Ashley Hutchings, Rattlebone & Ploughjack

Island HELP 24 (1976)

re-mastered and re-released Beat Goes On BGO CD 353, 1997

Il disco, registrato nel 1973 e stampato nel 1976 su vinile, è stato da pochi anni ristampato su cd dalla BGO. E' diviso in due parti: A: Rattlebone (ballate delle contee Herefordshire, Shropshire e Worcestershire  del Galles) e B: Ploughjack (ballate  dei campi e delle paludi delle Midlands orientali). Nell'edizione del 1997 vi sono  note supplementari di John Tobler sul curriculum vitae di Ashley Hutchings, oltre ad una presentazione proprio di quest'ultimo. Si tratta  in generale di materiale didattico fatto di preziose registrazioni sul campo.

Tracks Side A:

Rattlebone ("Morris Dancing of the Wales Border Counties Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire")

Tracks Side B:

Ploughjack ("Molly Dancing of the Fens and Plough Customs of the East Midlands")

"Rattlebone"

- Unnamed reader: Reading from "Piers Plowman"

- John Locke (fiddle): unnamed hornpipe (historic recording by Cecil Sharp)

- Unnamed reader plus unnamed performer (pipe & tabor): Reading (re. Old Hall) plus tune "Jack Off The Green" (from William Preece)

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musicians (melodeon, concertina, tambourine): "Three Handed Reel" (from Beatrice Hill)

- Unnamed voices: unnamed carol (some similarities with "Christ Made a Trance")

- Unnamed reader: Reading from W. Kemp: "Old Meg of Herefordshire..."

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musicians (melodeon, bones, tambourine): unnamed hornpipe (from Stephen Baldwin) + dance from Brimfield

- Unnamed reader: Reading from "Shropshire Notes and Queries"

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musicians (anglo-concertina and tambourine): dance from Much Wenlock

- Unnamed singer and musician (vocal and banjo): "Om si the Gom" (Broseley Morris tune)

- Unnamed reader: Reading from Much Wenlock court records, 1652

- Unnamed musician (smallpipes or lowland bagpipe): "Not for Joe"/"Sheepskins" (latter is same tune as "Om si the Gom")

- Albion Morris (dancers) plus unnamed musicians (anglo-concertina, electric guitar, electric bass and drums): "Upton-Upon-Severn Stick Dance" (track previously released on The Electric Muse, musicians there identified as John Watcham, anglo-concertina; Simon Nicol, electric guitar; Ashley Hutchings, bass; Roger Swallow, drums)

"Ploughjack"

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musician (anglo-concertina): "Birds a'Building" dance (from Girton)

- Unnamed reader and unnamed voices: Reading plus "Hi Ninny Naw Nee" chant

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musicians (anglo-concertina and tambourine): "Smash the Window" dance (from Girton)

- Williamn Palmer (reader): Reading from own account of visit to Little Downham in 1933

- Unnamed voices: rhyme from Frank Beeton ("All of a Row" or similar)

- Unnamed dancers plus unnamed musicians (mouth organ and tambourine): "Cross-Hand Dance" to tune "Shave The Fiddle" (from Comberton)

- Unnamed reader plus unnamed musician (smallpipes or lowland bagpipe): Reading plus unnamed bagpipe tune

- Unnamed reader plus unnamed musician (fiddle) plus Cyril Papworth (dancer): Reading plus "Broom Dance" (from Comberton)

- Unnamed reader plus unnamed dancers plus unnamed musician (English concertina): Reading plus "College Hornpipe" dance to unnamed tune (from George Green)

- Unnamed reader: Reading from Folk-Lore Society Journal, 1909, re. Whittlesey Straw-Bear

- Unnamed musicians (melodeon, banjo and drum): unnamed tune from George Green.