Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: The King of Elfland's Daughter
Company: Chrysalis
Catalog: CHR 1137
Year: 1977
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6260
Price: $20.00
So let me get the personal baggage out of the way ... I'm not a big fantasy/fairytale novel fan. I actually read Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter while in high school, but as was the case with the Tolken trilogy, it just didn't make that much of an impression on me. I certainly enjoyed reading the book, but it didn't turn me into a lifelong fanatic.
Steeleye Span singer/guitarist Bob Johnson and multi-instrumentalist Pete Knight were obviously more taken with the book and in 1977 they pair turned their combined talents to adapting the book to LP format. Written and produced by the pair, "The King of Elfland's Daughter" featured a truly impressive list of participants, including P.P. Arnold (the Witch), Mary Hopkin (Lirazel), actor Christopher Lee in the role of the King of Elfland/narrator, and Frankie Miller (Alveric). So giving credit where due, Johnson and Knight actually did a pretty good job of turning the intricate novel/fairytale into an album. They obviously ran into some issues having to compress the story into the confines of a 40 minute LP. The basic plotline remained intact (mortal stalks and marries fairy, they parent a magic baby; mortal loses fairy, mortal spends large part of record looking for lost fairy, lovelorn mortal and fairy couple reunite and are happy forever ...), Okay, okay that was a gross simplification of the story, but if you're interested just buy the book. (It would be interesting to know what hardcore fans of the book thought about the LP ...) I'm guessing a double album set would have allowed Johnson and Knight to sketch in a bit more detail. 'Course you can imagine what Chrysalis Records management would have said to such a project. Anyhow, musically this sounded a bit like one of those mid-1970s Rick Wakeman concept albums, or perhaps something The Alan Parsons Project might have conjured up if they'd spent some time playing as an English folk-rock band. The plot was obviously rather intricate so at time you were left with the feeling Johnson and Knight spent more time on the lyrics than the music.
- 'The Request' opened the album opened up with Christopher Lee's instantly recognizable voice setting the stage for the forthcoming quest. The second part of the song featured Chris Farlowe as the ever-bitchin' crowd of villagers demanding that the Lord of Earl send his son Alveric off to Elfland to meet and marry Lirazel the Efl King's daughter. rating: ** stars
- Showcasing Mary Hopkin, 'Lirazel' had a suitable folk feel - very Steeleye Span-ish. Hearing Hopkin getting the intricate and extensive lyrics out has always made me smile. One of the prettier songs on the album with some nice instrumentation. rating: *** stars
- Of course every fairytale has to have a witch so enter P.P. Arnold. Besides Arnold's shrill vocal, my main problem with 'Witch' stemmed from the fact it had a very stage-show feel. Yeah, I guess it was a rock song, but it just felt very calculated, though that was obviously necessary since Alveric somehow had to lay his hands on a magic sword forged out of a thunderbolt. rating: ** stars
- Frankie Miller's always been one of my favorite singers and he sounded great on the pounding 'Alveric's Journey Through Elfland'. Yeah, the lyric (Alveric meets the Elf princess), was a little different than your standard Miller track, but this one surrounded him with a surprisingly rock-flavored arrangement. rating: *** stars
- An extended Christopher Lee spoken word segment (well, technically Lee actually tried to sing a little bit), you just knew happiness couldn't last in a fairytale and 'The Rune of the Elf King' served to underscore those sentiments ... Those damn humans; they destroy everything they touch (sadly a true statement). In case anyone cared, I believe a rune was something like a poem. rating: ** stars
- Alexis Korner as the Troll sent to retrieve the Elfland King's daughter ... not sure why that's always struck me as such a great choice. Musically this was the album's most interesting number. In spite of Korner's raw, gargled-with-sandpaper voice, this one was almost a pop song. rating: *** stars
- The first part of 'Just Another Day of Searching' surrounded Frankie Miller with a fragile string quartet. The result was a bit unsettling and seemed to go on about ten years (incidently the length of time Alveric spent searching for Lirahzel, but when the song actually got going and opened up into a slightly more pop structure, it turned into one of the album's prettiest performances. rating: *** stars
- Derek Brimstone (a total unknown to me) was featured on 'Too Much Magic'. A breezy, sing-along track complete with a children's chorus, this was probably the album's most outright commercial offering. rating: *** stars
- Okay, okay, there's a happy ending with The King of Elfland using the last of his powers to reunited Lirazel and Alveric, in the process apparently annexing the land of Erl in Elfland. Abandoning her pained-little-girl voice for a somewhat more muscular performance, Hopkin actually sounded pretty good on this one. rating: *** stars
The album was actually tapped for a couple of singles. Credited to The Elfland Ensemble, in the UK the choice was:
- 1977's 'Too Much Magic' b/w 'Lizarel' (Chrysalis catalog number CHS 2151)
Credited to Chris Farlowe and Mary Hopkin, in Holland the choice was:
- 1977's 'The Request' b/w 'Lizarel' (Chrysalis catalog number 11 346)
So try to remember that the mid-1970s were a time of punk aggression and quirky excess . This one definitely fits in the quirky category. Probably not something most folks would want to hear on a regular basis, but it's certainly as good as most of Rick Wakeman's catalog ...
"The King of Elfland's Daughter" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Request (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 3:23
2.) Lirazel (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 4:11
3.) Witch (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 3:35
4.) Alveric's Journey Through Elfland (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 4:57
(side 2)
1.) The Rune of the Elf King (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 3:59
2.) The Coming of the Troll (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 1:53
3.) Just Another Day of Searching (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 5:09
4.) Too Much Magic (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 3:58
5.) We Know (Bob Johnson - Pete Knight) - 4:29
