Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band was the pairing of British folk s… Read Full Bio ↴Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band was the pairing of British folk singer Shirley Collins and British folk ensemble Albion Country Band.
When their album was first released in 1971, it was regarded as adventurous, combining a traditional English singer with 25 musicians, some from a folk background, other from the fields of contemporary rock and early music. It was an experiment which grew into a triumph, and sprang from the talents of Shirley Collins and Ashley Hutchings, both pioneers of their own right, in the first year of their marriage.
Collins, widely regarded as the doyenne of English traditional folk singers, had recorded her first album in 1959 for the highly respected American Folkways label, and subsequent albums were regarded as milestones, notably Folk Roots, New Routes made in 1964 with guitarist Davy Graham and Anthems in Eden, made with her sister Dolly in 1969 - the first album to unite traditional songs with early instruments, under the musical direction of David Munrow.
Hutchings, a founder member of Fairport Convention, had left that pioneering band at the end of 1969, after recording Fairport's seminal Liege and Lief, and, still hooked on traditional music, had then launched Steeleye Span.
No Roses was the album they made together, and Collins still remembers it with pleasure: “It was my first venture into folk/rock and I suppose initially I didn't think my voice was right for it. Whatever accompaniments I've used, I've always sung in my own style, my natural singing voice, which is an extension of my speech. So it was the arrangements that overlaid the songs that gave the record it folk/rock feel. I've always been willing to experiment providing I believe I can keep the integrity of the music intact. That's paramount. I have a great love of English traditional music, and along with it a great respect for those people of the labouring classes who kept the songs going through the centuries as their only means of expressing themselves. It is an extraordinary feat, especially as many of them were illiterate. They've never been given enough credit or respect for their art. Instead, they've been scorned, despised and largely ignored. It's one reason why I've always named my sources. I trust that No Roses had that integrity, as well as strength and beauty in some of the arrangements and a great sense of fun and charm in others.”
Looking at No Roses with the benefit of hindsight, one presumes that Ashley and Sandy (Roberton, co-producer with Hutchings) were determined to make an epic album. “No, we didn't set out with that intention, but as the album progressed, the possibilities of what we could do became more and more apparent. At the start we didn't anticipate having 26 musicians on it, but that's how it finally turned out. There was never any conflict between the Fairport people and the other musicians. They were open-minded and interested in what others were doing anyway, and there was certainly a good feeling in the studio (Sound Techniques). The place was full of people who kept dropping in and staying on and asking to play on songs - just happy to be there. Nobody seemed baffled by what anyone else was doing, just a bit bemused perhaps by the variety of esoteric instruments that were coming in and out of the studio.”
“The critical reaction was pretty good - on the whole! One or two snipers, of course.” No Roses marked the debut of The Albion Country Band. The Albion Band continues to be the name used by bands led by Ashley Hutchings, although it was a name coined for use on this album. “We realised that with all those musicians it would probably be a good idea to give them a collective name and that was the one we came up with.”
So why was there never a second album? “I had two children from my first marriage, and we'd all moved to Etchingham in the Sussex countryside. I'd been touring all my singing life, away from home too much, and I wanted to be with Polly and Robert more, so I let my own career slip a bit, for the best of reasons. Ashley had formed a touring bend with the first of many line-ups and used the Albion name, and all our efforts went into trying to keep that going. When Ashley and I eventually parted, he took the Albion Band with him. No Roses stayed with me.”
- Shirley Collins
When their album was first released in 1971, it was regarded as adventurous, combining a traditional English singer with 25 musicians, some from a folk background, other from the fields of contemporary rock and early music. It was an experiment which grew into a triumph, and sprang from the talents of Shirley Collins and Ashley Hutchings, both pioneers of their own right, in the first year of their marriage.
Collins, widely regarded as the doyenne of English traditional folk singers, had recorded her first album in 1959 for the highly respected American Folkways label, and subsequent albums were regarded as milestones, notably Folk Roots, New Routes made in 1964 with guitarist Davy Graham and Anthems in Eden, made with her sister Dolly in 1969 - the first album to unite traditional songs with early instruments, under the musical direction of David Munrow.
Hutchings, a founder member of Fairport Convention, had left that pioneering band at the end of 1969, after recording Fairport's seminal Liege and Lief, and, still hooked on traditional music, had then launched Steeleye Span.
No Roses was the album they made together, and Collins still remembers it with pleasure: “It was my first venture into folk/rock and I suppose initially I didn't think my voice was right for it. Whatever accompaniments I've used, I've always sung in my own style, my natural singing voice, which is an extension of my speech. So it was the arrangements that overlaid the songs that gave the record it folk/rock feel. I've always been willing to experiment providing I believe I can keep the integrity of the music intact. That's paramount. I have a great love of English traditional music, and along with it a great respect for those people of the labouring classes who kept the songs going through the centuries as their only means of expressing themselves. It is an extraordinary feat, especially as many of them were illiterate. They've never been given enough credit or respect for their art. Instead, they've been scorned, despised and largely ignored. It's one reason why I've always named my sources. I trust that No Roses had that integrity, as well as strength and beauty in some of the arrangements and a great sense of fun and charm in others.”
Looking at No Roses with the benefit of hindsight, one presumes that Ashley and Sandy (Roberton, co-producer with Hutchings) were determined to make an epic album. “No, we didn't set out with that intention, but as the album progressed, the possibilities of what we could do became more and more apparent. At the start we didn't anticipate having 26 musicians on it, but that's how it finally turned out. There was never any conflict between the Fairport people and the other musicians. They were open-minded and interested in what others were doing anyway, and there was certainly a good feeling in the studio (Sound Techniques). The place was full of people who kept dropping in and staying on and asking to play on songs - just happy to be there. Nobody seemed baffled by what anyone else was doing, just a bit bemused perhaps by the variety of esoteric instruments that were coming in and out of the studio.”
“The critical reaction was pretty good - on the whole! One or two snipers, of course.” No Roses marked the debut of The Albion Country Band. The Albion Band continues to be the name used by bands led by Ashley Hutchings, although it was a name coined for use on this album. “We realised that with all those musicians it would probably be a good idea to give them a collective name and that was the one we came up with.”
So why was there never a second album? “I had two children from my first marriage, and we'd all moved to Etchingham in the Sussex countryside. I'd been touring all my singing life, away from home too much, and I wanted to be with Polly and Robert more, so I let my own career slip a bit, for the best of reasons. Ashley had formed a touring bend with the first of many line-ups and used the Albion name, and all our efforts went into trying to keep that going. When Ashley and I eventually parted, he took the Albion Band with him. No Roses stayed with me.”
- Shirley Collins
06-Just As The Tide Was A Flowin'
Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Shirley Collins & The Albion Country Band:
Claudy Banks 'Twas on a summer's evening all in the month of…
Murder Of Maria Marten COME all you thoughtless young men, a warning Take by me, An…
Poor Murdered Woman It was Hankey the Squire as I′ve heard men say Who…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Shirley Collins:
Archangel Hill A county mazed by winding lanes Fields ever freshened by the…
Barbara Allen It was round and about last Martinmas tide When the green…
Bonnie Boy I once loved a boy, a bonny, bonny boy And I…
False True Love Come in come in you old true love And chat for…
Hand and Heart Come my love, my only love, and you’re the best…
Hares On The Mountain Oh Sally my dear, it’s you I’d be kissing Oh Sally…
High and Away High-o, high and away, tell me the tricks a tornado…
How Far is it to Bethlehem? Is it far to Bethlehem? Not very far Shall we find…
Lost In A Wood My dears, don’t you know how a long time ago…
My Bonny Bonny Boy As I roved out one May morning, all in the…
Oakham Poachers It was on last February Against our laws contrary Three brot…
Space Girl My mama told me I should never venture into space. But…
Streets of Derry And after morning there comes an evening, And after evening …
The Babes in the Woods My dears, don’t you know how a long time ago…
The Bonny Irish Boy As I roved out one May morning, all in the…
The Captain With The Whiskers They marched through the streets with their banners so gay…
The False True Love Come in come in you old true love And chat for…
The Golden Glove A wealthy young squire near Yarmouth did dwell He courted…
The irish Girl As I rode out one morning down by the riverside, I…
The Oakham Poachers It was on last February Against our laws contrary Three brot…
The Streets Of Derry And after morning there comes an evening, And after evening…
Turpin Hero On Hounslow Heath as I rode o'er I spied a lawyer…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@Erythrosin
I'm still convinced this is an East Anglian song. Beautifully recorded by Shirley.
@mustafa1name
This was featured, uncredited, on "David Attenborough and the natural history of folk" on radio 2 last week. So glad I managed to track it down. The recorder arrangement is just perfect for the song. Outstanding musicality: direct to the heart and unforgettable.
@NigelDraper-vu6ns
Flute organ rather than recorder, surely? (Dolly Collins being the only person I've ever heard of that played one)
@mustafa1name
Thanks for your correction Nigel. According to Wikipedia Dolly Collins played a portative organ which I'm guessing is another name for flute organ? One things sure - it's a beautiful haunting sound.