“Please to See the King is the second album by Steeleye Span, released in 1971. A major personnel change following their previous effort, Hark! The Village Wait, brought about a substantial change in their overall sound, including a lack of drums and the replacement of one female vocalist with a male vocalist. The band even reprised a song from their debut, “The Blacksmith”, with a strikingly different arrangement making extensive use of syncopation. Re-recording songs would be a minor theme in Steeleye’s output over the years, with the band eventually releasing an entire album of reprises, Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span. The title of the album is derived from the ‘Cutty Wren’ ceremony. A wren in a cage is paraded as if it were a king. This rite was carried out on 26 December, Saint Stephen‘s Day, and is connected to…