TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Following on from the Ricahrd T advice thread, I'd be interested in some views as to the best Albions and related products.  To date I have the following in one format or another:

1. Morris On
2. No Roses
3. Battle of the Field
4. Rise Up..
5. 1990
6. Acousticity
6. Happy Accident

Any others highly recommended?  I know nothing of the AH solo albums and projects other than the Morris On series..

Many thanks..

for starters
you'll need "the prospect before us" and "son of morris on" (grandson and great grandson arnt essential unfortunately)
and any of the "albion band at the bbc" cds of which there are at least 3
they are the real deal

I completely agree with all of that!

Sway With Me.. AH & Judy Dunlop, early 90s, loverly!

I personally love Lark Rise to Candleford, as well as the AH/JK album, Compleat Dancing Master. Lark Rise is available on CD, but I'm not sure about the later.

Street Cries is a wonderful CD. Trad songs given a modern context. Some of it came out workshops in schools and the results make for excellent listening.

i thought street cries was a pigs ear of a record,it just didnt work for me at all

Yes, I have mixed feelings about that one as well. Some of it works, but not enough to make me want to recommend it.

Yes!

Lark Rise... great.  ...and there's some classic stuff on Compleat Dancing Master - e.g. the all too short folk rock moment that is Cuckolds All Awry

I have to skip all those bit of dialogue though... particular shame that Snow Falls is cut in half by some speaking!

BTW, the Compleat Dancing Master is on CD (and it's on Amazon)

Kicking up the sawdust is worth checking out too. You can't really go wrong with any Hutchings-related album from the 70s, although Rattlebone & ploughjack might be too esoteric for some! Also Amaranth by Shirley Collins features some good Albion-style arrangements.

I can't think of anything from Light shining onwards that I'd recommend, but that's probably because I'm mainly into the trad stuff. I can't get on with post-Swarb Fairport either..my loss, perhaps.

I loved Street Cries, especially the Pete Morton and the Steve Knightley contributions, now where did I leave it, must go and dig it out  for another listen.... not so sure about "Human Nature" though.

Demi Paradise.. loverly !!

Indeed - lots of gems. . .Young Man Cut Down in his Prime, My Secret Place, This Blessed Plot, Circle Round the Sun. . .(but NOT She Sings in The Kitchen: a little out of character with the rest of the CD).

I think one of Ashley's most accessible solo projects is By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept, either studio or live.

...and of course no collection is complete without the rock and roll album Twangin' 'n' A-Traddin' by the Ashley Hutchings Big Beat Combo

 :) i would also add to the recommendations of The Prospect, Gloucester Docks and Lark Rise, all definitely among the best.

I particularly also liked Stella Maris, I Got new Shoes , and The Wild Side of Town (with Chris Baines....very eco friendly)
I thought I liked Shuffle Off, but now hardly ever play it.

At Christmas time, why not try "A Christmas Present from the Albion Band", the first of several Christmas offerings over the years.
I reviewed this for Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Present-Albion-Band/dp/B0006FQ5TY/ref=sr_1_1/203-8765833-0998350?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190502484&sr=8-1


hope that helps

geoff

I like the Complete Dancing Master too - but I'm a sucker for all things seventeenth century and I am currently researching John Playford's role in clandestine Leveller/New Model Army printing, so its all very poignant to me.

Unfortunately the problem with a lot of the 80s albums, eg Gloucester Docks, Stella Maris, Wild Side Of Town etc, is that they were put out by Celtic Music (on various labels) and so therefore are likely to remain in a certain person's private collection rather than officially released anytime soon.

This is mentioned in the Vol.2 of AH's biography, along with the alleged lack of royalties paid etc...

mh

Thanks for the advice so far..as ever it seems everything ahs some merit!  I'm wondering about the styles of music on the various AH/AB etc albums I don't have.

For example No Roses is sort of from the same cloth as Liege and Lief, whereas Battle..is more traditional instrumental; Acosuticity is similar to acoustic Fairport and Happy Accident is similar to 80's/90's Fairport..

That whole Celtic Music issue is absurd - I remember reading that the certain person who has all these albums is refusing to reissue them on CD while stocks of the vinyl remain...Hmm..

I, too, am quite fond of BY GLOUCESTER DOCKS...  I have both the CD live version (on the "Road Goes On Forever" label) and the original vinyl studio version (on the "Paradise and Thorns" label), the latter picked up through eBay a few years ago.  The CD version has several added tracks.  One thing that struck me was what a nice job he did on an old American country music song, "Ninety Miles An Hour"; I thought "maybe he should try a whole album of country songs".

Also, I love his song "Wings" which is on HAPPY ACCIDENT and live on THE CROPREDY BOX (from the 1997 festival).  It's a great song telling the story of the inspiration and development of British folk rock music.

Cheers ///  Tom***

Another couple I quite like are the All Stars' As You Like It, and Kickin' Up The Sawdust. Although as I look at this list, other than some gaps here and there, it looks like damn near every album has been liked or deemed essential by everyone, which I think is just great!