Son of Morris On by Ashley Hutchings

Son of Morris On is a British folk rock album released in 1976 under the joint names of Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, John Tams, Phil Pickett, Michael Gregory, Dave Mattacks, Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, John Watcham, John Rodd, The Albion Morris Men, Ian Cutler, and the Adderbury Village Morris Men. Like the previous Morris On (1972) and subsequent "Descendant Of" Morris On albums, it features English Morris dance tunes and songs, played with a combination of traditional instruments (concertina, melodeon, fiddle, etc.) and modern ones (electric guitar, bass, drums). In common with later records, dancers complete with bells and sticks were also included extensively in the sessions. In retrospect, Hutchings remarked that with Son Of Morris On it was 'attempted to move the Morris forward a little', compared with the Morris On album which featured 'very little dancing' and had a certain rawness to it, which Hutchings found developable and 'endearing' at the same time.A couple of Morris tunes had already been played by early incarnations of Ashley Hutchings' Albion Country Band. The coupling of Jockey To The Fair and Room For The Cuckoo was part of a Morris dance medley in 1972, which was framed by an acoustic and electric setting of Fieldtown Processional. A BBC recording of this medley appears on volume 2 of Ashley Hutchings' The Guv'nor compilation. Saturday Night and a version of Winster Processional (Furry Dance) were performed in the same year as well. The cover photo by Peter Vernon mirrors that of the original Morris On album with a photograph of the principal participants in morris-associated costume, but with modern accessories. The album was produced by Ashley Hutchings. It has been compared favourably with the original Morris On album. Paul Saunders in a review for the BBC Radio 2 website described it as 'a far more subtle and interesting affair'.