Customer Reviews
King Henry! - By: Hugh Evans, 17 Jun 2008 
This album tends to get shamelessly blasted out of my car stereo at full volume a lot. And whyever not? In my opinion it is the best Steeleye Span album & it never gets old.
The album has a medieval feel to it which it exudes from beginning to end: from the perfect instruments & voicesin songs such as Royal Forester & Rosebudin June to the familiar Gaudete. However, the highlight for me above all others on the album is the rip-roaring, unaccompanied verse:
"Let never a man a wooing wend that lacketh things three:
A store of gold, an open heart & full of charity.
And this was seen of King Henry as he lay quite alone,
For it's taken him to a haunted hall, seven miles from the town....."
As soon as you hear this, you can tell that King Henry is a fantastic song. Over seven minutes long yet it never slows down. If you love Steeleye Span, you should have this album. If you're getting into them, get this album. It's an excellent place to start.
Salt still hasn't lost it's savour - By: L O'connor, 19 Jan 2007 It's over thirty years now since I first listened to this album, yet it still charms me. My favourite track is probably the enchanting 'Gaudete', & I also love the dramatic ballads 'King Henry' & 'Royal Forester'. 'Rosebudsin June' is charmingly pastoral, & charming too is the delightful drinking song 'John Barleycorn'.
The only thing that is slightly less enchanting now is that the size of the CD means that the wonderful cover art that was so gorgeous on the LP is shrunken to insignificance, but you can't have everything. The music is as good as ever, & that's the main thing.
One of their best - By: Sheila Bloom, 29 Nov 2006 This is an absolutely stunning album & a great starting off point for those not familiar with Steeleye and,in particular, Maddy Pryor.
My particular favorite is the a cappella Guadate. It ends on a stunning note with Saucy Sailor, simply & quietly with beautiful guitar work.
I highly recommend this cd.
The best Steeleye Span album - By: Mr. R. W. Woodward, 25 Oct 2006 Having listened to Steeleye Span as a child (at my mother's knee) I hadn't listened to them for about 20 years until I picked up a "best of" album about 10 years ago & got back into them. Since then I have bought the first 7 albums & listened to them all a great deal, but Below the Salt stands out from the others as being their best effort. I think it is the most consistentin terms of quality of songs. It's not that I don't like the other albums, but they all have one or two tracks that shouldn't been put on the album. Below the Salt doesn't have one bad song on it. Finally, this album is probably also the last album they did before they went full on folk-rock with drums & what-have-you.
Below the Salt - By: , 11 Mar 2003 
I don`t see what all the fuss is about. Below the Salt is a good album & Steeleye Span were probably the bestin their genre, but then there wasn`t a lot of competition, was there.
None of the tracks here are bad. All are pleasing enough to the ear, but there`s not that much to get *ecstatic* over.
I`ve heard better versions of John Barleycorn, & Saucy Sailor is equally bland, & the uninteresting instrumental ending is way too long.
I much prefer Parcel of Rogues to this album.
