Morris On - Morris On

A beautiful, authentically rustic album, without a trace of elegance, and hardly even an effort at smoothing over the rough spots. The music and the performances have a quiet power and dignity, and a raw, direct nature that is extremely appealing. The record opens up in haunting fashion with Barry Dransfield's fiddle on "Morris Call," and from there things get wilder and woollier, with some downright funny moments as well (check out the false opening on "Princess Royal"). Shirley Collins appears as a guest vocalist on "Staines Morris" and "The Willow Tree," and the Chingford Morrismen do stick dances on two tracks as well. John Kirkpatrick's accordion, concertina, and harmonium are the dominant accompanying instruments. None of this was a threat to Fairport or Steeleye Span's success, but all of it is valuable to fans of either band, and the album does have a raw energy that Fairport began losing after 1972 -- and "Cuckoo's Nest" alone is almost worth the price of the album, recalling the kind of funny, cheerfully lusty recordings of A.L. Lloyd and sparked by some of Richard Thompson's best playing from this period. Oh, and the compact disc has it all over the original British LP, all copies of which suffer from noisy pressings. [Originally released on LP in 1972, Morris On was reissued on a U.K. CD in 2003.] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Name Credits Ashley Hutchings Liner Notes, Guitar (Bass), Vocals, Arranger Barry Dransfield Arranger, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle Bert Cleaver Pipe, Tabor, Arranger Dan Morris ? Dave Mattacks Drums, Tambourine, Arranger Denis Blackham Mastering John Kirkpatrick Tambourine, Vocals, Accordion, Button Accordion, Concertina, Anglo Concertina, Harmonium, Arranger John Wood Producer, Engineer Keith Morris Photography Morris On Performer, Group Ray Worman Dancer Richard Thompson Guitar (Electric), Arranger, Vocals Shirley Collins Vocals Shirley Hutchings Vocals Tim Chacksfield Research, Project Coordinator