The initial incarnation of Ashley Hutchings' post-Fairport Convention cottage industry.
Throughout he 1970s and 80s, the various incarnations of the Albion Band explicitly acted as a conduit for waking up slumbering English indigenous music, its ltent power released from dormant energt sumps. (Rob Young; Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionry Music p. 274)
Fairport, Steeleye Span and The Albion Country Band effectively defined the keynote sound of English electric folk; phantoms of the agrarian past are channelled via an electrified present, chipping out the Anglo-paysan poetry of the countryside with blunt axes. Like the crafts-based society envisioned in [William Morris'} News from Nowhere, this branch of electric folk made its choices based on instinct backed up by long reflection and earnest research. And, inspired by the example, many others followed their inward exodus to England's garden sanctuary. (ibid. p. 278) Interesting. File under: Exploring Your Roots
Discography: As the Albion Country Band; As the Albion Dance Band As the Albion Band 1978-93 1995-Present
In the music library: No Roses The All New Electric Muse: The New St. George / La Rotta; Murder Of Maria Martin (with Shirley Collins)
Anthems In Eden: Here We Come a-Wassailing
Fairport Convention - The Fairport Companion: A Sailor's Life/ One More Day; The Albion Band Is Here Again; Morris Dance Tunes; Here We Come A-Wassailing
'rt' On 'fr' - Richard Thompson On The Free Reed Label: We Sing Hallelujah; Albion Sunrise; New St. George
Something Here Worth More Than Gold-Real Rarities: Dragging the River