THE DOLLYMOPPS
Wight Cockade
Wild Goose Studios
397
* * *
If you’re sick of all things slick and heavily produced,
here’s the antidote. The Dollymopps are a trio from Britain’s Isle of Wight who
specialize in reviving old songs and singing them unaccompanied in three-part
harmony. Their work is evocative of other English “old songs” revivalists such
as The Watersons, the Copper Family, Young Tradition, and John Roberts and Tony
Barrand; that is, an eclectic mix of a cappella songs that evoke sea shanties, village
folk songs, the music hall, choral groups, and the early Folk Revival. The
Dollymopps–the name comes from slang for normal respectable working girls that
did occasional solicitation when money was needed–are built around the reedy
tenor and soprano of Virgil and Dorana Philpott and the bottom bass of Justin
Smith. Theirs is hand-cupped-to-the-ear full-throated singing–often in minor
keys and frequently sporting unusual chord changes and unexpected harmonies.
Wight Cockade
contains songs to tunes familiar to old songs fans but as the album title
suggests, in versions favored on Wight, the English Channel island off
England’s south-central coast. If, for example, “The Isle of Wight” sounds
really familiar, it’s because it’s a 1916 version of a song sometimes sung as
“Adieu, My Lovely Nancy.” For those who know little about the Isle of
Wight—read, most North Americans–there are several Percy Goddard Stone (1856-1934)
poems set to music, including the delightful “The Recruiting Sergeant.” To know
Stone is to know about Wight; he was both a renowned dialect poet and a leading
architect whose work remains scattered across the island. Every song on Wight Cockade is both a story within the
song, and another of where the song came from. The latter is well told in the
album’s succinct but informative notes. The songs include those culled from
Lucy Broadwood (1858-1929), whose collections inspired the creation of
Britain’s Folk-Song Society. Do you know the Isle of Wight because of Bob
Dylan’s 1969 comeback concert? Draw a straight line from Broadwood to Dylan, as
her work sparked the British Folk Revival, which inspired the American
collectors who inspired the folk revivalists who inspired Dylan. (Got that? In
other words, Dylan is Broadwood thrice removed.)
This is a deliciously old-fashioned album. It does, however,
demand close listening and it’s not for all tastes. If you need your music processed,
heavily backed, and coming at you with mirror balls at 128 beats per minute,
steer clear of the shoals. This is music for peasant clothes, a peat fire, and
a mug of real ale. Here's an example of their repertoire.–Rob Weir
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