Ashley Hutchings, Becky Mills, Blair Dunlop – A Midwinter Miscellany
Talking Elephant – 20 November 2020
The Albion Christmas Band, led by folk-rock legend Ashley Hutchings, has been a festive treat for nearly 20 years with their annual winter tours and recordings. I managed to catch them in Canterbury a few years back and it was a fun and heartwarming experience, which I know is the highlight of the season for many music lovers.
You know the sentence that comes next. So, with the 2020 tour cancelled (and dates moved to 2021), there was a Hutchings-shaped hole in our wintertime. So, thankfully, this album really makes up for it. The singer, bass player, songwriter and orator is joined by long-term collaborator Becky Mills – a skilful guitarist and songwriter in her own right – alongside Ashley’s son Blair Dunlop, a similarly talented performer, musician and songsmith.
Although hailing from different generations, the three blend perfectly with each of them supplying songs, arrangements and instrumentation. The bulk of the album is new material or settings of lyrics from literary sources including G K Chesterton, Kenneth Grahame and Christopher Smart.
As he has for many years, Hutchings weaves spoken word extracts among the music and songs, with carefully selected snatches including from George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss and from his own pen. Ashley’s Hibernation (clearly written pre-pandemic) ruminates on the temptation to hide away at wintertime, but ends with an encouragement to, ‘…enjoy a big party or six.’ That’s if, after Lockdown II, the rule of six is allowed (or expanded) come the 25th…
What the album manages to be is a stately, grown-up take on a Christmas album. It’s never sentimental or cynical, not a single sleigh bell is rung. It also respectfully embraces the Christian story of the birth of Christ – while more earthy, English traditions peek in through the stable door…
Her Name Was Mary had me Googling to find a folk carol as its source material, only to spot that it is a Hutchings/Dunlop original. It really is a fantastic addition to the English Christmas song tradition, and a world away from Mary’s Boy Child (thankfully). Becky’s contributions match the high-standard of songwriting, particularly the gorgeous Sweet November which has a Nick Drake-like dreamy quality.
Another highlight is a rare appearance on record by veteran folk singer (and Blair’s mum) Judy Dunlop. Her setting of William Makepeace Thackeray’s poem Mahogany Tree is simply stunning and her singing outstanding, as ever. I hope that Blair, who produced and recorded the album at his and Ashley’s home, can coax Judy into more recordings as appearances on albums by Judy Dunlop have been rare.
So, this is the perfect album to provide further warming in front of a roaring fire with mulled wine in one hand, and a home-made mince pie (oozing with Fortnum & Mason Cognac Butter) in the other. Sophisticated songs for a sometimes saccharin season, this is a Christmas album with a big dollop of class.
A Midwinter Miscellany is out on 20 November 2020
Order via Talking Elephant Records