Now We Are Six (50th Anniversary Edition)

With Nigel Pegrum added permanently as drummer, the group rocks out for the first time, and from the thumping tom-toms and snare on the opening track, "Thomas the Rhymer," and Bob Johnson's power chords, it's clear that this is a record with balls. Actually, Now We Are Six is still a folk-rock album, albeit with a beat. This was the first Steeleye Span album that many Americans heard and it's a pretty good place to start -- in fact, it might've been the group's very best album, if not for the presence of drivel such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "To Know Him Is to Love Him" (the latter featuring David Bowie on sax), which still leaves 33 very solid minutes of great music to savor. For all of their rocking natures, "Drink Down the Moon" and "Two Magicians" (which can be heard in its more traditional form on Martin Carthy's first album) capture the mystery and lustiness, respectively, of their hundreds-of-years-old source material magnificently; "Long-a-Growing" is one of Maddy Prior's finest vocal performances; and "The Mooncoin Jig" -- which is alive with richly textured guitar and mandolin -- is one of the greatest instrumental folk-rock tracks ever recorded, vibrant enough to get even the clumsiest up and dancing. ~ Bruce Eder