Maddy Prior and June Tabor
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1976) - Maddy Prior -- vocals - June Tabor -- vocals
supporting musicians (1976) - Martin Carthy -- guitar, drums - John Gillaspie -- basson, sopranino,, bombard - Brian Golbey -- five-string fiddle - Tony Hall - melodeon - Andy Irvine -- mandolin, Hurdy Gurdy - Louis Jardin -- percussion - Nic Jones -- fiddle, guitar - Gabriel McKeon -- uilleann pipes - Johnny Moynihan (RIP) -- bouzouki - Danny Thompson -- bass
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- Tim Hart and Maddy Prior - The Oyster Band (June Tabor) - Maddy Prior (solo efforts) - Maddy Prior and the Girls - The Maddy Prior Band - Quercus (June Tabor) - Steeleye Span (Maddy Prior) - June Tabor (solo efforts)
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Genre: folk Rating: Title: Silly Sisters Company: Shanchie Catalog: 79040 Country/State: Warwick, UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: reissue includes lyric sheet Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $15.00
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I seldom attend record conventions (don't like the crowds) and I seldom go to record stores (don't like the prices). I do stop at flea markets and the vast majority seemed to have at least one dealer who sells vinyl. It makes for some bizarre finds. Take this album. I was in Little Rock, Arkansas with some buddies to see the 2024 eclipse (long story) and found this one in a small junk/antique store. "Silly Sisters" isn't a super rare album, but I've always wondered how it ended up in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Co-produced by Maddy Prior and Robin Black, I guess you could label this album traditional English folk for people who don't like traditional English folk. While I'm not a massive traditional English folk music fan, the album represents some of the first music I heard listening to local radio stations when my family moved to Belgium in the mid-'70s. For a kid who grew up on top-40 radio, this was simply mind blowing to stuff. It's a massive jump from Southern-rock, hard-rock and top-40 pop, but well worth the effort to expose yourself to it,
Prior
and Tabor had know one another since the early-'60s and occasionally p
"Silly Sisters"
track listing: 1.) Doffin' Mistress (traditional) - 2:09 rating: **** stars English folk singer Anne Briggs did an early recording of this traditional song and it makes sense it was chosen for the album since Tabor was inspired to start singing after hearing Briggs. All I can say is that accompanied by traditional instrumentation, 'Doffin' Mistress' showcased their wonderfully blended vocals. From what I've read the song was written from the perspective of a young child working in England's brutal fabric spinning industry - an acknowledgement of a rare boss who treats the workers with kindness and respect. It's a great song to listen to while seated in front of your fireplace on a cold, snowy night. Celebrating Prior's 35th anniversary as a singer, YouTube has a live performance of the song with Tabor as a special guest: It was included on her "Ballads and Candles" album and DVD. At the start of the song Prior gives a little background on the song's history. 2.) Burning Of Auchidoon (traditional) - 1:13 rating: *** stars A traditional Scottish lament (that's also known as 'Willie Mcintosh', 'Burning Of Auchidoon' is apparently based on a bloody 1500 hundreds feud between the Earl of Huntly and the Macintoshes of Clan Chattan. It's probably still going on today. This versions interesting in that it features a capella arrangement - just Prior and Tabor. 3.) Lass Of Loch Royal Guitar (traditional 4:25 rating: **** stars Perhaps better known under the title 'Lord Gregory', this is another fun, uplifting traditional tune. Girl gets pregnant and when she turns to the father for help, his mother says no. And then everyone dies. Prior handled lead vocals and with backing from guitarist Nic Jones, bass player Danny Thompson and Gabriel McKeon on uilleann pipes, her performance was stunning. 4.) The Seven Joys Of Mary (traditional) - 3:16 rating: *** stars One of the earliest songs on the album (dating back to the 14th century), the song seemingly traces it's origin to the Seven Joys of the Virgin - the Virgin Mary's moments of happiness. Largely a cappella performance by the pair. 5.) My Husband's Got No Courage In Him (traditional) - 3:07 rating: **** stars Another a cappella performance with the pair sharing vocals, the subject's what you might have expected - in spite of the wife's best efforts, a complaint over the sexual shortcomings of her husband. It certainly seems like a risqué topic for a traditional tune, but Prior and Tabor seemed quite animated on this performance. 6.) Singing the Travels (Symondsbury Mummers) (traditional) - 2:46 rating: *** stars Centuries pass by and we still argue over the same things ... 'Singing the Travels (Symondsbury Mummers)' was apparently written as part of a medieval mummers play "The Seven Champions of Christendom from Symondsbury". Do you want to work for yourself, or be employed by someone else? In this case the lyrics find a self-employed farmer and an indentured servant arguing over their lifestyles. Martin Carthy on drums (!!!) and Johnny Monynihan on bozouki. 7.) Silver Whistle (traditional) - 4:08 rating: **** stars The Gaelic ballad 'Silver Whistle' (aka 'An Fhideag Airgid'), was easily the album's most dramatic performance. Written in support of the Jacobite Risings and Bonnie Prince Charlie's ill-fated landing in the Outer Hebrides it was another track showcasing how well Prior and Tabor's voices blended. Bet Al Stewart has this one in his collection.
(side
2) An
exception to the string of traditional tunes, 'The Grey Funnel Line Fiddle'
was written in he late-'50s. Cyril Tawney was actually in the Royal
Navy when he wrote the song. The fascinating Mainly Norfolk: English
Folk and Other Good Music website had an extensive write-up on the song's
history including a quote from the late Tawney (he died in 2005): "This
was the last song I wrote before I left the Royal Navy in 1959. ‘The Grey
Funnel Line’ is the sailors’ nickname for the Royal Navy—just as if it
were another mercantile line. It’s a straightforward song about a sailor
leaving ho 2.) Geordie (traditional) - 4:00 rating: **** stars My pick for standout performance, the bouncy 'Geordie' showcased Tabor's crystalline voice. Even better, here was a traditional Scottish tune that had an upbeat plotline - wife manages to save her hubby from the King's executioners = ). Martin Carthy on guitar. 3.) The Seven Wonders (traditional) - 4:31 rating: **** stars Lovely ballad again underscoring the way their voices blend. Tony Hall on melodeon and Andy Irvine on the Hurdy Gurdy. I'd pay to hear this on a cold weekend night at my local Irish pub. 4 Another beautiful a cappella performance, I had no idea what 'Four Loom Weaver' was about, but thanks to the Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music I now know the track was inspired by the Lancashire Cotton Famine. The what? The cotton famine was an unintended consequence of the American Civil War. With Union forces imposing a blockade of Confederate shipping, southern cotton could not be exported to outside customers including English textile mills in Lancashire. The sudden embargo decimated local weavers, plunging the entire economy into ruin. The title refers to a power loom weaver common in Lancashire weaving factories. Recorded at an October 1988 Prior performance at London's Cecil Sharp House, YouTube has a mini-reunion of Prior and Tabor performing the tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DakcxsncHfs&list=PLO4Sc5b7PYb82Lpg1MS7gaxJKoU7bWTr4 Tabor also recorded a solo version of the song for the deluxe version of her 2019 "Airs and Graces" album (Topic catalog number TTSCD00). 5.) The Game Of Cards (traditional) - 3:16 rating: **** stars The album's most pastoral tune, 'The Game Of Card' breezy 'gaming" lyrics hid another set of surprisingly risqué concepts. Andy Irvine on mandolin. 6.) Dame Durdan (traditional) - 2:59 rating: *** stars Prior and Tabor learned the song from The Copper Family, whose ancestors are wildly credited with writing the tune. The liner notes explain the word 'Draggletail' as referring to "a raggetty arsed old boiler" (which I think translates for Americans as a disreputable, seedy, run-down person. You hear Martin Carthy yelling "food" at the start of the song.
© Scott R. Blackerby January, 2025
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erformed
together throughout the years. In 1976 the pair decided on a formal
collaboration. Signed by Chris Blackwell's Island Records, the album
was actually billed to Prior and Tabor; the LP entitled
"Silly Sisters". Musically the collection
featured the pair working their way through thirteen traditional pieces; the
most "recent" song being a cover of the late Cyril Tawney's
'The Grey Funnel
Line Fiddle'.
Musically I've always found the pair to have an enormously appealing
chemistry. Best known as the lead vocalist for Steeleye Span, Prior
had the sweeter voice, but as shown on 'Geordie' Tabor's crystalline voice
had a truly sensual appeal. Exemplified by a capella numbers like 'The
Seven Joys Of Mary', the hysterical and risqué
'My Husband's Got No
Courage In Him' and
the truly bleak 'Four Loom Weaver' Prior and Tabor's voices were the stars
of the show. Together and apart there wasn't a misstep on the album.
Those performances weren't hurt by occasional support from a folk all-star
cast including including guitarists Nic Jones and Martin Carthy, bassist
Danny Thompson, and mandolin player Andy Irvine.
me
and the loved one. He’s extremely fed up with the Senior Service and he’d
rather be outside, but he has to go away yet again. On occasions like this I
think the close of the first day out, as the sun is setting, is the time
when we’re most vulnerable to nostalgia. There’s a shanty with the
refrain ‘Rock and roll me over for one more day’, and this gave me the
idea for my own refrain ‘It’s one more day on The Grey Funnel Line’."
The song's been recorded by a slew of acts, including The Clancy Brothers, Tabor
on the 2011 solo album "Ashore" (Topic catalog
number TSCD577) and Tawney himself on the 1972 album "In
Port" (Argo catalog number ZFB 28)
.)
Four Loom Weaver (traditional) - 2:36
rating: **** stars