Ashley Stephen Hutchings was born on 26th January 1945, which means he celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this year. Known by his affectionate nickname of “The Guv’nor” he as a founding member of three of the most important folk-rock bands of all time, namely Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band, awarded the MBE for services to folk music, the Gold Badge Award of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, the prestigious Good Tradition trophy at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in recognition of his contributions to the genre and in 2007 with the other members of Fairport Convention he shared the special award for ‘Most influential Folk Album of all time’ for Liege and Lief. If that is now enough, Bob Dylan is often quoted as saying “My friend Ashley Hutchings is the Godfather of Folk Rock. He made us a genre we couldn’t refuse”.
But The Guv’nor has never been about awards, instead it has always been about keeping a tradition alive and making it relevant for new generations, something he is still doing to this day as he continues to release albums and tours. This collection was put together by the Godfather of Folk Rock himself, starting with a live version of “Million Dollar Bash” recorded at Cropredy in 2002 which features the late Marc Ellington on part vocals. One of the true strengths of Hutchings is his innate skill at not only bringing together the right musicians, but knowing when it is best for him to step away from the microphone and bring in other singers so we get the likes of Emily Slade, Chris While, Judy Dunlop, Simon Nicol, Polly Bolton, Backy Mills and of course, his son Blair Dunlop, now a recognised performer in his own right. Ashley’s own baritone is full of warmth and power, while he is a master of traditional folk or moving away from that more into numbers which could more accurately be thought of acoustic, yet the use of electric guitar is never too far away. “Poor Old Horse” by The Albion Band is an absolute delight, although it is a real shame the violin solo is faded out.
Is this the perfect collection? No, it can’t be. There are only 16 songs, and it is just under 2 ½ hours long, which means there is just not enough material to be able to provide justice to a career so important and influential. However, as an introduction to his huge catalogue this is a great way to start. I don’t know how many renditions I have heard of “Crazy Man Michael” over the years, but it is one of the most important songs ever written in the genre, the closing number on ‘Liege and Lief’, where Thompson and Swarbrick brought folk into the modern world. Here we have acoustic guitar from Ashley, and he is joined by Guy Fletcher on violin with Becky Mills on vocals for a masterclass.
There are few musicians who can say they assisted in creating a genre, was involved in the seminal album of that genre, formed three of the most important bands, and is still going strong in his ninth decade, but that is Ashley. I have followed his music for more than 50 years but still delight whenever I get something new to listen to, and this is a joy for old fans like me, or for those who want to tip their toes into the murky world of English folk rock. Superb.
Rating: 10/10:
Links:
http://ashleyhutchings.co.uk/
http://www.talkingelephant.co.uk/