Spiral Staircase is Ralph McTell’s second album, recorded in late 1968 and released on Transatlantic Records (TRA 177) in 1969. Gus Dudgeon produced it, Tom Allom engineered it at Regent Sound, and Mike Vickers wrote the orchestral arrangements; Brian Gascoigne was musical director.
The album opens with “Streets of London.” McTell had left the song off his debut, Eight Frames a Second, because he thought it too depressing, and recorded it only after Dudgeon persuaded him; it was taken in one take with McTell on guitar and voice. A re-recorded version reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart in 1974 and won McTell an Ivor Novello Award.
McTell plays guitar and sings throughout. The Famous Jug Band joins him on “Last Train and Ride” and the title track, with Brian Brocklehurst on double bass, Henry Bartlett on jug, Mick Bennett on washboard and Pete Berryman on second guitar. Of the thirteen tracks, all but two are McTell’s own: “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” is by Robert Johnson and “(My) Baby Keeps Staying Out All Night Long” by Buddy Moss. “Rizraklaru” is an anagram of “Rural Karzi.” Peter Thaine designed the sleeve, and Ben Klein wrote the liner notes.
Tracklist
- 1 Streets of London alt version 4:09
- 2 Mrs Adlam's Angels 2:44
- 3 Wino and the Mouse 1:01
- 4 England 1914 3:05
- 5 Last Train and Ride 2:33
- 6 The Fairground 4:08
- 7 Spiral Staircase 3:32
- 8 Kindhearted Woman Blues 2:44
- 9 Bright and Beautiful Things 1:55
- 10 Daddy's Here 4:21
- 11 Rizraklaru (Anag.) 1:45
- 12 (My) Baby Keeps Staying Out All Night Long 1:53
- 13 Terminus 1:54
- 14 Spiral Staircase (Revisited Version) 3:09
- 15 Last Train and Ride (Revisited Version) 2:31
- 16 The Fairground (Revisited Version) 3:54
- 17 Terminus (Revisited Version) 1:54
