Wintersmith is the twenty-second studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. It was released in October 2013. It features the line-up of Maddy Prior, Peter Knight, Rick Kemp, Julian Littman, Pete Zorn and Liam Genockey. Guest musicians are Terry Pratchett (voice), Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian pipes), Bob Johnson (vocals), and John Spiers (melodeon).
The songs on the album were inspired principally by Wintersmith and other Discworld books featuring Tiffany Aching. There is a spoken contribution by the author, Terry Pratchett.
A double CD Deluxe Edition was released in October 2014: the second disc featured a mixture of new tracks, live performances and demos.
Personnel Steeleye Span Maddy Prior – vocals Peter Knight – violin, vocals (except CD2, tracks 1–4) Jessie May Smart – violin on "deluxe version" CD2, tracks 1 to 4 Rick Kemp – bass, vocals Julian Littman – guitar, piano, vocals Pete Zorn – acoustic guitar, saxophone, vocals Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
with: John Spiers – melodeon Kathryn Tickell – Northumbrian pipes Bob Johnson – vocals Terry Pratchett – voice (spoken word)
Tracks
All tracks on the standard edition and the deluxe edition are written by Steeleye Span and Terry Pratchett. The primary credited writer (or writers) is noted below.
2013 Standard Edition
2014 Deluxe Edition
Tracks - Deluxe Edition Disc 2:
"To Be Human" "Be Careful What You Wish for" "Granny Aching" "Just One Heart" "You" (live) "Ancient Eyes" (live) "The Dark Morris Tune" (live) "The Dark Morris Song" (live) "The Making of a Man" (live) "Crown of Ice" (live) "Summer Lady" (live) "We Shall Wear Midnight" (live) "Ancient Eyes" (demo) "The Wee Free Men" (demo)
Chart performance
Wintersmith debuted at No. 77 on the UK Albums Chart.
Critical reception
The album received very positive reviews and has been described as "a marriage between the written word and music that is devastatingly superb."
Folk Radio UK hailed the release as "a concept album it has that feel of being made for a stage production".
References