songwriter from Brantford, Ontario, produced this rich and varied collection.’

David also reviewed a four-disc set compiled for the 40th anniversry of the Philadelphia Folk Festival, drawing on performances during many years of the festival that began in 1962. ‘This box set is an extraordinary little box of treasures. Even the booklet is well-designed, filled with mementos and curios, and tons of information about the performers and the festival.’

Speaking of summer, Gary reviewed a couple of albums of surf music, Southern Culture on the Skids’ Mojo Box and Laika & The Cosmonauts’ Local Warming. ‘Whether that phrase makes you think of the smooth, polished, multi-guitar sound of The Ventures, the slashing rumble of Link Wray, the power-picking of Dick Dale or the danceable pop of ’60s beach blanket movies, you still probably have some idea of what to expect. These two January 2004 Yep Roc releases, one from a long-standing U.S. band, the other from Finland, of all places, showcase some of the different directions surf music has taken.’

Gary also reviews a new album of Catalán jazz, Magalí Sare & Manel Fortià’s ReTornar. ‘Inspired by their travels and cultural exchanges as musicians, these songs lean heavily on their Catalonian roots, but they’ve spliced on bits of Portuguese, Brazilian, Mexican, Cuban, Argentinian and Afro-Caribbean folk  vtraditions and rhythms, all of it informed by their jazz sensibilities. They start with various folk songs of various provenance and genre and joyfully mix things up.’

‘Featuring some of the best-known names in the Asian Underground – Ananda Shankar, Joi, Asian Dub Foundation – and a number of lesser known acts, Rough Guide’s latest compilation dares to compete with what must be the essential guide to the scene, the legendary 1997 Talvin Singh Presents Anokha – The Soundz of the Asian Underground,’ Inigo said in reviewing the Rough Guide to Asian Underground. ‘By focusing on the output of friendly rival label Nation Records, compiler DJ Ritu chose to complement rather than compete, and this album serves to fill out the historical record of the emergence of one of the most interesting music scenes today.’

Jack wrote up an omnibus review of several CDs loosely defined as dance music: Flying Tomatoes’s Rags to Racenicas, Atomic City Rhythm Rascals’ Atomic City Rhythm Rascals, Birol Topaloglu’s Aravani,  Mukka’s Skip Lizard, Pinewoods Band’s South by Southeast, and Stömp’s Machine Without Horses. ‘All of these CDs are very, very good – great for dancing and superb for just listening to! Hell, I may even discuss dance music from other regions! You’ll just have to read on to see what tickles my fancy.’

Our What Not this week is another treat from Folkmanis. Says Robert: ‘I seem to have another Folkmanis puppet lurking around, this one the Rat In a Tin Can. The Folkmanis website describes him as being ready for a playful picnic (note the napkin in one paw). However, it seemed to me that he might just as easily be a waiter in an upscale rat restaurant: his black-and-white pattern might almost be taken for formal wear.’

There are bands for which I’ve a deep liking for pretty much everything they done and so it is with Chicago’s ‘Saturday in the Park’ which I’ve heard playing off and on over the past forty years. It’s certainly an upbeat, feel good summer song much like ‘Love Shack’ by the B-52s. It was recorded forty years ago this August at the Park West in Chicago.

The studio version was released on Chicago V in 1972 and peaked on the Billboard charts at number three which is bloody impressive. It was lovely enough that I’ve never gotten tired of it. But I’ve prattled on enough about it, so here’s the song for you to have the pleasure of hearing performed live.

Eight hours, sixteen ounces of chocolate and they’re still not right — Resident Izzie Stevens, making cupcakes in the Grey’s Anatomy, “Save Me”

Yes, we love chocolate a lot around here, to the extent that Ellen Kushner once shared her hot chocolate recipe with us, the same chocolate drink quite popular with the characters in her Swordspoint novel and other Riverside tales. You’ll have to ask Mrs. Ware and her Kitchen staff for it as I’ve never actually been told what it is. Oh, and that toast is spread with the Lindt Chocolate Hazelnut Spread which they’ve just starting selling here in the UK. Really, really ymmmy!

It’s summer, so the Neverending Session has decamped from the Pub to the Greensward ‘til the sun starts to come down to take advantage of the fantastic summer weather. Yes, I know this is Scotland, which has shitty summer weather, but we share The Border with that place, call it, if you will, Tír na hÓige, and their Summer Court love warm, sunny summers so we get the same. Now guess what it’s like when the Winter Court holds sway…

Cat had high hopes for Philip DePoy’s The Devil’s Hearth as he has ‘a special fondness for mystery series set in the Appalachian Mountains, even though there aren’t a lot of good ones and a lot of not so great ones. Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballads series had some memorable outings, particularly among the later novels, and one which was outstanding, Ghost Riders.’ Read his review to see if DePoy lived up to his expectations.

Craig has a look at three mystery novels by the venerable Ray Bradbury, as collected in an omnibus. See for yourself why Craig says, Where Everything Ends is a trio of fine detective novels (together with the short story that provided the starting point) from Bradbury in his inimitable style. He plays with the conventions, but since he so obviously loves the genre, this is easily forgiven — embraced, even — because the end results are, simply put, fine additions to the canon. This series is also dear to fans.

Denise has a novella by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar that may start off in the summer, but gets decidedly chillier as you turn the pages.  Gwendy’s Button Box  ‘is a delightful slow burn of disquiet and dread’  that has our reviewer wanting more.  ‘If this is how King and Chizmar work together?  I’m hoping this will be the start of a beautiful friendship.’

Gary says Kim Stanley Robinson lulled him into a sense of complacency in one of his recent SF tomes about the future of humanity and the Solar System. ‘The main body of his prose in 2312 is so calm and measured, coolly analytical and matter of fact, that I must have been expecting thle Solar System-wide conflict that it portrays to be ironed out peacefully, boringly, in a committee meeting of polite but forthright diplomats. But then, as it nears the 500 page mark, a crisis looms, action erupts, danger flares, lives are lost and almost lost, souls sent spinning across the void of space inside the orbit of Venus, and you can’t seem to turn the pages fast enough.’

Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas’ Haunted Legends, says Gereg, is ‘something of a paradox:  As a collection I found this volume kind of weak, but there are a lot of very fine stories in it.  So many, in fact, that on going back over the anthology a second time, I wondered why I’d thought it was weak in the first place.  As a reader, I’d probably just leave it at that; but as  reviewer, I feel I owe it to my adoring public to tell you precisely why I feel the overall effect is weak.  So I dove back into the book for a third time.  Such travails are how I earn my fabulously high salary here.’

Charles de Lint’s Yarrow: An Autumn Tale  gets a loving look by Grey: ‘Cat Midhir has stopped dreaming. People assure her that it isn’t possible, that she just doesn’t remember her dreams, but Cat knows they’re wrong. Where her dreams have been, there is only heaviness and loss. For Cat, this loss means more than it would to most of us, because she is that rarest of all dreamers, a person who returns to the same dream every time she sleeps. In her dream world live her truest friends and her only source of inspiration for the books and stories that have won her acclaim in her waking life…’

Robert has two Autumnal fantasies by de Lint: ‘Charles de Lint is known as “the godfather of urban fantasy,” and indeed, it’s in that genre that he’s made his mark – he’s never been a writer of heroic fantasy: in a better than thirty year career, very few buckles get swashed, although the two short novels included in Jack of Kinrowan — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down  the Moon — come close, something of a romp a la Dumas pere — by way of Harold Lloyd, perhaps. Both concern the adventures of Jacky Rowan and Kate Hazel, best friends who find themselves enmeshed in the doings of the land of Faerie that coexists with modern-day Ottawa.’

He also looks at Moonheart, perhaps de Lint’s best loved novel: ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint. (And be reminded that Charles de Lint may very well be the creator of what we call “urban fantasy” — he was certainly one of the first to combine contemporary life and the stuff of myth.)’

Spiritwalk he says ‘is a loose sequel to Moonheart, a series of related tales, again centering around Tamson House and including many of the same characters. In fact, the House is even more important as a Place in this group of stories. It begins with a brief discussion of Tamson House from a book by Christy Riddell, whom we will meet again in The Onion Girl and Widdershins, followed by a delightful vignette, “Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood,” of Sarah Kendell, age seventeen, remembering her childhood “imaginary” playmate, a red-haired boy named Merlin who lived in the oak tree at the center of the garden. It’s a sweet, sad tale of the price of love.’

Our culinary review is Randy Armstrong’s Dinner On The Diner which has the dubious honour of being the first and only recording in our long history that got legal action threatened by the artist against us for defamation. Big Earl, a Canadian baker, just wasn’t pleased with either the music or the recipes in the booklet. The artist in the end backed down.

David did an omnibus review of four graphic novels: Walt Holcombe’s Things Just Get Away From You, Gilbert Hernandez’s Heartbreak Soup, Jaime Hernandez’s Maggie the Mechanic, and Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds. The fourth, Exit Wounds, he says, “…is a modern classic. It tells the story of a young Israeli taxi-driver whose father left the family for another woman a few years back. The cabbie Koby Franco receives a message from a female soldier named Numi. She believes that Franco’s father (her lover) has been killed in a suicide bombing. Their investigation opens wounds of all sorts.’

A longtime fan of British-Albanian singer Elina Duni, Gary was rapturous over her new quartet album. ‘A new Elina Duni album is always cause for joy, and A Time To Remember is no exception. … Nostalgia, the ache you feel for times gone by, knows no season. This album is flawless and moving now as spring turns to summer, but I suspect it will gain an added poignancy come autumn and winter.’

Next he take a close look at the reissue of a trio of albums from the ’90s by the U.K. singer of Indian descent, Sheila Chandra: Weaving My Ancestors’ Voices, The Zen Kiss, and ABoneCroneDrone. ‘They sound just as fresh, arresting, and revolutionary to my ears in 2023 as they surely must have when first released.’

He also liked Elements, a new recording by Swedish ‘rock star’ folk fiddler Lena Jonsson. ‘This time out she’s playing in a trio with Erik Ronström on guitar and Kristofer “Krydda” Sundström on bass, on a dozen of her own compositions. Based around the Swedish folk tradition but with lots of influences from jazz to world music, they range from humorous Scottish folk dances to melancholic waltzes and nimble polkas.’

The new release from Norwegian violinist Nils Økland and keyboardist Sigbjørn Apeland, Glimmer, is a mostly somber affair of traditional folk melodies performed with modern arrangements, he says. ‘Smack in the middle of the tracklist are two traditional pieces that lighten the mood considerably. The transcription “O, venner” (Oh, Friends) is warm and uplifting, with both of the musicians providing lots of twinkly improvised grace notes. And even warmer is the lovely, hymnlike “Se solens skjønne lys og prakt” (See the beautiful light and splendor of the sun), which was a perfect listen on the evening of the solstice, I assure you.’

Gary loves jazz standards, so he was bound to enjoy a new one from Noah Haidu. ‘Rising star pianist Noah Haidu releases a quartet album called Standards 40 years after the famed trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette released their first album of the same name, but you don’t need to know that to immediately fall in love with this date. In a trio format (with sax on a few tracks), Haidu deftly explores a double handful of durable swinging bops and ballads. This is straight ahead hard bop and post bop at its best.

Encounters with Sasquatch and trapping rabbits for dinner on a university campus are paired with more serious songs about Indigenous oppression on an album of country music by Saltwater Hank. Gary says, ‘Saltwater Hank is the stage name of songwriter, fiddler, and guitarist Jeremy Pahl, a member of the Gitga’at Ts’msyen community in Kxeen, (Prince Rupert), British Columbia. Writing and performing in Sm’algyax, the Ts’msyen language, he’s part of the pushback against centuries of cultural oppression and erasure. … But any political, linguistic, or cultural significance aside, this is kick-ass music.’

Our What Not this outing is a Folkmanis Mouse with Cheese puppet that got overlooked when it came so Reynard gives it a review now: ‘I’ve no idea when it came in for review, nor do I know how it ended up in the room off the Estate Kitchen that houses the centuries-old collection of cookbooks, restaurant menus and other culinary related material, but I just noticed a very adorable white mouse puppet holding a wedge of cheese in its paws there. Somebody had placed it in a white teacup on the middle of the large table so I really couldn’t overlook it. ’

We’re big fans of the Thompson clan here, and some of us are particularly fond of Teddy Thompson’s way with a classic country ballad. Good news: He’s releasing an album of just those kinds of songs, a follow-up to 2007’s Up Front & Down Low. The aptly titled My Love of Country will be out in August, and the first single is out now. You can just tell that “A Picture Of Me Without You” has George Jones’s stamp on it, but check out Teddy’s excellent cover.

The lie wasn’t meant to be believed. It was just social grease, intended to keep wheels turning. — Aliette de Bodard’s Fireheart Tiger

This is Gary, as Iain and Reynard both seem to be busy elsewhere at the moment, perhaps cleaning up after the lovely Solstice bonfire, or perhaps nursing a, um, headache, following the same. I’m enjoying myself because all this past week we’ve had nothing but Steeleye Span playing here in the Pub via the Infinite Jukebox. It’s not something anyone did; the mystical machine just won’t play anything else this time of year! There’s something about this particular long-lived (albeit of a sporadic, off and on nature) British folk rock band that lends itself to the aura that surrounds the Summer Solstice. Well, maybe not their album centered around that other Solstice, the lovely Winter. And believe me, with so many years of musical output, both official releases and various compilations of, shall we say, unofficial footwear, it’s entirely possible to go the entire week without repeating a single track!

Anyway, that being the case, I felt it was as good a time as any for an all-Steeleye Span edition. Now, of course it’ll mostly consist of recorded music reviews, but the Archives also contain an interview, some concert reviews, a film and a book!

I’d be remiss to not lead off with the splendid Steeleye Span career overview that the well known folk musician from Chester, Peter Massey, wrote up for us back around the turn of the Millennium, which also drew a bit on his own personal experiences with and opinions about the band. Check that out first as it’ll give you a good idea of what’s in store, and then proceed on with this edition …

Debbie Skolnik noted the Steeleye Span connection in her review of Ellen Kushner’s Thomas the Rhymer. ‘Ellen Kushner has taken Child Ballad #37 (upon which Steeleye’s version is based) and thoroughly fleshed it out into a most enjoyable and fascinating read. In one of those odd coincidences in life (or maybe not so odd), the aforementioned Maddy Prior is quoted on the back cover of this paperback, saying, “A book to introduce those who know nothing of the ballads to their rich and deep content…and intrigue those already familiar with them.” I couldn’t agree with her more. Think of it, if you will, as your invitation to a most marvelous world you might not discover otherwise.’

In the ’70s, Michael says, Steeleye regularly performed a Mummer’s Play in mid-set, and one was filmed as part of the Australian television show GTK. ‘The show’s film of the Steeleye Span Mummers Play was known to have existed but was feared lost, as much of the (Australian) ABC’s early programming was tragically and carelessly thrown away, wiped or literally used as road fill! No other video of the play has ever been mentioned. Luckily, the bulk of the GTK sessions were found unharmed a few years ago and have been appearing with some regularity on YouTube.’

Chuck Lipsig turned in a review of 1998’s Horkstow Grange, which was the group’s first without Maddy Prior. His verdict? ‘Maddy Prior may be gone, but it’s still Steeleye Span. Which is not to say Gay Woods has turned into a Maddy Prior clone; she has her own voice, much earthier than Prior’s ethereal instrument. Woods gets into the characters she is singing much more than Prior did.’

Debbie Skolnik wrote about the live compilation In Concert: The Collection, which featured two different lineups of Steeleye in a series of shows from the late ’80s and early ’90s. ‘No matter how many times you’ve listened to your old Steeleye Span recordings, you’ve never heard these songs like this before unless you were lucky enough to see the performances from which the songs on this CD were taken. If you love this band and especially if you were not able to see them perform live, go out and get a copy!’

Deborah was glad that the playing on 2013’s Dodgy Bastards was as tight as ever. ‘At the core of anything from Steeleye, though, are those vocals. Dodgy Bastards has them in almost perfect form: Maddy anchors almost every song, with the supporting vocals providing both a bed and a surround. The effect is crisp, clear and gorgeous. This is what I expect from Steeleye, and always have. They don’t disappoint here.’

Deborah also mused about Maddy Prior’s vocals and especially her dancing with Steeleye Span. ‘​So I don’t know when I first saw Maddy Prior dance. I don’t know whether it was before or after I heard the lyric to Ralph McTell’s song on the subject, “Maddy Dances.” Putting together his lyrics with the effect of her voice, I finally – all these years down the line – realised what set her voice apart, and matched it so perfectly to those flying feet.’

Gereg reviewed the CD release of 1980’s Sails of Silver, one of his favorites which he initially expected to dislike. ‘Sails of Silver isn’t the sound I expect from Steeleye. For long-time listeners, that can’t be emphasised strongly enough. Because if you go in expecting electric folk, you’ll be disappointed. This is rock with folk roots. And yet those roots run deep. So if you can wrap your imagination around the incongruous concept of a rock with roots, then this might be the album for you.’

Iain Nicholas Mackenzie was pretty enthusiastic about A Parcel of Steeleye Span. ‘This triple disc set contains the entirety of their first five albums for Chrysalis, from 1972’s Below The Salt to 1975’s All Around My Hat with Parcel of Rogues, Commoners Crown, and Now We Are Six being the recordings in between. This completely remastered collection has 46 tracks in all, including a number of very tasty bonus tracks.’

Lahri Bond reviewed two releases from the turn of the Millennium, Bedlam Born, and The Journey. Of the former, he says it is ‘… an album that hails the thankful rebirth of one of folk rock’s most celebrated bands.’ And of the latter, which was initially unavailable in the States, he notes, ‘This two CD set and lavishly illustrated accompanying booklet preserve the event in all its glory. The liner notes tell how the whole affair was miraculously pulled together and a group history is included in case you’re as confused as most.’

Swedish musician and writer Lars Nilsson wrote a number of Steeleye Span review over the years:

One key to Steeleye’s longevity may be the way the band is constantly delving into the unexpected. That was evident in their 2006 release Bloody Men, an offbeat two-disc set reviewed by Lars. ‘First of all I am a little puzzled by the choice of format. You get two CDs, yet it does not feel like a full double CD. The first one contains 10 songs, clocking in at just under 47 minutes. The second is a suite of songs about the Luddites, clocking in at 16 minutes.’

Lars also gives a track-by-track rundown of 2004’s They Called Her Babylon, heralded by their record company as a new classic. ‘Had this been released in the early 1970s it would have been a classic, but I would not put it above albums like Please to See the King, Below the Salt and Commoners Crown, but history will certainly rank it higher than All Around My Hat, Rocket Cottage, Sails of Silver and a few others.’

He also closely reviewed Steeleye’s Christmas album, 2004’s Winter. ‘In the sleeve notes Peter Knight writes: “I am so glad that Steeleye has at last recorded a Christmas album.” I share his joy, and I am sure you will too. If you are to buy a Christmas album this year this is the one. And even if you were not considering buying one, buy it anyway.’

And Lars also liked 2019’s Est’d 1969, which he paired with a review of Fairport Convention’s Shuffle and Go from 2020. ‘Steeleye Span base their repertoire on old folk songs. They love old ballads, though they rework both the lyrics and the music for them. There are four ballads here, all performed with the full power of drums, bass and electric guitars. “Old Matron” starts of with bouzouki and harmony vocals, but soon it turns heavy. Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) guests with some wild flute playing. Listen to the interludes with flute and bass in unison.’

Our man down under Michael Hunter, something of a Steeleye Span expert, has contributed a number of write-ups over the years:

Michael brought us word of a collector’s item, Steeleye Span & Maddy Prior’s A Rare Collection 1972-1996. ‘The basis of this release is two Australia-only releases from the early 1980s: a compilation called Recollections and a live album called On Tour (both released on Chrysalis and now deleted). This new set picks some of the choicest tracks from those LPs and adds more up-to-date rarities to provide a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining look at some of Steeleye’s more unusual moments.’

He had mixed feelings about 2009’s live CD/DVD set Live at a Distance. ‘Well, it’s Steeleye Span, they’ve been around for 40 years and they’re as popular as ever. When they play a delicate piece, it can be genuinely moving. When they rock out, it can be exhilarating. When they just coast along however, it’s OK but disappointing, and while there’s not an overwhelming amount of coasting altogether here, there’s a bit too much for comfort.’

He documented a couple of late ’70s records from the lineup that included Martin Carthy on guitar and John Kirkpatrick on accordion, the studio album Storm Force Ten and Live At Last, released just before the band called it quits for a while. ‘Recorded at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth just days before the final split in 1978, the live representation of this lineup shows further diversity in their repertoire, and the presence of an obviously enthusiastic audience helps prevent any perceived malaise in performance that some may see in the studio album.’

He gave a thoughtful review of their 1996 record Time, which presaged nearly a decade of constant lineup shifts in the band. ‘Taken on its own terms though, it’s easy to categorise this as one of Steeleye Span’s best efforts in their long career. Lyrics and song explanations are included in the booklet, for those of us who like to understand the meaning and rationale behind a song. Musically and thematically, the CD can be seen as not just one of the better illustrations of the band’s work but as a fine example of electric folk generally, for anyone needing an initiation.’

Michael was upbeat about Wintersmith, the band’s project undertaken with humorous fantasy author Terry Pratchett, himself no stranger to our pages. ‘Steeleye for their part have released one of the best albums of their near-45 year career, and one that fits into that oeuvre while sounding rather different to much of their previous discography.  It’s still folk-rock of course, with a pleasing emphasis on the rock side – but it’s quite an intense sound in many places in terms of playing, and certainly production.’

Michael also interviewed Maddy Prior during a solo tour of Australia, in which she touched briefly on Steeleye and talked a lot about traditional music and the way it changes. ‘It’s never been pure, it’s always taken from anywhere. It’s like if you listen to any of the Top Twenty in any year, there’s the most ridiculous combinations of songs. You think, “that wasn’t around at the same time as that,” some crass novelty piece and some wonderful song that soars and rages, and loads of stuff you’ve forgotten that’s just rubbish. Well, traditional music’s like that. It’s all there. There’s novelty, there’s rubbish, it really does reflect people. The tradition has no taste whatever, you know.’

In his review of Please to See the King No’am pointed out an important distinction between Steeleye and Fairport Convention. Fairport plays electric folk-rock, while Steeleye plays traditional folk music, electrified. ‘I would recommend this disk to anyone who is interested in traditional English music. Although this and its sibling Ten Map Mop were landmark records, I think that very little of their experimental sound has percolated through to any of the Steeleye line-ups, or to any other group of the British folk-rock genre.’

Peter Massey took in a 2002 Steeleye show in Southport, Lancashire, on the tour that provided material for their “best-of” record Present. ‘Every one of the thousand or so that were in the audience must have returned home feeling they had been very well entertained. One of the nicer touches of the concert was the appearance of Rose Kemp, daughter of Rick and Maddy who is only 17, but already showing promise as a fine singer – she is clearly being groomed for the ‘family business’. The teaming up of her voice with Maddy’s sounded excellent when she joined the band on stage to sing the chorus to a couple of numbers.’

Steve reviewed the double album Present: The Very Best of Steeleye Span with the tracks selected by fans via online poll. ‘All in all, as an older fan, it’s worth having just for the improved production values and new arrangements of some tracks – and the sentimental value, of course. Those new to Steeleye Span have a ready made collection here, too, which is always a good selling point.’

One of our earliest reviews of Steeleye came from guest writer Tony Wighton, who covered the band’s engagement at the Trinity Theatre and Arts Centre in Tunbridge Wells in October 1998, when the band were touring behind their latest release Horkstow Grange. ‘If I was going to make any criticism of the evening it would be that I would have liked to have heard more of the new album, and maybe a few more really old classics from years gone by, but I am nitpicking really. It was an excellent gig and a relief to know that Steeleye Span, despite a major upheaval, have lived to tell the tale, and here’s wishing them every success for a good few years to come.’

Reynard has a good find, the 40th Anniversary Souvenir Tour Guide from the band’s 2009 tour. ‘This Steeleye Span souvenir tour guide follows the format for pretty much every such publication over the past fifty or so years; a high gloss print job with lots of photographs and text covering the band. This one differs from the usual such offering by being a retrospective look at the band instead of focusing on the latest release which most of these publications rightfully do.’

The Horkstow Grange album gets mixed reviews but as Chuck pointed out in his review, the arrangement of the title song is superb. We don’t have a live version available, so here’s the official version.