Shirley Collins | ||
| Allmusic Biography : A pivotal figure in Britains early-60s folk revival and subsequent folk-rock heyday, Shirley Collins influence on these movements, and folk music at large, cannot be understated. With her pure, unaffected vocal tone and Sussex accent, she first launched her recording career in the late 50s, adapting the pastoral folk songs of her rural upbringing for simple banjo accompaniment before partnering with famed musicologist Alan Lomax on his song-collecting journey through the American South, a trip that produced a now-legendary collection of blues and folk field recordings. Collins bold spirit and eclecticism truly began to flourish with the pioneering jazz-folk fusion of her 1964 album with guitarist Davy Graham, Folk Roots, New Routes, followed a few years later with a sequence of albums recorded with her sister, keyboardist and arranger Dolly Collins, which explored medieval fare and helped launch British folk-rocks golden age. During her marriage to Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span founder Ashley Hutchings, she was backed by many of the scenes brightest stars on one of folk-rocks truly seminal works, the 1971 album No Roses. After struggling with the loss of her voice, she stepped away from music for several decades, though over time her legacy was embraced by succeeding generations of musicians including Billy Bragg, Alasdair Roberts, and David Tibet, the latter of whom was instrumental in helping Collins music find an audience in the 21st century. Near the end of 2016, Collins 38-year hiatus was finally broken with the release of her critically acclaimed album Lodestar. Shirley Collins upbringing in the tightly knit working-class community of Hastings, East Sussex ingrained in her a deep affection for those traditional folk and work songs set among the bucolic English countryside. She recognized at a young age her preference for songs delivered in a humble, unpretentious manner and naturally developed her own unaffected vocal tone similar to what shed grown up hearing. After a brief time studying at a teachers training college in South London, she involved herself in the budding 50s folk scene, researching songs at the Cecil Sharp House and establishing herself among the citys major players. At a party hosted by Ewan MacColl, with whom she briefly played in the Ramblers, she met and became romantically involved with American folklorist Alan Lomax, who was living in London at the time. Her first recordings arrived in quick succession in the late 50s and included a series of EPs and the albums Sweet England (1958) and False True Lovers (1960), all of which were performed solo accompanied only by her banjo. During this period she also traveled with Lomax to the American South, where together they spent a year capturing the blues, gospel, and folk field recordings that would later become known as the highly influential Southern Journey series. After she and Lomax parted ways, Collins returned to England and resumed her career, marrying Austin John Marshall, a producer, songwriter, and graphic artist who was a key player in Londons folk and jazz scenes at the time. Through Marshall she was introduced to British guitarist Davy Graham, and the two joined forces on the groundbreaking 1964 album Folk Roots, New Routes. For purists, the albums unusual jazz-folk fusion was a polarizing concept, but it ultimately served as a pioneering work and precursor to the coming British folk-rock movement. Although she and her older sister Dolly had grown up singing and playing together, they had gone their separate ways as adults, with Dolly studying piano and composition under Alan Bush and immersing herself in the classical world. In 1967, the two sisters joined forces on the first of several influential recordings together. Although credited solely to Shirley, The Sweet Primroses was a true collaboration, with Dollys ethereal accompaniment on portative organ adding a strange new dimension to Shirleys traditional repertoire. The Power of the True Lovers Knot followed in 1968, again with help from Dolly, as well as members of the Incredible String Band. In 1969, the same year that folk-rock began to crest in the U.K. mainstream, Shirley & Dolly Collins made their official debut as a duo with Anthems in Eden on Harvest Records. While Pentangle had made the jump to electric guitars and the already-electric Fairport Convention had finally ditched their American influences for traditional British ones, the Collins Sisters headed somewhere else entirely, working with the Early Music Consort of London on an elegant and ornate medieval folk suite heavy on harpsichords, crumhorns, and recorders. A favorite of BBC DJ John Peels, Anthems in Eden was followed a year later by a sparser companion album, Love, Death and the Lady, which employed many of the same musicians. Her marriage to Marshall having ended, Shirley became involved with Ashley Hutchings, Fairport Conventions bassist who had recently left the group to start Steeleye Span which he also then left. They soon married and Hutchings organized a folk-rock supergroup called the Albion Country Band to back Collins on a new project. Released in 1971, No Roses was certainly the biggest production of Collins career to date, boasting a total of 27 musicians that included names like Mike and Lal Waterson, Richard Thompson, Maddy Prior, Nic Jones, and most of Fairport Conventions lineup. It marked the first time Collins music had gone electric and stands as a truly seminal work within the British folk-rock canon. The scene now in full bloom, Collins and Hutchings collaborated on a variety of projects during the first half of the 70s, including Hutchings folk-rock take on Morris dancing, Morris On, and an acoustic project called the Etchingham Steam Band. A pair of solo albums, 1974s Adieu to Old England and 1976s Amaranth, were followed by what would end up being her last recorded collaboration with Dolly, 1978s winsome and minimalist For as Many as Will. Meanwhile, the Albion Country Band continued to perform and record occasionally with Shirley acting as part-time vocalist, issuing a second Morris offering in 1976s Son of Morris On, as well as 1977s The Prospect Before Us. At the end of the decade, with folk musics popularity on the wane and her marriage to Hutchings over, Collins quietly left the music scene, a decision hastened by her increasing struggles with dysphonia, a vocal condition that frequently left her unable to sing. Throughout the 80s and much of the 90s, Collins remained out of the public eye, raising the children from her first marriage and working various non-musical jobs. Over time, her musical legacy was uncovered by another generation and she found a particularly enthusiastic champion in British musician David Tibet of the experimental folk band Current 93. Through his label, Durto, Tibet released a 1992 compilation of Collins solo work called Fountain of Snow and a 1998 album that collected two 1978 live performances from Shirley & Dolly Collins. Shirley also provided guest vocals to several Current 93 songs throughout the 90s, which constituted her first recorded appearances since the 70s. Heading into the 21st century, Collins music once again began attracting new fans with U.K. label Fledgling Records reissuing most of her back catalog and curating the 2002 box set Within Sound. Two years later, Collins published a memoir of her late-50s journey with Lomax through the American South titled America Over the Water. Over the coming years she continued to re-engage with the public, touring a trio of illustrated talks with actor Pip Barnes based on different eras of her career. Although her dysphonia remained a going concern, she had spent decades working to overcome it with the hope of being able to sing consistently again. Quietly recording at her cottage with a small group of hand-chosen musicians led by Oysterbands Ian Kearney, Collins finally emerged with her first new album in 38 years. Released in 2016 by Domino Records, Lodestar was a critical success and marked the improbable return of an artist who at 81 years old remained as vital and exploratory as she was in her prime. The accolades continued the following year with the release of the documentary film The Ballad of Shirley Collins. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 21 Title: Sweet England Released: 1959 Tracks: 18 Duration: 45:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sweet England (02:39) 2 Hares on the Mountain (01:36) 3 Hori-Horo (01:42) 4 The Bonny Irish Boy (01:36) 5 The Tailor & The Mouse (02:01) 6 The Lady & The Swine (01:34) 7 Turpin Hero (02:36) 8 The Cuckoo (01:47) 9 The Bonny Labouring Boy (04:19) 10 The Cherry Tree Carol (03:45) 11 Sweet William (03:23) 12 Omie Wise (03:58) 13 Blackbirds & Thrushes (01:40) 14 A Keeper Went Hunting (01:49) 15 Polly Vaughan (02:41) 16 Pretty Saro (02:05) 17 Barbara Allen (03:20) 18 Charlie (02:36) |
| Sweet England : Allmusic album Review : The first CD reissue of Shirley Collins debut album, recorded when she was 23, and still uncertain of herself. The album received a critical walloping on release, and it took another few years before Collins felt ready to record again (successfully, this time, in tandem with Davey Graham). It took a good decade before Sweet England itself began to be accepted as a key recording in the folk revival. Its easy to understand why the record struck an unsympathetic note -- Collins vocal approach has a fragile, almost maudlin quality to it, presenting a raw sadness even when the songs themselves are light-hearted. Combine that with the bare arrangements, which depend on simple five-string banjo, and the result is a difficult listen -- the immediacy of much of the work being done in the folk revival is missing; Sweet England demands repeated listening, which becomes hard work indeed. Ironically, however, Collins approach has more in keeping with folk tradition than many of the folk revival performers (one of the closer comparisons might well be A.L. Lloyd, another performer who was often not immediate in his impact.) Topic has cleaned up the master recordings as best they can; listeners will notice some flaws, and a very small degree of distortion on Collins vocals. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 21 Title: False True Lovers Released: 1959 Tracks: 19 Duration: 45:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Drew My Ship (02:23) 2 The Irish Boy (01:36) 3 The Spermwhale Fishery (02:40) 4 Dennis OReilly (02:05) 5 My Bonny Miner Lad (01:51) 6 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:20) 7 Bobby Shaftoe (01:22) 8 Richie Story (04:07) 9 The Unquiet Grave (04:12) 10 The Swapping Song (01:30) 11 Poor Old Horse (01:11) 12 The False True Love (03:51) 13 The Foggy Dew (02:24) 14 Mowing the Barley (00:55) 15 Scarborough Fair (01:39) 16 The Cruel Mother (07:04) 17 The Bonny Cuckoo (01:27) 18 The Queen of May (01:49) 19 Died for Love (01:49) |
| False True Lovers : Allmusic album Review : As a key figure in the British folk revival, this recording originally produced for Folkways in 1959 presents Shirley Collins at a tender age of 23 recording under the eye of legendary Folkways producer and then partner Alan Lomax assisted by pragmatic engineer Peter Kennedy. Recorded in London in a two-day marathon, the most distinctive voice in British folk song interpretation recorded this album of a cappella renditions of British and Irish tunes. Inflecting the collection with Appalachian gems she and Lomax had discovered in one of their legendary research jaunts the same year, False True Lovers is as vital a collection of this astonishing singer that exhibits the full spectrum of her interest and research into folk music tradition. As with the Sweet England collection re-issued in 2000 on Topic, her voice is captured in intimacy and naïveté that carried through her 60s landmarks Love, Death and the Lady and Anthems in Eden. This album is as striking as either masterpiece, a work of profound beauty. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 21 Title: Folk Roots, New Routes Released: 1964 Tracks: 16 Duration: 49:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Nottamun Town (03:40) 2 Proud Maisrie (04:03) 3 The Cherry Tree Carol (03:20) 4 Blue Monk (03:06) 5 Hares on the Mountain (03:00) 6 Reynardine (02:31) 7 Pretty Saro (04:18) 8 Rif Mountain (02:26) 9 Jane Jane (02:42) 10 Love is Pleasin (02:34) 11 Boll Weevil, Holler (03:00) 12 Hori Horo (02:15) 13 Bad Girl (02:43) 14 Lord Greggory (03:37) 15 Grooveyard (03:03) 16 Dearest Dear (03:05) |
| Folk Roots, New Routes : Allmusic album Review : This pairing of one of British folks finest voices (Shirley Collins) with one of the countrys finest acoustic guitarists (Davey Graham) had a notable influence on the U.K. folk scene, although it eluded wide acclaim at the time. Collins rich, melancholy vocals were most likely an influence on Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, and Jacqui McShee. Graham helped redefine the nature of folk accompaniment with his imaginative, rhythmic backing, which drew from jazz, blues, and a bit of Middle Eastern music as well as mainline British Isles folk. Performed with tasteful restraint and selected with imaginative eclecticism, the album also includes an instrumental showcase for Graham in "Rif Mountain," which provides evidence of his clear influence on guitarists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the acoustic style of Jimmy Page. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 21 Title: The Sweet Primeroses Released: 1967 Tracks: 15 Duration: 46:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All Things Are Quite Silent (02:38) 2 Cambridgeshire May Carol (01:19) 3 Spencer the Rover (04:02) 4 The Rigs of the Time (03:12) 5 The Cruel Mother (05:52) 6 The Bird in the Bush (02:00) 7 The Streets of Derry (03:31) 8 Brigg Fair (02:19) 9 Higher Germanie (02:44) 10 George Collins (03:42) 11 The Babes in the Woods (02:34) 12 Down in Yon Forest (02:34) 13 The Magpies Nest (02:28) 14 False True Love (03:35) 15 The Sweet Primeroses (03:30) |
| The Sweet Primeroses : Allmusic album Review : After a gap of about three years between releases, Shirley Collins returned to recording with the 1967 LP The Sweet Primeroses. While the U.K. folk scene was undergoing some changes at the time, in part due to the influence of folksingers writing their own material and the emergence of folk-rock, those influences arent felt at all on this set, which remains traditional to the core. Collins distinctively resonant, slightly smoky/husky voice is accompanied only by her own guitar and banjo, as well as her sister Dolly Collins portative organ; there are a few a cappella performances as well. Occasionally there are also choral backing vocals provided by the Young Tradition, although that group was not credited on the original release. The tracks on which shes backed by Dollys organ in particular have a medieval, slightly haunting feel, as if you actually are listening to something being performed several centuries ago, not in the 1960s. Even given that Shirley Collins often performed British folk music of the most traditional sort, the starkness of this particular collection might make it among her less accessible works, at least for those in the process of acquainting themselves with her music. For those who know they like her voice, though, this wont fail to please them. The CD reissue adds four tracks from her 1963 EP Heroes in Love that, despite the four-year gap, are so similar in flavor that you wouldnt suspect they were recorded at a different time, though these feature only banjo accompaniment. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 21 Title: The Power of the True Love Knot Released: 1968 Tracks: 14 Duration: 42:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bonnie Boy (03:43) 2 Richie Story (04:18) 3 Lovely Joan (02:30) 4 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:39) 5 The Unquiet Grave (03:26) 6 Black-Eyed Susan (03:36) 7 Seven Yellow Gipsies (01:48) 8 Over the Hills and Far Away (02:27) 9 Greenwood Laddie (01:45) 10 Lady Margaret and Sweet William (05:10) 11 The Maydens Came (01:59) 12 Polly Vaughan (02:49) 13 The Barley Straw (03:51) 14 Barbara Allen (03:26) |
| The Power of the True Love Knot : Allmusic album Review : While credited to Shirley Collins, this 1967 album is really the work of Collins and her sister, Dolly Collins, who provides the fascinating instrumental settings courtesy of a modern reproduction of a 1643 miniature pipe organ, with its distinctive flutey sound. That sound, combined with Dollys arrangements and keyboard decorations, give these traditional songs the sound of early music: restrained and almost medieval. The expansive sleeve notes give a background to the songs (Collins had worked as a researcher, both in England and the U.S., where she helped Alan Lomax during his 1959 U.S. field recordings), which helps the listener understand a great deal more about "Over the Hills and Far Away," for example, a song thats been reinvented since the days of John Gay, and "The Beggars Opera." But above all, its Shirley Collins voice that brings these pieces to life. Breathy and often artless, theres a sincerity and depth to it thats both warm and undeniable. She lives these pieces, whether its the tale of "Lovely Joan" or the ballad sadness of "Barbara Allen" (surely one of the best-known of all traditional songs on both sides of the Atlantic). Its easy to forget in the mists of time that during the late 60s, this particular adventurous strand of folk music found an audience outside the genre, when the Collins sisters signed to the progressive label Harvest. Before the folk-rock of Fairport Convention, Collins herself was already breaking boundaries, and this disc, with its pristine Joe Boyd production, was one of the first to demolish those barriers. So not only is it a small musical masterpiece, its seminal in the modern history of folk music. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 21 Title: Anthems in Eden Released: 1969 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:09:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A Song-Story (28:10) 2 Rambleaway (04:23) 3 Ca the Yowes (03:27) 4 God Dog (03:25) 5 Bonny Cuckoo (01:56) 6 Nellie the Milkmaid (02:42) 7 Gathering Rushes in the Month of May (03:31) 8 The Gower Wassail (02:52) 9 Fare Thee Well My Dearest Dear (03:27) 10 Medley: Cest la Fin / Pour mon cuer (02:16) 11 Bonny Kate (03:24) 12 Adieu to All Judges and Juries (03:10) 13 Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene (03:43) 14 Black Joker / Black, White, Yellow and Green (03:23) |
| Anthems in Eden : Allmusic album Review : One of the unimpeachable gems of the late-60s English folk scene, Shirley & Dolly Collins Anthems in Eden grew out of the sisters love of David Munrows Musica Reservata, an ensemble that combined medieval and "early" instrumentation with music of more or less similar vintage -- an obvious notion if one thinks about it, but one that had been very much snowballed beneath the similarly contemporary obsession with electrifying those same songs for the modern rock idiom. Building upon that concept, the pair zeroed in on songs that dealt with one specific place and time -- that is, England during and immediately after World War I. As Anthems Before the Fall, the song cycle was originally recorded for BBC Radios My Kind of Folk in August 1968; a year later, and with that initial 28-minute vision appended by a handful of songs drawn from elsewhere within the Collins repertoire, Anthems in Eden was re-recorded for Harvest Records, an early indication of that labels own brief effort to investigate British progressive music in all its strains and varieties. Shirley Collins herself today regards the second side of the album, the unrelated folk songs, with some unease -- they do not fit with the concept, and detract from it somewhat. The side-long "A Song-Story Medley," however, is peerless, as Munrows so-called "natural orchestra" of crumhorns, sackbuts, cornetts, and rackets traces a landscape where "the maypole, which [was] once the centre of so many village greens, was replaced by the memorial stone." It is a haunting piece of music, the instrumentation delightfully understated, at the same time appearing to emphasize all the emotion, heartbreak, and hope that Shirley Collins own lovely voice conveys. Her version of the oft-recorded "Our Captain Cried," midway through the cycle, is certainly all but definitive, while the "random selection of material" that makes up the second half of the album also boasts its fair share of beauties -- a stunning take on the Incredible String Bands "God Dog" included. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 21 Title: Love, Death and the Lady Released: 1970 Tracks: 13 Duration: 47:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Death & The Lady (04:08) 2 Glenlogie (03:47) 3 The Oxford Girl (02:01) 4 Are You Going to Leave Me? (02:53) 5 The Outlandish Knight (05:05) 6 Go From My Window (02:35) 7 Young Girl Cut Down in Her Prime (03:41) 8 Geordie (04:59) 9 Salisbury Plain (02:40) 10 Fair Maid of Islington (02:17) 11 Six Dukes (02:29) 12 Polly on the Shore (03:10) 13 Plains of Waterloo (08:03) |
 | Album: 8 of 21 Title: No Roses Released: 1971 Tracks: 9 Duration: 35:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Claudy Banks (04:37) 2 The Little Gypsy Girl (02:15) 3 Banks of the Bann (03:38) 4 Murder of Maria Marten (07:26) 5 Van Diemans Land (04:59) 6 Just as the Tide Was A Flowing (02:12) 7 The White Hare (02:43) 8 Hal-An-Tow (02:53) 9 Poor Murdered Woman (04:19) |
| No Roses : Allmusic album Review : Shirley Collins collaboration with the Albion Country Band for No Roses is considered a major event in the history of British folk and British folk-rock. For it was the first time that Collins, roundly acknowledged as one of the best British traditional folk singers, sang with electric accompaniment, and indeed one of the first times that a British traditional folk musician had "gone electric" in the wake of Dave Swarbrick joining Fairport Convention and Martin Carthy joining Steeleye Span. The album itself doesnt sound too radical, however. At times it sounds something like Fairport Convention with Shirley Collins on lead vocals, which is unsurprising given the presence of Ashley Hutchings on all cuts but one, and Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol on most of the selections (Dave Mattacks plays drums on a few tracks for good measure). The nine songs are almost wholly traditional tunes with Collins arrangements, with perhaps a jauntier and folkier mood than that heard in early-70s Fairport, though not much. Its more impressive for Collins always tasteful smoky vocals than for the imagination of the material, which consolidates the sound of the more traditional wing of early-70s British folk-rock. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 21 Title: Adieu to Old England Released: 1974 Tracks: 15 Duration: 38:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mistresss Health / Lumps of Plum Pudding (02:13) 2 Down by the Seaside (02:47) 3 Chiners Song (02:24) 4 Adieu to Old England (02:01) 5 Ashen Faggot Wassail (02:33) 6 I Sing of a Maiden That Is Makeless (01:48) 7 The Banks of the Mossom (03:17) 8 The Ram of Derbish Town (01:56) 9 Portsmouth (01:03) 10 Horkstow Grange (01:55) 11 Come All You Little Streamers (02:05) 12 Spaniards Cry / Sherborne Jig (01:42) 13 One Night as I Lay on My Bed (04:43) 14 The Death of Nelson (03:54) 15 Coronation Jig (04:01) |
| Adieu to Old England : Allmusic album Review : Originally released in 1974, this album continues Shirley Collins exploration not only of traditional English folk songs, but also English tradition itself, whether on "Coronation Jig," written for the return of King Charles II in 1660, or "Portsmouth," taken from Playfords ancient book, The Dancing Master. While her focus, given her own history there, is on the music and songs of southern England, she does venture further north for a stirring "Horkstow Grange," a song reported to have been written by the name who gave Steeleye Span their name. Some of the arrangements, by sister Dolly Collins, evoke the medieval origins of these songs, while others bring to life the rural past of tales like "Chiners Song." But Collins is far more than a dry scholar. She loves this music. Its in her blood, and she understands it innately, which is why her performances are so memorable. Her voice might be untrained, and often artless, but she stirs on a rendition of "The Ram of Derbish Town" in a way no "real" singer could. From Morris Men and Mummers plays, this is a celebration of the real old England, the laborers who preserved the songs of the past, handed down in their families, and who commemorated festivals like Harvest Home, long since lost to urban societies. So, in part, this is a history lesson, but its also pure pleasure of the past, brought fully alive in the modern days. And to round it all off, a 1972 track -- with electric guitar -- brings old folk into modern folk-rock quite perfectly. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 21 Title: A Favourite Garland Released: 1974 Tracks: 14 Duration: 50:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Prologue (?) 2 Beginning (02:02) 3 Staines Morris (03:14) 4 Lady Margaret and Sweet William (05:10) 5 One Night as I Lay on My Bed (04:43) 6 The Little Gypsy Girl (02:15) 7 Plains of Waterloo (08:03) 8 Nottamun Town (03:40) 9 God Dog (03:25) 10 Just as the Tide Was A Flowing (02:12) 11 Mistress Health / Lumps of Plum Pudding / Sherbourne Jig / Spaniards City (03:22) 12 Over the Hills and Far Away (02:27) 13 Murder of Maria Marten (07:26) 14 Higher Germanie (02:44) |
 | Album: 11 of 21 Title: For as Many as Will Released: 1978 Tracks: 9 Duration: 40:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lancashire Lass (03:01) 2 Never Again (02:03) 3 Lord Allenwater (05:35) 4 Beggars Opera Medley: Can Love Be Controld by Advice? / O Polly You Might Have Toyd and Kist / O What Pain It Is to Part / The Miser Thus a Shilling Sees / Youths a Season Made for Joys / Hither, Dear Husband, Turn Your Eyes (10:47) 5 Gilderoy (04:49) 6 Rockley Firs / Sweet Jenny Jones (03:15) 7 German Tune (02:13) 8 The Moon Shines Bright (02:08) 9 Harvest Home Medley: Peas, Beans, Oats and the Barley / The Mistresss Health / Poor Tom (06:52) |
| For as Many as Will : Allmusic album Review : Originally released in 1978, For As Many As Will was the last recorded collaboration between Shirley Collins and her sister Dolly, who died in 1999. And, rightly, it was a very personal affair, covering far more than the traditional folk music that had been their trademark. The pair do ample justice to Richard Thompsons sad "Never Again" -- the first modern song theyd recorded -- before launching into "Beggars Opera Medley," with songs from John Gays seminal English opera. Its not what most fans would have expected, but its right. Even the sound of Dolly using a modern instrument -- a synthesizer -- though it might have been shocking, suited the music perfectly. For the final "Harvest Home Medley," a selection of songs from the Goby gypsy family, the mood reverts to the medieval, Collins voice backed simply by flute organ and recorder. On "German Tune," the ensemble offers exactly that -- a 14th century German Christmas carol, quite possibly the first recorded Collins tune to venture outside the British Isles. Of course, Collins doesnt completely neglect her beloved traditional music, with favorites like "The Blacksmith Courted Me," "Gilderoy," and "Lord Allenwater" to round out the set. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 21 Title: Fountain of Snow Released: 1992 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:17:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All Things Are Quite Silent (02:38) 2 Cambridgeshire May Carol (01:19) 3 Polly Vaughan (02:46) 4 The Cruel Mother (05:52) 5 The Streets of Derry (03:31) 6 Brigg Fair (02:19) 7 Higher Germanie (02:44) 8 George Collins (03:42) 9 Down in Yon Forest (02:34) 10 False True Love (03:35) 11 The Sweet Primeroses (03:30) 12 Down by the Seaside (02:47) 13 Adieu to Old England (02:01) 14 I Sing of a Maiden That Is Makeless (01:48) 15 One Night as I Lay on My Bed (04:43) 16 Lancashire Lass (03:01) 17 Never Again (02:03) 18 Lord Allenwater (05:35) 19 Gilderoy (04:49) 20 The Moon Shines Bright (02:08) 21 The False Bride (04:18) 22 Locks and Bolts (03:03) 23 Rambleaway (03:31) 24 A Blacksmith Courted Me (02:43) |
| Fountain of Snow : Allmusic album Review : Though this is a very good single-CD Shirley Collins compilation, its not a definitive career-spanning overview, simply because its limited to material from the Topic catalog. So 20 of the 24 tracks come from three albums: 1967s Sweet Primeroses, 1974s Adieu to Old England, and 1978s For As Many As Will (the last of which was co-credited to her sister Dolly Collins, though Dolly can actually be heard on much of the material here). (The other songs are taken from her rare 1963 EP Heroes in Love.) It leans pretty heavily on Sweet Primeroses, too, taking 11 tracks from that album. For all that, its a pretty good representation of Collins music, with pretty and haunting traditional British folk material sung in her distinctive, smoky voice and sympathetic accompaniment (often including Dolly Collins on pipe organ, flute, and piano). The songs from Heroes in Love are more rustic in feel than the other material, featuring just her voice, banjo, and guitar. True, it doesnt include material that some Collins fans would regard as essential, like her late-60s/early-70s Harvest records, or her early-70s folk-rock with the Albion Band. But much of that other stuff is usually in print if youre tempted to go further, and you can always go for the four-CD box set, Within Sound, if you really want a thorough sampling. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 21 Title: The Holly Bears the Crown Released: 1995-11-01 Tracks: 14 Duration: 32:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Prologue From Hamlet (00:27) 2 The Boars Head Carol (01:38) 3 Is It Far to Bethlehem? (02:12) 4 Lullay My Liking (02:10) 5 The Cherry Tree Carol (02:48) 6 Shepherds Arise (03:09) 7 I Sing of a Maiden That Is Makeless (01:55) 8 Interlude: The Great Frost (02:15) 9 Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (02:08) 10 A Virgin Most Pure (04:18) 11 The Coventry Carol (01:55) 12 The Holly Bears the Crown (02:49) 13 March the Morning Sun (02:23) 14 Bring Us in Good Ale (02:32) |
 | Album: 14 of 21 Title: Harking Back Released: 1998 Tracks: 22 Duration: 1:13:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 All Things Are Quite Silent (03:29) 2 Rockley Firs (02:49) 3 George Collins (04:27) 4 Sellengers Round (01:25) 5 Lancashire Lass (03:41) 6 Poor Murdered Woman (06:24) 7 The Moon Shines Bright (03:27) 8 The Black Joke (02:33) 9 Staines Morris (02:25) 10 Come All You Little Streamers (03:42) 11 Fare Thee Well My Dearest Dear (04:26) 12 Hopping Down in Kent (05:02) 13 Morris (medley) (03:32) 14 The Bonny Labouring Boy (05:07) 15 Greenwood Laddie (01:51) 16 Just as the Tide Was A-Flowing (02:15) 17 All Flowers in Broome (02:47) 18 The Captain With the Whiskers (04:40) 19 The Gypsys Wedding Day (05:08) 20 The Merry Milkmaids (01:19) 21 Poor Sally Sits A-Weeping (01:52) 22 Kates Wedding (01:13) |
 | Album: 15 of 21 Title: Sing Christmas and the Turn of the Year Released: 2000-10-10 Tracks: 28 Duration: 59:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Introduction and Hookup / Good King Wenceslas (01:07) 2 A Caroling in the Dark / Good King Wenceslas / Good King Wenceslas / This Is the Truth Sent From Above / The Holly and the Ivy / The Holly and the Ivy (04:58) 3 A Boscastle Breakdown / Padstow Wassail Song / St. Davids Day Dance / I Wonder as I Wander (04:09) 4 We Wish You a Merry Christmas / Narration / Caroling Scene (01:11) 5 Peace Oer the World (00:59) 6 Introduction to "Ballad of Jesus Christ" (00:49) 7 The Ballad of Jesus Christ (02:10) 8 Excerpt From the Wakefield Second Shepherds Nativity Play Pageant / Shepherds Cradle Song / Coventry Carol / Excerpt From Wisbech Nativity Play (02:46) 9 Christmas in London (00:43) 10 The Derby Ram (01:09) 11 Christmas Morning Calypso (01:51) 12 Unite (01:41) 13 Pretty Little Baby (01:52) 14 A Reading From Luke 2: 15-19 / Psalm 23 / The Mothers Consecration (Coistrig Mathar) / The Christ Child Lullaby (Taladh An Leinbh Losa) / Saint Marys Men Are We (05:26) 15 The Day We Went to Rothsay-o (01:22) 16 Regional Hookup: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (01:51) 17 Cromwell Versus Father Christmas (01:16) 18 The Jug of Punch / Vinyl Ridge March (01:46) 19 Royal Belfast Hornpipe / Millicents Hornpipe / The Tenpenny Bit / The Dublin Reel (02:42) 20 The Cherry Tree Carol (01:45) 21 Ar Gyfe Heddiwr Bore (Anglesey Carol) / Hiraeth (On This Days Morning) (01:39) 22 Excerpt From the Symondsbury Mummers Play / Donny Brook Fair (Winlaton Sword Dance) (02:06) 23 Good King Wenceslas / When the Saints Go Marching In / Good King Wenceslas (02:01) 24 Twas Mary Conceived / The Noble Stem of Jesse (02:37) 25 The Lords Prayer (01:25) 26 Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis) / The Gift of Power / Metrical Psalm in Gaelic (02:16) 27 No Room at the Inn / Last Month of the Year (02:50) 28 Hark, What News the Angels Bring / I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In / Wassail, Wassail, All Over This Town / Here We Come a-Wassailing (03:06) |
 | Album: 16 of 21 Title: Within Sound Released: 2002-11-29 Tracks: 84 Duration: 4:26:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dabbling in the Dew (01:49) 2 The Bonny Labouring Boy (01:00) 3 Turpin Hero (02:36) 4 The Cuckoo (01:47) 5 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:20) 6 I Drew My Ship (02:23) 7 The False True Love (03:51) 8 Sweet England (02:39) 9 Higher Germanie (02:59) 10 Long Years Ago (02:42) 11 Newcastle (02:31) 12 Dance to Your Daddy (01:47) 13 The Irish Girl (03:32) 14 The Foggy Dew (03:05) 15 She Moves Through the Fair (03:30) 16 Locks and Bolts (03:03) 17 Geordie (02:47) 18 The False Bride (03:08) 19 Cotton Eyed Joe / What Shall We Do With the Baby (03:33) 20 Pretty Saro (04:18) 21 Dearest Dear (03:05) 1 Nottamun Town (03:40) 2 Reynardine (01:41) 3 When a Mans in Love (03:06) 4 The Sweet Primeroses (03:30) 5 Down in Yon Forest (02:34) 6 George Collins (03:42) 7 The Streets of Derry (03:31) 8 Two Brethren (02:53) 9 Tyburn Tree (01:05) 10 Bonnie Boy (03:43) 11 Richie Story (04:18) 12 Over the Hills and Far Away (02:27) 13 Polly Vaughan (02:49) 14 Whitsun Dance (04:03) 15 God Dog (03:25) 16 The Gower Wassail (02:52) 17 Denying: The Blacksmith (03:56) 18 Bonny Cuckoo (01:56) 19 I Sing of a Maiden That Is Makeless (01:55) 20 A Virgin Most Pure (04:18) 21 It Is Far to Bethlehem (02:07) 22 The Cherry Tree Carol (02:48) 1 Plains of Waterloo (08:03) 2 Geordie (04:59) 3 Polly on the Shore (03:10) 4 The Bold Fisherman (04:37) 5 Just as the Tide Was A Flowing (02:12) 6 Banks of the Bann (03:38) 7 Poor Murdered Woman (04:19) 8 Murder of Maria Marten (07:26) 9 Staines Morris (03:14) 10 One Night as I Lay on My Bed (04:43) 11 The Blacksmith Courted Me (03:13) 12 Down by the Seaside (02:47) 13 The Banks of the Mossom (03:17) 14 Come All You Little Streamers (02:44) 15 The Little Gypsy Girl (02:51) 16 Horn Fair (03:34) 17 Fare Thee Well My Dearest Dear (03:27) 18 Bonny Kate (03:24) 19 Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene (02:27) 20 The Hunt Is Up (01:54) 21 Hopping Down in Kent (02:47) 1 Honour Bright (02:46) 2 The Moon Shines Bright (02:08) 3 Never Again (02:03) 4 Gilderoy (04:49) 5 Mariners Farewell (04:14) 6 Come All You Little Streamers (02:10) 7 All Things Are Quite Silent (03:17) 8 The Bonny Labouring Boy (04:19) 9 The Captain With the Whiskers (03:44) 10 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:38) 11 Come My Love (02:47) 12 Green Fields (05:14) 13 The Golden Glove (03:03) 14 Lord Allenwater (05:07) 15 Christ Made a Trance (02:48) 16 Bedfordshire May Carol (02:39) 17 The Tillington Poachers (02:19) 18 The Oakham Poachers (02:21) 19 Poor Sally Sits A-Weeping (02:05) 20 Lost in a Wood (04:03) |
| Within Sound : Allmusic album Review : Some singers are so influential that they need box sets to be able to contain the breadth and scope of their work. Shirley Collins is one of them. And these fours discs certainly do her justice -- plus the fact that 33 of the 84 tracks here are either rare or previously unreleased. Collins influence stretched from the first days of the folk revival in the 1950s through to today (although she no longer performs), and her work in the 60s with sister Dolly Collins brought a lot of people into folk music who might never have otherwise discovered it; thanks to her being part of the progressive Harvest label. Add to that the song-collecting trip to the Appalachians in the late 50s with the legendary Alan Lomax (and lets not forget being discovered by the Copper Family, her marriage to Ashley Hutchings and her work with the Albion Country Band and the Etchingham Steam Band) and you have a person whose importance to English folk music in the latter-half of the 20th century is paramount. The discs tackle her career chronologically -- a good move since theres a real sense of development here; from her earliest recordings (both issued and unissued) where the accompaniment on either banjo or autoharp is spare, to her work with guitarist Davy Graham on disc one. Disc two is largely dedicated to her work with her sister, whose portative organ brought an almost medieval sensibility to the music, and whose sense of arrangement always found the beauty of a melody. Of their collaborations, theres only one unreleased track here, the wonderful "Whitsun Dance," with Dolly on piano, but its a joy. Much of disc three is devoted to the electric and acoustic band era of the 1970s, and two of the Etchingham Steam Band cuts, from a German folk festival LP, are certainly rarities, and well-worth the inclusion. The material from No Roses and The Prospect Before Us simply proves how forward-looking Ashley Hutchings could be, and how integral Collins was as a part of the ensemble (a guiding part, one suspects). "Murder Of Maria Marten" still sounds remarkable, more than 30 years after its first appearance. The final disc takes the listener through the last part of the 70s and into the 80s, when Collins last recorded. Dolly Collins is on some tracks, while others feature different musicians and ideas for English music. Many of these songs havent seen the light of day before, and you have to wonder why -- theyre all excellent, especially the truly haunting "Christ Made A Trance." To listen to this set is to understand the way Shirley Collins helped shape the perception of English folk music. Even more, its a chance to be seduced by her Sussex voice. Its certainly true that she possesses an artless quality in her singing, but its always real -- a proper folk voice -- and she transports her audience inside the songs; something very rare and a talent few have. The booklet that accompanies the set is full of Collins own reminiscences, and shes always scrupulous in citing her sources. This box may be a labor of love, and its more than worth the time thats been involved in compiling it. Shirley Collins is a treasure of English song, and this is the perfect celebration of her art. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 21 Title: The Classic Collection Released: 2004 Tracks: 20 Duration: 57:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Sweet Primeroses (03:30) 2 Bonnie Boy (03:43) 3 Adieu to Old England (02:01) 4 The Moon Shines Bright (02:08) 5 March the Morning Sun (02:23) 6 A Blacksmith Courted Me (02:43) 7 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:39) 8 Down by the Seaside (02:47) 9 Never Again (02:03) 10 I Drew My Ship (02:23) 11 The Foggy Dew (02:24) 12 False True Love (03:35) 13 All Things Are Quite Silent (02:38) 14 One Night as I Lay on My Bed (04:43) 15 Polly Vaughan (02:49) 16 The Cherry Tree Carol (02:48) 17 Come All You Little Streamers (02:06) 18 Greenwood Laddie (01:45) 19 Gilderoy (04:49) 20 The False Bride (04:18) |
 | Album: 18 of 21 Title: Snapshots Released: 2006-03-20 Tracks: 22 Duration: 58:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 All Things Are Quite Silent (03:19) 2 Fare Thee Well My Dearest Dear (03:53) 3 The Captain With the Whiskers (03:44) 4 The Bonny Bunch of Roses (02:59) 5 Lovin Hannah (03:02) 6 Two Brethren (02:53) 7 All Flowers in Broome (02:30) 8 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:38) 9 Tyburn Tree (01:05) 10 Poor Murdered Woman (05:04) 11 Greenwood Laddie (01:25) 12 It Is Far to Bethlehem (02:07) 13 While Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping (02:27) 14 Rockley Firs (02:05) 15 Come All You Little Streamers (02:01) 16 The Gypsys Wedding Day (02:48) 17 Black-Eyed Susan (03:22) 18 The Banks of Sweet Primroses (03:34) 19 Bonny Cuckoo (01:27) 20 Black White Yellow and Green (01:36) 21 The Bonny Labouring Boy (04:13) 22 The Merry Milkmaids (01:19) |
 | Album: 19 of 21 Title: The Harvest Years Released: 2008 Tracks: 41 Duration: 2:21:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Beginning (02:02) 2 Meeting: Searching for Lambs (02:45) 3 Courtship: The Wedding Song (04:04) 4 Denying: The Blacksmith (03:56) 5 Forsaking: Our Captain Cried (02:52) 6 Dream: Lowlands (02:34) 7 Leavetaking: Pleasant and Delightful (05:14) 8 Awakening: Whitsun Dance (02:51) 9 New Beginning: The Staines Morris (01:50) 10 Rambleaway (04:23) 11 Ca the Yowes (03:27) 12 God Dog (03:25) 13 Bonny Cuckoo (01:56) 14 Nellie the Milkmaid (02:42) 15 Gathering Rushes in the Month of May (03:31) 16 The Gower Wassail (02:52) 17 Sailor From Dover (03:20) 18 Young John (06:24) 19 Short Jacket & White Trousers (02:59) 20 The Bold Fisherman (04:37) 1 Death & The Lady (04:08) 2 Glenlogie (03:47) 3 The Oxford Girl (02:01) 4 Are You Going to Leave Me? (02:53) 5 The Outlandish Knight (05:05) 6 Go From My Window (02:35) 7 Young Girl Cut Down in Her Prime (03:41) 8 Geordie (04:59) 9 Salisbury Plain (02:40) 10 Fair Maid of Islington (02:17) 11 Six Dukes (02:29) 12 Polly on the Shore (03:10) 13 Plains of Waterloo (08:03) 14 Fare Thee Well My Dearest Dear (03:27) 15 Medley: Cest la Fin / Pour mon cuer (02:16) 16 Bonny Kate (03:24) 17 Adieu to All Judges and Juries (03:10) 18 Edi Beo Thu Hevene Quene (03:43) 19 Black Joker / Black, White, Yellow and Green (03:23) 20 The Gallant Hussar (03:14) 21 Hopping Down in Kent (02:47) |
 | Album: 20 of 21 Title: Two Classic Albums Plus Bonus Tracks Released: 2012-11 Tracks: 42 Duration: 1:38:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sweet England (02:39) 2 Hares on the Mountain (01:36) 3 Hori-Horo (01:42) 4 The Bonny Irish Boy (01:36) 5 The Tailor & The Mouse (02:01) 6 The Lady & The Swine (01:34) 7 Turpin Hero (02:36) 8 The Cuckoo (01:47) 9 The Bonny Labouring Boy (04:19) 10 The Cherry Tree Carol (03:45) 11 Sweet William (03:23) 12 Omie Wise (03:58) 13 Blackbirds & Thrushes (01:40) 14 A Keeper Went Hunting (01:49) 15 Polly Vaughan (02:41) 16 Pretty Saro (02:05) 17 Barbara Allen (03:20) 18 Charlie (02:36) 19 Dabbling in the Dew (01:49) 1 I Drew My Ship (02:23) 2 The Irish Boy (01:36) 3 The Spermwhale Fishery (02:40) 4 Dennis OReilly (02:05) 5 My Bonny Miner Lad (01:51) 6 Just as the Tide Was Flowing (01:20) 7 Bobby Shaftoe (01:22) 8 Richie Story (04:07) 9 The Unquiet Grave (04:12) 10 The Swapping Song (01:30) 11 Poor Old Horse (01:11) 12 The False True Love (03:51) 13 The Foggy Dew (02:24) 14 Mowing the Barley (00:55) 15 Scarborough Fair (01:39) 16 The Cruel Mother (07:04) 17 The Bonny Cuckoo (01:27) 18 The Queen of May (01:49) 19 Died for Love (01:49) 20 Higher Germanie (02:59) 21 My Bonny Bonny Boy (?) 22 Long Years Ago (02:42) 23 Space Girl (?) |
 | Album: 21 of 21 Title: Lodestar Released: 2016-11-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Awake Awake / The Split Ash Tree / May Carol / Southover (11:09) 2 The Banks of Green Willow (03:18) 3 Cruel Lincoln (03:28) 4 Washed Ashore (02:57) 5 Death and the Lady (04:45) 6 Pretty Polly (04:17) 7 Old Johnny Buckle (01:43) 8 Sur le Borde de lEau (03:53) 9 The Rich Irish Lady / Jeff Sturgeon (05:59) 10 The Silver Swan (01:26) |
| Lodestar : Allmusic album Review : As both a singer and an archivist, Shirley Collins is a massively important figure in British traditional folk music, but shes also been something of an enigma since she gave up performing and recording in the 80s. To take her at her word, Collins lost confidence in her ability to sing when she froze on-stage during a production at Londons National Theatre. While shes made occasional appearances speaking about folk history and was persuaded to appear on some sessions by David Tibet of Current 93, it was generally believed Collins musical career was over. However, in one of the more pleasant recent surprises in U.K. folk, Collins invited some musicians and recording technicians to her cottage in East Sussex to help her make a record. The result, 2016s Lodestar, is her first solo album in four decades, and its a bit different than her classic recordings of the 60s and 70s in both sound and feel. Collins was 80 years old when Lodestar was recorded, and her voice is noticeably rougher and lower than it was in her salad days. And while the musicians are in fine form here, Lodestar sounds a bit looser and more casual than her iconic recordings; the emphasis seems less on a historically accurate presentation of these songs and more on arrangements that are comfortable and satisfying for Collins and her players. In the liner notes, Collins describes recording field performances of some of these tracks while visiting the United States with archivist and historian Alan Lomax in the 50s, and in a sense, Lodestar was recorded in similarly informal surroundings, though the homebrewed sessions generally sound splendid. (They also make for some interesting details, such as the birds cheerfully singing as Collins makes her way through the violent ballad "Cruel Lincoln.") And though Collins doesnt have the same voice she did when she was younger, her sense of drama and her gift for defining a character in song have not dimmed a bit, and in some respects, the added texture of her instrument only makes her performances more apt. What comes through most strongly on Lodestar is that Collins doesnt seem at all interested in reclaiming old glories, or pandering to a new generation of listeners. Lodestar is the work of a woman who sings for the love of singing, and is as invested in the mysteries and joys of these timeless songs as she was half-a-century ago. The album isnt a comeback but a continuum, and a welcome return from a true oracle of traditional song. | ||