RICHARD FALK's REVIEWS

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Hubbels (USA): The Hubbels (Audio Fidelity AFSD 6221, 1969)
Pop/Psychedelic
Mary Ann Frazell (joint lead vocals)
A fine hippie pop/rock set from a husband-and-wife duo, with the husband writing nearly all the material. Their style is sometimes upbeat, sometimes gentle, always folky and often subtly psychedelic, with some of the harmony vocals recalling Jefferson Airplane. Highpoints include the dreamy acoustic ballad ‘Sunrise Is Setting’, an unusual version of ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ (which fits perfectly into their style) and the closing ‘Hippy Dippy Funky Monkey Double Bubble Sitar Man’, whose title speaks for itself. GRADE: C+.

John Huckert & Mary Little (USA): Through The Music I Will Love You (Apricot Cordial, no sleeve, 1975)
Folk
This duo of singer/songwriters recorded this very rare demo album in a bedroom, backing themselves on acoustic guitars, piano and synthesiser. For the most part, it’s mellow, gentle and rather spacy with the synthesiser adding a trippy edge to several tracks; Huckert has a similarly relaxed singing style, but Little has an unusual, deep voice that is rather androgynous. The eerie ‘Sweet Cocaine’ is by far the best track, recalling Collective Tools with its combination of drug-inspired lyrics and desolate psychedelic folk backing. Only a handful of copies are known of the LP, which commands very high prices. GRADE: C+.

Rita & Tony Hudd Featuring Bottle Of Bread (UK): The Wooden Leg Album (Burlington BURL 022, 1985)
Singer/Songwriter/Folk/Rock
Rita Hudd (joint lead vocals, keyboards, percussion, dulcimer, recorder)
With full band backing, this couple’s album features mostly original songs and effectively bridges the singer/songwriter and folk/rock genres. Occasionally it’s a touch whimsical, but for the most part it’s lovely, haunting stuff, with excellent singing from both Tony and Rita and the latter’s tuned percussion adding a mildly trippy edge. A song dedicated to Sandy Denny makes clear their biggest influence, and at its best this really does recapture the bittersweet mood of her songs. GRADE: C+.

Louise Huebner (USA): Seduction Through Witchcraft (Warner Brothers WS 1819, 1969)
‘Incredibly Strange Music’
Louise Huebner (lead vocals)
Huebner – apparently ‘a sixth generation witch, a third generation astrologer, a psychic’ – intones mystical nonsense in a robotic voice whilst electronic music pioneers Louis and Bebe Barron add occasional synthesiser swirls in the background. Maybe she really did have supernatural powers of mind control: I can’t see any other reason for Warner Brothers to have released this. GRADE: D.

Huggett Family (Canada): The Huggett Family (Daffodil DAF 10044, 1973)
Folk/Pop
Margaret Huggett (joint lead vocals, guitar, harpsichord, recorder, crumhorn), Jennifer Huggett (joint lead vocals, percussion, cello, recorder, crumhorn, gamba), Fiona Huggett (joint lead vocals, percussion, viol, recorder)
Formed by a classical musician, his wife and their four teenage children, the Huggett Family offered gentle, melodic folk/pop songs with lots of mediaeval wind instruments. Most of the numbers are self-penned, although they cover Judy Collins and Carole King and play delicate, eerie versions of ‘Scarborough Fair’, ‘Trees’ and ‘Greensleeves’ (all ideally suited to their unusual style). Surprisingly, this was recorded in London with George Martin producing, and it also received a major label release in the UK (Pye NSPL 18407). They went on to cut a number of other albums, mostly consisting of reinterpretations of medieval tunes and madrigals. GRADE: C.

Irene Hume (UK): Prelude (Modern Music MODEM 1002, 1987)
Progressive/New Age
Irene Hume (lead vocals)
As far from Prelude as one can imagine, Hume’s album consists entirely of her voice processed through a sampler, then looped and echoed to infinity. The results often resemble a more free-from Enya, without words or songs, and are much more compelling and intriguing than one might expect. GRADE: C+.
See also Prelude

Hunk Ai (Denmark): Hunk Ai (Olufsen DOC 5031, 1987)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Cathrine Lervig (lead vocals)
This interesting Danish LP blends elements of zeuhl, RIO and Canterbury along with some funk and new wave stylings and an experimental, vaguely operatic, singer to great effect. The most obvious comparison would be a wilder and less melodious Cos with strong free jazz edges, but there are also hints of everyone from Les I and Armande Altaï to Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich. The result is a creative, constantly surprising disc that’s very unusual for its era. GRADE: B–.
Hunk Ai (Denmark): Alene Hjemme (Olufsen DOC 5090, 1990)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Cathrine Lervig (lead vocals, synthesiser)
In parts even more experimental than its predecessor, this is a highly creative record recalling the seventies greats of RIO and zeuhl but also reflecting the current generation of innovators such as Shub-Niggurath. Relentlessly inventive and constantly challenging, this is among the top tier of Scandinavian prog albums. GRADE: B.
See also Atlantis Transit

Leslie Hunt (USA): Sony Demo (CDR, 2000)
Rock
Before she competed in ‘American Idol’ and joined District 97, Leslie Hunt cut this five-song, 19-minute demo for Sony Records. Produced by Survivor’s Jim Peterik (co-writer of ‘Eye Of The Tiger’), it’s beautifully recorded, with studio sound quality. Musically, it’s a mixture of ballads, slightly jazzy stuff and light rockers, with some (almost certainly sampled) Mellotron adding a slightly proggy edge to the opening ‘Jagged’. GRADE: C+.

Leslie Hunt (USA): From The Strange To A Stranger (No label, CD, 2007)
Singer/Songwriter
Leslie Hunt (lead vocals, piano)
Quite different from her later work with District 97 (and indeed from her 2002 demo for Sony), this is singer/songwriter fare with backing only from her own piano. Like most single-instrument albums, it’s a bit sparse and somewhat lacking in variety, but the quality of her singing, writing and playing means that it mostly holds the attention. GRADE: C+.

Leslie Hunt (USA): Your Hair Is On Fire (Ellenel, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2009)
Pop/Rock
Leslie Hunt (lead vocals, piano)
Completely different from her first, this is uptempo pop/rock with some catchy melodies and some nice chunky riffs. There’s nothing here that’s particularly profound – or particularly similar to her work with District 97 – but this is a solid set that demonstrates a different facet of Ms Hunt’s talents. GRADE: C+.
Leslie Hunt (USA): Wait For It (Ellenel, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2012)
Singer/Songwriter/Folk/Rock
Leslie Hunt (lead vocals, guitar, piano)
At less than 35 minutes, this may appear insubstantial, but it’s Hunt’s best work to date: beautiful, heartfelt songs supported by sumptuous semi-acoustic arrangements. It’s enough to make you wish she wrote more in District 97 and nearly enough to quality for a B– except at 35 minutes it’s still a touch insubstantial. GRADE: C+.

Leslie Hunt (USA): Ascend (Spirit Of Unicorn Music SOUM004CD, CD, with digipak and booklet, UK, 2021)
Singer/Songwriter
Leslie Hunt (lead vocals, guitar, piano)
This elegant singer/songwriter affair, with semi-electric backing and definite pop sensibilities, is significantly different from her debut and even further away from District 97. Melodic, well-crafted and likeable, its main failing is a slight lack of substance – especially as there’s only 24 minutes of it.

See also District 97

Frances Mary Hunter Gordon & Choir Of Girls From The Convent Of The Sacred Heart Woldingham (UK): Folk Mass

(No label SSLXS 307, 1968)
Folk
Frances Mary Hunter Gordon (joint lead vocals, guitar), Corinna Liddell (joint lead vocals), Lucy Fisher (joint lead vocals), Linda Magill (joint lead vocals), Hilary Goodson (joint lead vocals, guitar), Caroline Greenwood (joint lead vocals, guitar), Louise Keane (joint lead vocals, guitar), Mary Price (joint lead vocals, guitar), Jennifer Smedley (joint lead vocals, guitar), Georgina Allen (joint lead vocals), Loelia Crosthwaite-Eyre (joint lead vocals), Melony de Burgh (joint lead vocals), Annabel Ferguson (joint lead vocals), Susan Foll (joint lead vocals), Eugenie Hunter (joint lead vocals), Kris King (joint lead vocals), Maya Ligertwood (joint lead vocals), Elizabeth Mould (joint lead vocals), Anne Pressinger (joint lead vocals), Caroline Stevens (joint lead vocals)
Only a handful of copies are known of this single-sided private pressing, which, as its name suggests, offers an original folk mass composed by Hunter Gordon and performed by her along with her fellow choirgirls. The result is a beautiful, haunting schoolgirl folk LP with a liturgical feel; those who love Reality From Dream and similar efforts will adore it. GRADE: C+.

Sami Hurmerinta (Finland): Sami Hurmerinta (Love LRLP 263, 1978)
Rock/Progressive
Maarit Hurmerinta (principal vocals)
With a little bit of everything thrown in, this spans gentle ballads to funky, jazzy rock with horns to proggy instrumentals, mainly serving as a vehicle for Hurmerinta’s excellent guitar playing. Wife Maarit lends her lovely voice to several cuts. GRADE: C+.
See also Maarit

Husmoderns Bróst (Sweden): Där Fruana Bor (Amalthea AM 11, with booklet, 1979)
Folk/Rock
Ulla Ekelund (joint lead vocals, keyboards), Christina Mannegren (joint lead vocals, bass), Katalin Wagner (joint lead vocals, percussion), Marie Larsdotter (occasional vocals, concertina, flute), Maria Lindström (occasional vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Lisbeth Hultén (occasional vocals, drums, percussion)
A friend described this as a Swedish equivalent of Joy Of Cooking, and the comparison is spot on: Husmoderns Bróst have the same breezy, slyly funky vibe, though their music draws on folk rather than country. With a few minor progressive touches thrown in, this is charming and melodic stuff with a typically Swedish carefree feel. GRADE: C+.

Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick & Barry Dransfield (UK): Morris On (Island HELP 5, 1972)
Folk/Rock
Shirley Collins (occasional vocals)
Clearly there’s a limit to how exciting an album of electrified morris tunes can be, but the stellar cast of musicians means that this has a powerful and punchy sound. Shirley Collins adds her plaintive voice to ‘Staines Morris’ and ‘The Willow Song’. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, John Tams, Phil Pickett, Michael Gregory, Dave Mattacks, Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, John Watcham, John Rodd, Albion Morris Men, Ian Cutler & Adderbury Village Morris Men (UK): Son Of Morris On

(Harvest SHSM 2012, 1976)
Folk/Rock
Shirley Collins (occasional vocals)
As the title suggests, this is volume two of the above – equally good and with the same caveat. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept (Paradise & Thorns PAT 1, CD, 1987)
Folk/Rock
Polly Bolton (joint lead vocals), Marilyn Cutts (joint lead vocals), Christine Collister (occasional vocals)
This concept album is quite varied, from gentle folk to energetic rock, and is listenable and well-crafted although ultimately fairly unspectacular. Polly Bolton shares the singing with Hutchings himself (with Christine Collister fronting the opening ‘I Dreamed A Dream’) whilst Michael Pennington and Marilyn Cutts provide the narration GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings All Stars (UK): As You Like It (Making Waves SPIN CD 135, CD, 1988)
Folk/Rock
Polly Bolton (joint lead vocals)
‘My Bonny Boy’ (otherwise known as ‘Long A-Growing’) is hauntingly beautiful, but for the most part this is good-time rock and folk/rock of exactly the type I don’t like. This must have been a fun show to watch, and the band appear to be enjoying themselves, but whether it needed to be preserved for posterity is a different matter. GRADE: C.
Judy Dunlop & Ashley Hutchings (UK): Sway With Me (Albino ALB007, CD, 1991)
Folk
Judy Dunlop (principal vocals)
Subtitled ‘a celebration of the tree and its offspring’, this is a concept album mixing songs and spoken word passages in Hutchings’s usual style. It’s beautiful, delicate stuff, if a bit lacking in variety, but only the haunting ‘The Charcoal-Burner/Burning Up’ really sticks in the mind. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings All Stars (UK/USA): By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept – Live (Albino ALB009, cassette, 1994, recorded 1988)
Folk/Rock
Polly Bolton (joint lead vocals)
This live version of the album is exceptionally well recorded and very energetic, so it’s actually better than the studio original. Of course, completists will want them to both, but to my ears this is the version to go for (especially with three bonus tracks on the later CD).

GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): The Guv’nor’s Big Birthday Bash (HTD CD 39, CD, 1995)
Folk/Rock
Chris While (joint lead vocals, guitar), Polly Bolton (occasional vocals), Julie Matthews (occasional vocals, guitar, keyboards), Vikki Clayton (occasional vocals), Diane Walmisley (occasional vocals)
Recorded live at a concert celebrating Hutchings’s fiftieth birthday, this features a good cross-section of material and an interesting line-up of collaborators from the Albion Band and beyond. GRADE: C+.
Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings & Chris While (UK): Ridgeriders (HTD HTDCD103, CD, 1999)
Folk/Singer/Songwriter
Chris While (joint lead vocals, guitar)
This is a pleasant collection of mainly acoustic songs about the ‘Southern English landscape’, with occasional backing from the Albion Band. I much prefer the Chris While-fronted songs to the Phil Beer-fronted ones, and generally prefer the ballads to the more uptempo material; the best numbers by far are the sublime ‘Close Your Eyes’ and ‘Dorset Cursus’, but there are only two or three weak cuts. GRADE: C+.
Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings & Chris While (UK): Ridgeriders In Concert (Talking Elephant TECD035, CD, 2001)
Folk/Singer/Songwriter
Chris While (principal vocals, guitar, percussion)
Interspersing songs and narration, this is a pleasant live set that concentrates on the acoustic end of their repertoire. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): Human Nature (Talking Elephant TECD053, CD, 2003)
Folk
Polly Bolton (occasional vocals), Kellie While (occasional vocals), Emily Slade (occasional vocals, guitar), Judy Dunlop (occasional vocals)
Quite why this is credited as a Hutchings solo album is debatable: he’s involved in writing all the tracks, but only sings lead on one number and doesn’t play on quite a few of the others. Essentially a ‘various artists’ set, it’s a pleasant collection of acoustic folk and occasionally folk/rock songs ‘observing the human relationship with creatures and plants’. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): The Guv’nor, Volume One (HTD CD 23, CD, 1994, recorded 1966-1993)
Folk/Rock
Cathy Lesurf (occasional vocals), Sandy Denny (occasional vocals), Shirley Collins (occasional vocals), Chris While (occasional vocals), Maddy Prior (occasional vocals), Melanie Harrold (guitar), Julie Matthews (keyboards), Sue Draheim (violin), Judy Dyble (backing vocals), Julie Covington (backing vocals), Polly Bolton (backing vocals)
This interesting odds-and-sods collection features previously unreleased archive recordings from the Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra (Hutchings’s very first outfit, which metamorphosed into Fairport Convention), Fairport itself, Steeleye Span, an early Albion Country Band line-up featuring Sue Draheim and Steve Ashley, the Etchingham Steam Band and of course numerous incarnations of the Albion Band. The only really outstanding performances are the haunting ‘Elements Lament’ and an impassioned take on ‘One More Day’, with the rest being more of historical interest than anything, but this is still a worthwhile set. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): The Guv’nor, Volume Two (HTD CD 29, CD, 1995, recorded 1968-1993)
Folk/Rock
Cathy Lesurf (joint lead vocals), Sandy Denny (joint lead vocals), Chris While (joint lead vocals), Shirley Collins (occasional vocals), Sue Draheim (violin), Polly Bolton (backing vocals), Diane Walmisley (backing vocals)
Although with a slightly less interesting selection of tracks than its predecessor, this is a more consistent set, peaking on two excellent Fairport outtakes (‘You Never Wanted Me’ and ‘Sir Patrick Spens’) and a fine live version of the Albions’ ‘The Rose And The Rock’. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): The Guv’nor, Volume Three (HTD CD 38, 1995, recorded 1968-1994)
Folk/Rock
Chris While (occasional vocals, guitar), Sandy Denny (occasional vocals), Shirley Collins (occasional vocals), Julie Covington (occasional vocals), Cathy Lesurf (occasional vocals), Polly Bolton (occasional vocals), Sue Harris (oboe)
Highpoints of volume three include two Joni Mitchell covers by Fairport (‘Night In The City’ and ‘Marcie’), the lovely ‘Spencer The Rover’ fronted by Polly Bolton and the hard rocking ‘The Cardhouse’ sung by Hutchings himself. Nothing else makes much of an impression, with occasional hints that the barrel is starting to be scraped. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): The Guv’nor, Volume Four (HTD CD 66, 1996, recorded 1967-1996)
Folk/Rock
Cathy Lesurf (occasional vocals), Chris While (occasional vocals, guitar), Judy Dyble (occasional vocals), Sandy Denny (occasional vocals, guitar), Shirley Collins (occasional vocals, bells), Julie Matthews (keyboards, backing vocals), Julie Covington (backing vocals)
The fourth instalment includes a fair amount of filler, but there is still some fine music on offer. Most collectors are likely to value the two Fairport Convention numbers above all ­– a 1967 outtake of ‘Both Sides Now’ with Judy Dyble and a 1969 session version of ‘Fotheringay’. Another lovely number is the haunting Chris While-fronted ‘The Willow’. All four CDs were subsequently compiled as a boxed set (HTD BX 1, 1997) and later reissued with different artwork. GRADE: C+.
Ashley Hutchings (UK): 5 (Talking Elephant TECD038, 2002, recorded 1967-2001)
Folk/Rock
Sandy Denny, Chris While, Cathy Lesurf, Kellie, While, Julie Matthews, Judy Dyble
The fifth and final volume of The Guv’nor (although not actually billed as such) again features a fine cross-section of music. The most interesting cut is probably a lively 1989 version of ‘The Shipwreck’, but there is plenty to enjoy here. Annoyingly, there are no detailed musician credits this time around. GRADE: C+.
See also Albion Country Band, Polly Bolton, Bunch, Joanna Carlin, Cecil Sharp Centenary Collective, Vikki Clayton, Shirley Collins, Christine Collister, Julie Covington & Pete Atkin, Dando Shaft, Sandy Denny, Etchingham Steam Band, Fairport Convention, Fiddlers’ Dram, Fotheringay, Giles, Giles & Fripp, Clive Gregson & Christine Collister, Cathy Lesurf, Tim Hart & Maddy Prior, Oyster Ceilidh Band, Maddy Prior, Ragged Heroes, Steeleye Span, Trader Horne, Various ‘Flash Fearless Vs The Zorg Women, Parts 5 And 6’, Jeff Wayne, Chris While, Chris & Kellie While

Huxley Would Approve (Germany): Grave New World – Part One (No label 0742836275598, CD, 2016)
Progressive
Judith Mattes-Schneider (joint lead vocals)
The biggest influence here is clearly mid-seventies Pink Floyd (think Wish You Were Here and side one of Animals); they even throw in some sound effects of sheep. However, there are also strong elements of AOR and modern hard rock and the whole thing has a distinctly Teutonic feel, not least in Rainer Schneider’s world-weary vocals, which put me in mind of Amon Düül II’s Lothar Meid. The whole thing is very understated but also very accomplished: unlike their Swiss counterparts Cosmos they never sound like mere Floyd copyists, creating an almost dreamlike mood that ebbs and flows. GRADE: B–.

Hyldemors Grønsaligheder (Denmark): Lysene Taendes (Studie 14, cassette, 1975)
Folk/Country/Rock
Helle Vibeke Riskjaer Steffensen (joint lead vocals, guitar, bells, violin)
This continuation of Furekåben issued its only album as a cassette, in a run of 200 copies. Whilst the loose, communal feel of Furekåben remains, the music is much more rock-oriented, with structured songs, drums and clear influences from country music. As a result, the material here is less unusual, and arguably less creative, than Furekåben, but I find it more listenable. The double LP reissue (Sony Music 88843032781, Denmark, 2014) adds five bonus tracks. GRADE: C+.