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VARIOUS ARTISTS - PRODUCED BY ASHLEY HUTCHINGS
Great Grandson Of Morris On
Talking Elephant TECD062
"No more!" was Ashley's cry after Grandson Of Morris On. Yet a mere two years later, the irrepressible Mr Hutchings dusts off the perambulator and proudly wheels out his English dance music dynasty's fourth generation. Just like its predecessors (1972's Morris On, 1976's Son Of..., 2002's Grandson...), the new sprog positively bounces with energy, jolly tunefulness and the jingling and capering of some of the finest legs in the land.
Central to the customary cast of thousands, the Guv'nor's current core team boasts Roger Wilson, Simon Care, Ken Nicol and Guy Fletcher. A curiously under-fêted singer, Wilson does a fine vocal job on Hutchings/Nicol originals At The May Day Celebrations and The Field And The Farm (in which we hear the voice of the morris hanky!) while Nicol takes the honours on the brass-fuelled Every Year When The Wakes Come Along. Standout song, though, is the poignant First Day At t'Mill: words by Mabel F Harrison, tune by Bernard Wrigley, accapella vox by Judy Dunlop. It segues into The Godley Hill Set where the clogs of women's side Yorkshire Chandelier signal a welcome broadening of the morris spectrum beyond the Cotswolds.
It's the tunes, though, that really grab the ear, jiggle the feet and continue to vindicate Hutchings' original inspiration. Special guests John Spiers and Jon Boden mesmerisingly fiddle, squeeze and stomp through Banbury Bill and Shepherds' Hey, John Shepherd is a one-man-consort on London Pride and The Rose and Neil Wayne's concertina drives another good northern tune, Winster Morris Reel. Outside Capering Crew and Dog Rose Morris (honourable mention to the latter's fiddler Bryony Griffith for a lovely Swaggering Boney and other contributions) have a grand time.
According to Hutchings, this is "beyond any shadow of a doubt the last album in the series". Hopefully that means the next one will be a cousin ...
Mel McClellan - April 2004
See also:
Ashley Hutchings and Various Artists: Son Of Morris On
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Folk & Acoustic
