The full title of this CD as it appears on the front of the booklet is, (pause for deep breath)… Street Cries: A collection of dark traditional songs re-set in the present day by Ashley Hutchings, sung by Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Steve Knightley, Cara Dillon, Dick Gaughan, Helen Watson, Vin Garbutt, Judy Dunlop, Dave Burland, Kathryn Roberts (with Equation), John Tams, June Tabor, Pete Morton and Nesreen Shah.
A big jug full of the cream of British folk vocalists, a hugely impressive supporting crew of instrumental talent, and the kind of exhaustively high quality packaging that we’s come to expect from Topic. Time then, to get to grips with the concept, because Ashley Hutchings does like his concepts, and he likes this one an awful lot.
Ashley’s been re-writing traditional songs for quite some time now, and claims “West Side Story,” and Bob Dylan as his original inspirations. During the nineties he began working collaboratively with Roger Watson who was using the same idea as the basis for schools and community arts projects in the South of England. It was Ashley’s experience during the schools‚ work that young people “find it hard to connect with the language of the songs. Not the timeless tales, but the style in which they are presented.”
Given the second part of that statement of intent, it’s slightly surprising to find the opening track, “Doing time to fit your Crime,” performed by Coope, Boyes & Simpson with John Tams. It’s an effective re-write of “Gaol Song,” superbly sung, but I’m not convinced that a male a cappella harmony group is going to effectively challenge any negative perceptions of folk song style.
Pete Morton’s up next with “Damn the day (Adieu, Adieu).” Perhaps Hutchings doesn’t go far enough in this lyrical update (how many times do people say “which makes me now to lament…” in conversation?) but Morton’s chunky guitar and urgent vocal delivery (backed by Joe Broughton’s fiddle), make this a small quibble, and the song really motor. I heard a comedian interviewed on radio this week discussing what makes for an effective joke. He said that it’s either a person telling a funny story, or a funny person telling a story. The funny person’s always the winner. Pete Morton makes the song as “present day” as he is.
Cara Dillon is the “voice of the moment” in the UK. She entirely justifies her reputation with “He’s young but he’s Growing,” which finds her cast by Hutching’s lyric as a young mother forced by parental pressure into marriage with a sixteen-year old boy who dies of a drug overdose. The genuine youthfulness of Dillon’s voice provides an aura of tragic authenticity, while the virtuoso musicianship of Sam and Seth Lakeman contributes enormously to fine piece of work all round.
If Ashley Hutchings truly is “The Guv’nor,” what does that make Dick Gaughan? Rather than going into raptures about his interpretation of “Young Henry Martin,” you can read my review of his Outlaws & Dreamers, and take it as read that it’s “the same to you with brass knobs on.”
“Salford Girls,” sung by Helen Watson takes the CD into jazz cabaret lounge territory while transporting the action of “Come all you Virginia Girls,” into Northern England. It’s not among my personal favourites, but it’s a bolder stylistic shift than most, and plenty of folks will love it.
“He ran out of Road,” is a duet between Judy Dunlop and John Tams, and utilises the narrative device of Dunlop singing her side of the story in Victorian times, while Tams stays in the twenty-first century. This is one that stuck in the memory from the first hearing and also features Phil Beer demonstrating why he’s regarded so highly as a guitarist. Beer’s regular musical partner Steve Knightley tackles the following “Endless Pages (Bold Poachers).” Like Gaughan and Morton, Knightley is blessed with an immediately identifiable sound, right from the chugging mandocello intro. I’m sure that I’ve used the adjective “soaring,” in relation to Knightley’s vocals before, but he soars here all right, as does Pete Zorn’s sax.
Kathryn Roberts & Equation seldom seem to get the critical plaudits given to their illustrious former members (Kate Rusby, Cara Dillon). Their performance of “A drummer won my Love,” (Drumming being a perceptively similar activity to blacksmithing!) suggests that they’re well worth investigating further as Roberts is a tremendous singer, and Equation are a very fine group indeed.
Full marks to Mr. Hutchings for pitching “Three jolly Burglars,” to Vin Garbutt, whose highly individual voice rolls and tumbles through the robust lyrics with irrepressible glee. Vin’s followed by another “veteran” English club performer Dave Burland, whose voice is as comfortable and familiar as a favourite armchair on “The shape of a Girl (The Foggy Dew).” I could have done without the string arrangement, but that’s not to say that it isn’t extremely well done.
“These Cold Lips,” is a re-write of “All things are quite Silent,” and is particularly notable for not being a Hutchings lyric. This version was composed by Minna Harris and Rose Tolhurst, two fourteen-year-olds who participated in one of Hutchings‚ and Watson’s school workshops. The pressgang of the original are replaced by a gang of youths committing a street attack outside a Reading (Berkshire), pub. Strangely enough, a friend of mine (who has also been involved in music teaching at the girls‚ school) was himself the victim of a street attack in Reading two years ago. He was badly bruised; but the poor chap in the song doesn’t fare so fortunately. A poignant song for me then, sung with typical menace by June Tabor.
The CD closes with “I’m A Poor Dress Maker (Four-Loom Weaver),” a tabla- driven version sung by Nesreen Shah which neatly highlights both the exploitation, and enormous contribution of Britain’s Asian community in industries such as textiles.
So, is this CD a success? That all depends on the listener’s expectations. If, as some commentators here are suggesting, the question is “will this CD turn more young people onto folk music?” then no, sadly, it won’t. If, however, the question is “will people follow Hutchings‚ exhortation, “off you go to write your own songs,” then I really hope so. Either way, it’s a very fine collection of recordings from some of our very best talents. I’ll be playing this one a lot.
(Topic, 2001)
