The Broadsword and the Beast

Bob Ezrin was the first choice of producer but withdrew for family reasons, and Keith Olsen, suggested by Chrysalis, did not last. Anderson then found Paul Samwell-Smith by looking under record producers in the Yellow Pages, and remembered him as a quiet, punctual gentleman. Only Beastie and Watching Me, Watching You survived from the earlier sessions. The band recorded about 20 songs and let Samwell-Smith and the label have a large hand in choosing them. The working title was Beastie, but in the end each side got its own name, Beastie and Broadsword. Some tracks use a drum machine, though Conway did most of the drumming.

Iain McCaig, a fan who later worked as a concept artist on Star Wars, painted the sleeve, and the runes around its edges spell out the opening lines of Broadsword. The album reached 27 in Britain, 19 in America and 14 in Germany. Reviews at the time were mostly unfavourable, with two stars from Rolling Stone, but Steve Hackett has named it one of his favourite albums. A 2005 reissue added eight bonus tracks, and the 2023 40th Anniversary Monster Edition brought a Steven Wilson remix, the 1981 sessions and a 1982 live set from Germany.