No Roses

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1971 studio album by Shirley Collins and The Albion Country Band

No Roses

Studio album by

Shirley Collins and The Albion Country Band

Released| October 1971
Recorded| 1971
Genre| Folk rock, English folk
Length| 33:30
Label| Pegasus
Producer| Sandy Roberton, Ashley Hutchings
Shirley Collins chronology
| Love, Death and the Lady
(with Dolly Collins)
(1970)  | No Roses
(1971)  | A Favourite Garland
(1973)

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The Albion Country Band chronology
|  | No Roses
(1971)  | Battle of the Field
(1976)

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [1]

No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded at Sound Techniques, and Air Studios in London, in the summer of 1971. It was produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings (Shirley Collins' husband at the time). It was released in October 1971 on the Pegasus label.

It is very unusual to have 27 musicians and singers on an album of traditional folk songs. It happened because people simply dropped in during recording sessions and were asked to join in. "The Murder of Maria Marten", a lengthy song about the Red Barn Murder, is broken into segments, with parts of British folk rock alternating with more traditional parts featuring Shirley Collins' voice and a hurdy-gurdy drone. Shirley Collins had used a similar technique on "One Night As I Lay on My Bed" on "Adieu to Old England".

Some songs, for instance "Poor Murdered Woman" and "Murder of Maria Marten", feature large parts of the Fairport Convention line-up of late 1969 (Liege and Lief). In fact, Fairport Convention member Ashley Hutchings appears on all, Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson on eight, and Dave Mattacks on three of the nine songs on this album.

Claudy Banks includes a composed duo performance by Alan Cave on bassoon and British free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill – his only performance ever in the context of British folk music. Hal-An-Tow features members of the two acclaimed folk vocal groups The Watersons (Lal and Mike Waterson) and The Young Tradition (Royston Wood). Both drummer Roger Powell and pianist Ian Whiteman previously played together in the band Mighty Baby.

The album title No Roses are the last words of the first verse of the folk song "The False Bride" ("I went down to the forest to gather fine flowers, but the forest won't yield me no roses."), which Shirley Collins sang on her EP Heroes in Love in 1963.

## Track listing[edit]

All the tracks are arrangements of traditional folk songs. Claudy Banks stems from Ron and Bob Copper. The line-up is according to the folk database Mainly Norfolk.[2]

1. "Claudy Banks" (4:37)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Roger Powell – drums; Simon Nicol – electric guitar; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Ian Whiteman – piano; Dave Bland – concertina; Alan Cave – bassoon; Lol Coxhill – alto saxophone
2. "Little Gipsy Girl" (2:16)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Roger Powell – drums; Dave Mattacks – sticks; Simon Nicol – electric guitar; Dave Bland – hammered dulcimer; Tony Hall – melodeon
3. "Banks of the Bann" (3:38)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Dolly Collins – piano; Simon Nicol – acoustic guitar; Richard Thompson – acoustic 12-string guitar; John Kirkpatrick – accordion
4. "Murder of Maria Marten" (7:28)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Nic Jones – backing vocals and fiddle; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Simon Nicol – electric guitar; Tim Renwick – electric guitar; Dave Mattacks – drums; Barry Dransfield – fiddle; Francis Baines – hurdy gurdy
5. "Van Dieman's Land" (4:59)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Ian Whiteman – piano; Simon Nicol – acoustic guitar; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Roger Powell – drums; Dave Bland – concertina; Colin Ross – Northumbrian smallpipes; Alan Lumsden – ophicleide
6. "Just as the Tide Was A-Flowing" (2:13)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Maddy Prior – backing vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Roger Powell – drums; Simon Nicol – acoustic guitar; Dave Bland – concertina
7. "The White Hare" (2:43)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar, percussion; Roger Powell – drums; Tim Renwick – acoustic 12-string guitar; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Royston Wood – backing vocals; Lal and Mike Waterson – backing vocals; Steve Midgen – French horn
8. "Hal-An-Tow" (2:54)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar, percussion; Roger Powell – drums; Tim Renwick – acoustic 12-string guitar; Richard Thompson – slide guitar; Dave Bland – hammered dulcimer; Tony Hall – melodeon; Royston Wood – backing vocals; Simon Nicol – backing vocals; Gregg Butler – serpent; Trevor Crozier – jew's harp
9. "Poor Murdered Woman" (4:17)
* Shirley Collins – lead vocals; Ashley Hutchings – bass guitar; Dave Mattacks – drums; Dolly Collins – piano; Richard Thompson – electric guitar; Simon Nicol – electric guitar; Dave Bland – concertina

## The Albion Country Band[edit]

The members of the band are listed on the front of the album:

* Lal Waterson
* Mike Waterson
* Royston Wood
* Francis Baines
* Steve Migden
* Roger Powell
* Richard Thompson
* Colin Ross
* Alan Lumsden

* Maddy Prior
* Simon Nicol
* Ashley Hutchings
* Alan Cave
* Lol Coxhill
* Dave Bland
* Tony Hall
* Tim Renwick

* Ian Whiteman
* Barry Dransfield
* Nic Jones
* Dave Mattacks
* Dolly Collins
* Gregg Butler
* John Kirkpatrick
* Trevor Crozier

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## References[edit]

1. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Shirley Collins / Albion Country Band: No Roses". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
2. ^ http://mainlynorfolk.info/shirley.collins/records/noroses.html Mainly Norfolk: track listing, line-up and further information concerning No Roses

* v
* t
* e

Albion Band

* Ashley Hutchings

* Steve Ashley
* Phil Beer
* Bill Caddick
* Martin Carthy
* Dolly Collins
* Shirley Collins
* Lol Coxhill
* Sue Draheim
* Barry Dransfield
* Blair Dunlop
* Howard Evans
* Trevor Foster
* Sue Harris
* Nic Jones
* John Kirkpatrick
* Chris Leslie
* Cathy Lesurf
* Dave Mattacks
* Julie Matthews
* Ken Nicol
* Simon Nicol
* Philip Pickett
* Maddy Prior
* Brian Protheroe
* Tim Renwick
* Colin Ross
* Ric Sanders
* Martin Simpson
* Roger Swallow
* John Tams
* Graeme Taylor
* Linda Thompson
* Richard Thompson
* Lal and Mike Waterson
* Chris While
* Kellie While
* Pete Zorn

Studio albums|

* No Roses (1971)
* Battle of the Field (1976)
* The Prospect Before Us (1977)
* Rise Up Like the Sun (1978)
* Yuletracks (1986)
* Acousticity (1993)
* Albion Heart (1995)
* Ridgeriders (1999)

Live albums|

* "Ridgeriders" In Concert (2001)

Related articles|

* Fairport Convention
* Steeleye Span
* Home Service
* Etchingham Steam Band
* Show of Hands

* v
* t
* e

Shirley Collins

Solo albums|

* Sweet England (1959)
* False True Lovers (1960)
* Heroes in Love (EP, 1963)
* The Sweet Primeroses (1967)
* The Power of the True Love Knot (1968)
* Adieu to Old England (1974)
* Amaranth (1976)
* Lodestar (2016)
* Heart′s Ease (2020)
* Archangel Hill (2023)

Collaborations|

* Folk Roots, New Routes (with Davy Graham, 1964)
* Anthems in Eden (with Dolly Collins, 1969)
* Love, Death and the Lady (with Dolly Collins, 1970)
* No Roses (Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, 1971)
* Morris On (Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield, 1972)
* Son of Morris On (Ashley Hutchings and others, 1976)
* The Prospect Before Us (The Albion Dance Band, 1977)
* For as Many as Will (with Dolly Collins, 1978)
* Lark Rise To Candleford (The Albion Band, 1980)
* Etchingham Steam Band (Etchingham Steam Band, 1995)
* The Holly Bears the Crown (The Young Tradition and Shirley and Dolly Collins, 1995)
* Harking Back – Durtro (with Dolly Collins, live, 1998)
* The BBC Sessions (The Albion Band, 1998)
* Snapshots (with Dolly Collins, 2006)
* Dancing Days Are Here Again (The Albion Dance Band, 2007)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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