
Morris, decended from the word “moorish”, describes a type of folk singing and dancing performed in England. Very rhythmic, Morris dancers usually use props such as long sticks or swords, and sometimes hand-kerchiefs to beat out the time of the dance or to use in some form whilst dancing. Morris dancers often dress up in outfits that are related to the regions they come from, Cotswold, Border Areas and the Northwest of England. English records, according to Wikipedia, mention morris dancing as far back as 1448. It can probably be seen today all over England at various folk festivals and once a year at Folk Life here in Ye Olde Seattle.

Some morris dancers in costume.
Ok, sounds geek-ish enough.
Move on to Morris On, an album of folk music performed by Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with help from a certain Shirley Hutchings (né Collins).
I’ve prattled on before about folk/rock and the combinations of the two conventions, but this album is brilliant, often hilarious, meshing of the two styles. This really is a folk album that rocks (as opposed to a rock album that folks). Though folk svengali Hutchings is the real force behind the creation of this album, it would be unremarkable without the metronomic drumming of Fairchild Convention’s Dave Mattacks whose loud and boisterous playing propels all players on the album to great performances. Thompson’s guitar work is fairly background here as these are dances and not meant for intricate solo work, but the group is awesomely tight even so, and Hutchings fantastic basslines work as one with the brash Mattacks all the way through.
Lyrically the album plays all the british folk cards in spades, with the exception being that the songs are more about sexual canoodling (one song, “Cuckoo’s Nest” is so blatant that it nearly makes me blush to hear these guys sing, about planting their faces in it….) then the death and despair so often associated with the british folk scene.
Let’s not forget to mention Dame Collins (I mean Hutchings. Why did she use her married name on this recording?) who guests on two tracks, calling out the young gentlemen to dance. I can say nothing about Shirley that hasn’t been said a hundred times before. As usual her stark voice, ever-so-slightly out of tune/touch brings immediacy to the tracks.
A note about that cover: It shows all of the members wearing traditional morris dance costumes from different regions of England, but updates them with modern amenities. So Ashley’s musical morris is playing the Flying V, Kirkpatrick’s chimney sweep has a vacuum cleaner, Thompson’s Robin Hood a crossbow, etc.
But what is the tranny Mattacks about? Well, apparently it is a tradition in some Morris troupes to have a “Fool” who dresses in women’s clothing, usually something fairly ruffled and pink, but always with a big pair of mens boots on too. The fool usually dances in a special morris dance called a “Molly” dance. Below is a picture of a real Molly dancer.

And here’s a video of a bunch of guys wearing g-strings doing a morris fertility dance. It’s fucking CUH-RAY-ZEE!
Samples from Morris On can be found at my blog here.