Bruce Woodley "The Roaring Days" LP 1974 Stereo

As most of our visitors will know, Bruce Woodley was one of the original members of  "The Seekers". Judith Durham and subsequent ladies were the lead vocalists but Bruce took the male lead. He was also the song writer member of the group and also occasionally collaborated with Paul Simon. He was also co-author with Dobe Newton on "I am Australian".

I have no idea who ripped this album but it is a very good rip obviously from a well preserved LP. I have not touched the material at all. It is a mixture of poems and songs encoded at 320 CBR which is a little excessive especially for the unaccompanied poems so if you are short of storage memory as in phones, players and tablets, they can be converted to a lesser rate without any apparent loss of quality. My thanks to whomsoever did this rip.

This was a promotional album commissioned by Viscount cigarettes but it is obvious that they did not skimp on production costs. The instrumental backing is high class yet relevant to the folk/pioneer theme. On two tracks Bruce is accompanied by Linda George.

The vinyl labels identify the album as Volume 1 but apparently they never progressed to a Volume 2 - That's a real pity! Graphics includes the lyrics/verses to all tracks.

Tracklist
1. Panorama (poem)
2. The Lime Juice Tub (song)
3. The Man from Snowy River (poem)
4. Break of Day (song)
5, The Roaring Days (poem)
6. With a Swag all on my Shoulder (song)
7. Clancy of the Overflow (poem)
8. Eumerella Shore (song)
9. Rain in the Mountains (poem)
10. The Lights of Cobb & Co (poem)
11. Black Velvet Band (song)
12 The Bush Girl (song)
13. The Roaring Days (reprise) (poem with musical backing)

Click here to Download MP3 320 CBR with full graphics (MediaFire) (98mb)

No longer available, contact mr.stockman@gmail.com.

Tina Lawton "Singing Bird" 1966 LP Mono

Well, it has taken a while but here is an acceptable rip of Tina Lawton's second album "Singing Bird". (I am hopeful of a better rip of her first album soon).

This is from an uncleaned rip I managed to find somewhere. I have given the tracks a light cleaning and they have responded well to this treatment. You may notice a staccato effect in some of the higher voice ranges. I suspect this is because, when recording, output was still going to the speakers and the turntable was on the same surface and slightly vibrated during play.

Anyway, enough raving on for the moment. On this album, Tina was accompanied by the harpist Huw Jones, who also arranged all the pieces, and Russell King, a flautist. All tracks are traditional songs from the British Isles.

Tracklist
1. Bobby Shaftoe
2. Springtime is Returning
3. Robin Goch
4. Strawberry Fair
5 Garton Mother's Lullaby
6. The Heron from Brecon
7. The Nightingale
8, Singing Bird
9. Ballymore Ballad
10. In the Orchard
11. The Wee Cooper from Fyfe
12. Lagan Love
13. I wish I had a Shepherd's Lamb
14 Lisa Dear
15. Charlie is my Darling
16. Will Ye Go, Lassie Go (aka Wild Mountain Thyme)

Click here to download - MP3 @ 192VBR Mono 29Mb - graphics included

Denis Gibbons "Folk Songs" 1965 LP

Despite its somewhat aged and simplistic appearance, this album was released in 1965 and appears to be primarily, or totally, a compilation release but I have not gone to the potentially lengthy process of actually checking whether they are new issues or releases of the same titles.

This is another of the welcome contributions from Ian of Tasmania and the album was obviously in good condition most tracks have responded very well to a gentle clean. There are some minor intrusive glitches on two tracks that cannot be removed but they can easily be tolerated. Track 14 "The Overlanders" does sound a little weird but this is on the original copy and is not the result of editing.

Tracklist
1. Click go the Shears
2. Lime Juice Tub
3. Bold Tommy Payne
4. The Dying Stockman
5. The Wild Colonial Boy
6. The Fox
7. The Old Bullock Dray
8. The Drover's Dream
9. The Spinning wheel
10. The Blue-Tail Fly
11. Botany Bay
12. The Old Bark Hut
13. The Foggy Foggy Dew
14. The Overlanders.

Click here to: Download with graphics - MP3 @ 160 CBR mono.

The Gumbies Bush Band - Additional Information

We have finally received some additional information on this Victorian based folk group and their 15 track tape. For those who fondly remember this band, click here to go here to the original entry which has been edited to show the latest details.

Patricia Cook "Did you know them" LP 1968

Another of the offerings from Ian. Again, a big vote of thanks to you Ian.

This is the sole album (1968) from the late Patricia Cook. She has appeared on this blog before in respect of four tracks she performed on Lionel Long's 1963 2xLP set "The Bold Bushrangers" which featured songs written by her then husband, the late Kenneth Cook better known for his literary output ("Wake in Fright" etc).

This album includes a few rarer tracks in the Australian folk tradition and a transport version of "All around my hat". Her performance of Van Dieman's land is, to me, reminiscent of the singing of Delia Murphy, the "Queen of Connemara" who accompanied her husband Thomas J. Kiernan when he became Ireland's first Ambassador to Australia in the post-war 1940s. She often appeared on the ABC singing the songs of her homeland especially "Spinning Wheel".

Excellent backing to the tracks from the renowned guitarists Don Andrews and Sebastian Jorgenson.

Tracklist
1. Van Dieman's Land
2. Jim Jones
3. All around me 'at.
4. The Donahue Song
5. Dan Morgan
6. Lullaby
7. The Cross of the South
8. Eureka Lament
9. The Ringer
10. Did you know them?
11. The bullocky
12. Johnny come home
13. Fragments (Dole Song and If I had money)
14. Danny Jones of Cobb & Co.


Click here to download MP3 192-224 VBR with graphics 55Mb