NFF 2xCD Compilation "35 years" (1967-2001) Released 2003

Merry Christmas all. This 2 CD set is a selection of tracks representing performances at what is now known as the National Folk Festival across its first 35 years (1967-2001). The greater majority are by Australian based performers (foreign born or otherwise). As such it provides a good sampling of local performers and the wide range of their offerings. This set has long been out-of-print but releases by some of these artists are still readily available from commercial or internet sources. Of course there are artists whose work could not be featured on this set and other artists have emerged since 2001.
Some of the featured artists have sadly gone to "Fiddlers Green" but they live again in these recordings.
All tracks are MP3 @320VBR. In total, just over 200MB.

Download CD1 and Graphics Folder- From MediaFire
Download CD2 - From MediaFire

You will need to decompress these files to be able to play the tracks.
Contact mr.stockman@gmail.com if files become unavailable.

Martyn Wyndham-Read 'Ned Kelly and that Gang' LP 1970

A rip of this particular LP has been circulating on the net for many years in an unedited form. I have now done some editing of the tracks and most have responded well. Some tracks still have some defects but all tracks are pleasant to listen to - just don't listen too critically. I would welcome a cleaner rip though but that is probably a vain hope.

This album was an English issue in 1970. I am unaware as to whether it was ever sold in Australia.

Martyn Wyndham-Read resided in Australia between 1960 and 1967 during which period he became involved in Australian bush music.He has visited Australia several times since then including last month. He is also a performer of folk songs of the British Isles and has put out many albums frequently including Australian folk songs. A great performer who only seems to improve with age. You can find details about him on Wikipedia and his discography on Discogs and other sources.

The title is a bit of a misnomer as Ben Hall and his gang get more play time so it is mainly about two lots of bushrangers with the other tracks being songs about convicts. 

Track list
1. (Farewell) Ned Kelly (intro)
2. Ben Hall's Gang
3. The Streets of Forbes
4. The Convict Maid
5. Moreton Bay
6. Ye Sons of Australia
7. The Wild Colonial Boy
8. Jim Jones
9. Lament for Ben Hall
10. The Cyprus Brig
11. The Death of Ben Hall
12. Stringybark Creek
13. Farewell to Greta
14 (Farewell) Ned Kelly (reprise)

Click here to download from MediaFire
MP3 224-256 VBR averaging at 224 (simple music) 58MB.
The downloaded file needs to be decompressed to its album folder and individual tracks.
If download becomes unavailable, please email me at mr.stockman@gmail.com.

Various Artists "3 Floors Down" LP 1972

This LP featured artists who associated with the Cellar, three floors down, in the YWCA building in Sydney. This was then the venue for PACT which in 1972 still operated as an adult co-operative theatre and music space. PACT has changed somewhat over the years and is now the "PACT centre for emerging artists" now situate at Erskineville in Sydney.

It is a really mixed offering with psychedelic folk, bluegrass, an Irish traditional, a Spanish language protest song of the 1960s (shades of "Quantanamera"), a blues number, and a few country/folk contemporary numbers.

Many of these artists have featured for other albums on this blog, most notably, Marian Henderson, Declan Affley, and John Currie. All tracks are studio performances.

This is another of the albums ripped by the Victorian Bush Folkie and edited by me. There were a lot of clicks on this LP but most have been eliminated and it is now of good listening quality.

Track List
01 - Reuben James - Hamilton County Bluegrass Band
02 - No Other Name - Tom Taylor
03 - Porque Los Pobres Nos Tienen - Jeannie Lewis
04 - Fillemorrieooie-ay (Working on the Railway) - John Currie
05 - Australia Square - Bernard Bolan
06 - Island in the River (Bitter Bread, Weevils in the Flour) - Declan Affley
07 - Pity Me - Dogsbody, Bloodbus, Kratch, Dank and Snug
08 - Moon and Mice - Marian Henderson
09 - Goin' Home - Margaret RoadKnight
10 - Oldest Man Blues - Kerry Lyons and Steve Martin
11 - Strawberry Sunshine - Al Head
12 - Missed the Seasons Rain - John Currie

Click here for MediaFire download - MP3 224-256 VBR 48MB
.
The file will need to be decompressed before playing.
Let mr.stockman@gmail.com know if the file is not available for download and I will re-up it.

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger live at The Regent Theatre, Sydney 1979.

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger 1977 publicity kit photo

Yes, this one does not fit into the remit of this blog. In fact, there are only two connections to Australia. Firstly, this was a live performance at The Regent Theatre in January 1979 when they performed as part of the Sydney Festival of Folk Life. Secondly, they sang a song about Joh Bjelke-Petersen. However, I suspect many visitors to the blog will welcome the inclusion of this album.

That concert of about three hours was professionally recorded by the ABC and later broadcast in parts on ABC-FM. John B recorded the broadcast parts on a reel-to-reel recorder. He collated the parts to recreate the full concert and has subsequently separated and digitally converted each of the tracks. He has also conveniently numbered the tracks in order as two sets so as to enable the production of two CDs to feature the concert continually as in the original broadcast. (Note that if you wish to do that, ensure that there is no gap between tracks when recording - the default is usually 2 seconds)

There are a few minor glitches but, overall, the quality is very good despite an MP3 rate of 128 CBR which correlates to the original FM broadcast quality anyway. Great job John B.

Tracklist
101 Introduction
102 Cowboy Song
103 Battle of Harlaw
104 Going to The West
105 Henry Lee
106 Talking Bones
107 Penny Wager
108 Talking Matrimony Blues
109 Scolding Wife
110 Wha' Is It That Findlay?
111 Queensland Joh song
112 Crossbones Scully
113 Blast Against Blackguards

201 Cindy
202 Allende's Song
203 Dirty Old Town
204 Browned Off
205 Flying Cloud
206 No Sir No
207 Emily's Story
208 Freeborn Man
209 Ale-Wife
210 Ballad of Accounting
211 Shoals of Herring
212 I'm A Rover

Click here to download from MediaFire
 It is a compressed file which will need to be decompressed after downloading. Tracks are MP3 128 CBR. File size is 104Mb.
If download becomes unavailable please let me know and I will re-up the file - mr.stockman@gmail.com

The Larrikins "Navvy on the Line" LP 1977

John B of NSW has very kindly provided us with his rip of this album. Many thanks John - I had been wondering when I would be able to access this one.

This was one of the early Larrikin releases - LRP 9 in 1977. It was later re-released by the ABC on vinyl and it is one of the re-released LP that John has ripped.

The performers on this album were Warren Fahey, Liora "Lalita" Claff, Tony Suttor, Ned Alexander, Paddy McLaughlan and Jack Fallis with alternating vocal performers as specified on the rear of the LP slip (graphics included in the download).

It's an enjoyable album featuring music, as sub-titled, "from the Australian Railway Tradition".

Tracklist
01 The Brocklebank Engineers
02 I Came Over From Ireland
03 The Night Express
04 Cant-hook and Wedges
05 On The Queensland Railway Lines
06 The Sunshine Disaster
07 The Ten Penny Bit  - Frost is All Over
08 Billy Sheehan
09 Only One More Drink
10 The Dying Fettler
11 The Shooting of The Crow
12 The Trumpet - Ned's Favourite
13 The Sandy Hollow Line
14 Navvy on the Line
15 The Woy Woy Workers' Train.

Click here to download from MediaFire
It is a compressed file which will need to be decompressed after downloading. Tracks are MP3 192 CBR. File size is 52Mb.
If download becomes unavailable please let me know and I will re-up the file - mr.stockman@gmail.com

Upcoming digital reissue of The Cobbers back catalogue

Today received the following email:-
Hi Paul,

My name is Dave Walker and I run a Celtic Folk label based on the Mornington Peninsula called Green South Records.

I firstly wanted to congratulate you for your commitment to preserving the music, it's a mighty effort and really important work.

A big focus of Green South Records is the reissuing of the great Celtic Folk albums, ensuring, as you do, that they don't get lost. 

I just wanted to let you know that we're about to reissue the entire Cobbers back catalogue and make it available on digital platforms for the first time. Our label is more a collective than a traditional label, ensuring that the artists are fairly paid for their music and striving to give a lot of these acts the recognition they so richly deserve.

We'll be releasing a new Cobbers album per week over the next few months and it would be great if you would be able to let visitors to your site know where they're available. I'll keep in touch as we progress.

Your website is a fantastic resource and I'd be hopeful that we can work collaboratively into the future to promote and recognise the great music that has gone before.

Kind Regards

Dave Walker

www.greensouthrecords.com

0425749323

"The Kinsfolk Collection" 2CD reissue set of "Ain't that news" (1969 LP) and "For Tomorrow" (1970 LP)

I recently found this 2 CD set at a local re-selling outlet. I was massively surprised to find not only a CD re-issue of an early Australian folk group but also because it was a 2 CD issue of two albums, namely, "Ain't that news" (1969) and "For Tomorrow" (1970).

It turned out that it was not a commercial release but a re-issue by the members of the group - three brothers and a sister whose last concert was in 1971. Notes to the CD indicate that it was released in about 2000 and the graphics include an updated photograph of the group and the information "These CDs will provide for family and friends a more permanent, better quality reproduction of the music which consumed so much of The Kinsfolk's time and effort during those happy years".

I am very grateful that they have gone to this effort because they very much should be remembered. The group performs in the folk revival style drawing upon a wide range of material. But I hasten to add that they had a more laid-back, sophisticated style than those earlier in the period and many of their tracks are delightful.

They were originally a part-time group but from 1969 onward they toured Asia, the UK and a very busy six months in the USA including performing at the Madison Square Garden. These CDs readily demonstrate why they were well received overseas.

This time I am putting up two downloads - one in the usual 224-256 VBR MP3 (87Mb) - the other is in the lossless FLAC compression (a little less than 400Mb). If you want FLAC please note that the file is in two parts and you must have both for successful decompression.

Click here to commence downloading the MP3 version

Click here to commence downloading the FLAC (lossless) version

Decompress (7-zip, WinZip, etc) the files to extract the album folders and the individual tracks.
If the download is not available any more please let me know and I will re-up it.

Southern Cross "The Berlin Tapes" Cassette of unknown date

This is another rip provided by the Victorian Bush Folkie and cleaned and edited by me.
I have no ideas who the members of "Southern Cross" were and any detail will be very welcome. The album title "The Berlin Tapes" is somewhat intriguing as well.

I do love the artwork - it's so delightfully primitive and quite befitting a limited issue folk music album.

Whoever they were, they are definitely enthusiastic performers in the folk tradition. The standard of recording is fairly basic but the tape was otherwise relatively glitch-free. It is well worth a listen and provides a bit of variety over the top 20 Australian bush traditionals.

Tracklist (with spelling corrections)
1. Beneath the Southern Cross (Louis McManus)
2. Waltzing Matilda
3. South Australia
4. and the Band played Waltzing Matilda (Eric Bogle)
5. Lazy Harry's
6. The Laxey Wheel (Stuart Slack) (An Isle of Man feature).
7. Lachlan Tigers
8. Banks of the Condamine (shearer version)
9. The Ryebuck Shearer
10. The Writing of "Tipperary" (Bill Caddick)
11. (Farewell to) Carlingford (Tommy Makem)

Go to downloading by clicking here. It is one 50Mb file that needs to be decompressed before attempting to play the individual tracks.  MP3 224-256 VBR.
Email me at mr.stockman@gmail.com if file is no longer available for download and I will upload it again.

Tracey Munro Tracey "Nightpiece" LP 1987

We need to thank the Victorian Bush Folkie for making the tracks and graphics of this album available.

"Tracey Munro Tracey" was the group name chosen by Lynne Tracey, John Munro and Denis Tracey for the release of this album. It was recorded in 1986 and released in 1987. As far as I can determine, ti was not released on CD.

We have met Denis Tracey before on this blog but I know nothing about Lynne Tracey. Additional information from visitors:- Lynne Tracey is also known as Lynne Muir and is a well-known illustrator. See one of many web entries about her at The Printery House which makes this identification highly positive.

John Munro, an ex-pat Scot, will be very well known to many visitors on this blog. He has had a long career in folk but, of recent times, he is probably best known through his frequent and enduring association with fellow ex-pat Scot Eric Bogle. Need to know more? - then Google him.

There's just a little Australian content on this album, namely, the performance of Reedy River; the Henry Lawson poem as adapted by Chris Kempster. There are four tracks in the British Isles folk tradition, namely, Kelvin Grove, Miss Robertson's Reel combined with Troy's Wedding (instrumental), Bonny George Campbell combined with the instrumental Green Cathedral and the the Irish Giolla Mear (Mo Ghile Mear). The other tracks are not really folky (in the sense I use it) - more like early "new age". Of course, it is a pleasure to listen to this album with each of the performers displaying great talent. There is one unexpected feature in tracks 7 and 10 - Lynne Tracey's breathing in  is often very audible. Just ignore it.

The LP has cleaned up well.

Tracklist
1. Great Storm
2. Portrait of a Lady
3. Miss Robertson's Reel with Troy's Wedding
4. Kelvin Grove
5. Nightpiece
6. Too close to the Wind
7. The Stolen  Child (from W.B. Yeats poem)
8, Bonny George Campbell with Green Cathedral
9.  Reedy River
10. Giolla Mear

Click here to download from MediaFire
You will need to decompress the file you download to extract the folders and the track files and graphics. MP3 @ 224-256 VBR - file size 62Mb.

Toni McRae "Banjo Flat" LP 1975

A friend (who prefers to remain nameless) provided me with .wav files of the tracks of this album which he had sourced from elsewhere.

The original source material had a high level of clicks and pops and had been recorded at slightly too high an input volume leading to some clipping. Nevertheless, the tracks have cleaned fairly well and the clipping is not overtly intrusive.

This is an interesting album - a sort of 1975 anthem to Australia mainly featuring (then) modern material and themes - both good and bad. Toni McRae's performance is of a high quality enhanced both chorally and instrumentally by some top-notch performers.  The line-up was:-

Vocal harmonies: Toni McRae; flute and harmonica: Toni McRae; Male Choir: Wayne Findlay, Kirk Lorange, Royston Nicholas, Ray Hall; narration: Ray Hall; acoustic guitars: Kirk Lorange, Doug Ashdown; electric guitar: Kirk Lorange; bass guitar: John Griffin; drums and percussion: Doug Bligh; all keyboards: Wayne Findlay; Didgeridoo: George Thompson.

My favourite is "On the Night Train" - I am certain that Henry Lawson would have approved. I have no proper graphics and have included some files used on eBay and a stop-gap measure - anyone able to help?

Tracklist:

    Side 1:
    1. (The Fight at) Eureka Stockade
    2. Bellbirds
    3. Second Class Wait Here
    4. Fairy Tales
    5. Henry's War (on Nature)
    6. Last of His Tribe
    
    Side 2:
    7. On the night train
    8. The Carpet Snake Song (Ballad of the Totems)
    9. Banjo Flat
    10. You Were Gone
    11. Going Home
    12. I Am Part of the Country.


Click here to commence downloading the compressed album file (ZIP file)
File is 53Mb and must be decompressed before playing. Tracks are MP3 @ 224VBR.
If download fails, let me know by, preferably email to mr.stockman@gmail.com, or by comment on this posting.

Ned Kelly's Cousins "Songs from the Land Down Under" Cassette 1997

I found this cassette at a book fair and I cannot find out anything about it other than what appears on the cassette information and that the National Library of Australia has a disc copy of the album. It looks like an album aimed primarily at an overseas market and/or as a souvenir for overseas visitors.

According to the cassette information, the album was recorded and mixed in Sydney and thanks are also offered to personnel at Cooneys Tavern in Wollongong. The band members are identified as:-
1. John Baxter - vocals and accordian (sounds Irish presumably related to next person)
2. Peter Baxter - producer, vocals, guitar and bouzouki and writer of one song on the album (Ned Kelly) - extremely likely to be the Irish performer at this link.
3. Alan Morrison - vocals , bass and guitar
4. Johnny Spillane - backing vocals, whistles. lager phone (sic), harmonica and bodhran. Now identified as an Irish expat from County Cork still resident in Wollongong. (see two visitors' comments below)
5. Gregg Stevens - vocals, guitar, mandolin and bouzouki (Australian?)

Can anyone help with further information on this group, its members and the circumstances surrounding the creation of this album? There is a strong Irish influence overall.

The tracks are traditional except where authors identified below.

Tracklist
1. The Overlander
2. Ryebuck shearers
3. Waltzing Matilda (Qld version)
4. The Wild Colonial Boy
5. Ned Kelly (P. Baxter)
6. Across the Western Plains
7. The Wild Rover
8. Black Velvet Band
9. Click go the Shears
10. Since Then (Henry Lawson)
11. Lachlan Tigers
12. South Australia
13. The Pub with no Beer (Gordon Parsons)
14. Botany Bay
15. Moreton Bay

If the below download link fails contact me by comment below or, preferably, email me at mr.stockman@gmail.com. download file needs to be decompressed.

Click here to download compressed album file containing graphics. MP3 @224-256VBR 66Mb.

Lionel Long "Wild Colonial Boy" 1962 LP - Stereo Version now available

In 2008, I posted a MONO download for Long's 1962 album "The Wild Colonial Boy"
I have now ripped and edited a Stereo album and encoded it in lossless flac.
I have included its download link under the original post. Click here to go to the original post.

Please note that the file is just a fraction less than 200MB. You do not need to download the graphics file if you have previously downloaded the mono version.

The Bushwackers "Warrigal Morning" LP 1983

This LP was very kindly sent to me by Mark from Victoria. Many thanks as I had been wondering just when I would be able to do this one.

From the outset let me say that this is not quite in the vein that you might expect from The Bushwackers. The reason for this is that it is the soundtack album from the 1983 remake of the movie "Bush Christmas". It includes original performances of the traditionals "Lachlan Tigers", "Waltzing Matilda", "Billy of Tea"and the instrumental "The Fishing Reels". Sadly, it also includes that absurd rewrite of Saul Mendelsohn's "Brisbane Ladies" ("Augathella Station") that I have ranted about before. The album includes an instrumental performance of "Silent Night". All other tracks are original compositions specially written for the movie but well-and-truly in the style favoured by the band. Very good perfromances especially the guitar work of Tommy Emmanuel.

The "Bush Christmas" was a flop but you might like to look it up on the web to provide some context for some of the music. Apparently it was released on DVD in 2012.

Tracklist
1. Prince's Theme (a race horse)
2. Warrigal Morning (the movie theme)
3. Lachlan Tigers
4. Silent Night
5. Waltzing Matilda (Queensland Version)
6. Goanna Stew
7. The Fishing Reels
8. Billy of Tea
9. Travelling Music
10. Stir the Pudding (two parts)
11. Augathella Station
12. The Race.

Click here to commence download of the album. It is a compressed file which you will need to decompress. If download is not available email me at mr.stockman@gmail.com and I will put it up again. 50Mb MP3 @224-256 VBR.

Lionel Long "Songs of a Sunburnt Country" LP 1965

Ian from Tasmania provided a rip of this album. Thanks Ian!

This was the fifth of Lionel Long's albums and it is a mix of Australian country and folk; the latter including a strong component of Australian traditional folk songs which most visitors will immediately recognise.

"The Note on the Woolshed Wall" was penned by Lionel Long about when he was a roustabout at "Tarewinnabar" station  in about the late '50s. He did write a composition onto the wall of his room in the station's shearer's quarters but I cannot remember if it was this song but I do recall the phrase about "wild horses". (Certainly, this song was in play long before this LP was released but I cannot find any details of its initial release.) Back then, the station was owned by Sir William Gunn of The Wool Board fame. "Tarewinnabar" is about 40 miles north-west of Goondiwindi and just on the Queensland side of the QLD/NSW border but the album blurb infers Lionel was in North Queensland.

The LP has obviously suffered some wear but has generally cleaned to an acceptable level. The major exception is the recitation of the "Banjo" Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River" which is highly sibilant. Fortunately, it is not that great a performance (IMO).

Tracklist

A1	The Shearer's Dream
A2	Oh, The Springtime It Brings The Shearing
A3	The Dying Stockman
A4	The Lime Juice Tub
A5	Anzac Cove
A6	My Country
B7	The Note On The Woolshed Wall
B8	Van Dieman's Land
B9	Out West
B10	Bold Jack Donahue
B11	The Man From Snowy River
B12	Waltzing Matilda (Queensland Version)

Click here to download. MP3 @224-256VBR - graphics included. 45MB
Want FLAC - click here - 139Mb with graphics.
They are compressed files needing decompression with 7-Zip, WINRAR, WIN  ZIP, or similar.
If link fails, let me know and I will create a new download link.

Forest Hill Folk "A Treasury of Authentic Australian Bush Ballads" LP 1974.

Ian from Tasmania provided this album and it is well past time that I put it up. Good work Ian!

I enjoyed working on this album - not only because it was very "clean:" - but also I found this group and its music quite infectious.

The blurb on the rear of the slip is, for once, quite a good description of this group and its music so I quote it:

A dedicated bunch of bush balladeers, the Forest Hills Folk aim to present folk music in the way it all began. Unsophisticated songs, sung in an unsophisticated manner, accompanied by unsophisticated instruments with a strong emphasis on Australiana. Mostly school teachers, living in Forest Hills area, they just love to get together and perform their repertoire in their own honest lively way, and after all, isn't that what folk music is really all about?

The members are advised as:
Denise - Lead vocals, Guitar, Recorder
Tim - Lead vocals, Conga Drum, Lagerphone
Pat - Violin, Tinwhistle, Accordion, Harmonica, Clarinet
Bill - Bush Bass
Keith - Guitar (possibly not included in cover photograph??)
Dixie - Guitar, Flute, Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion and Manager.

No family names are given so any contributions further identifying them will be very welcome.

For the main part, tracks are Australian bush traditionals the exceptions being "Ned Kelly" (an early "hillbilly" song, "Flies", "Snowy River Roll" and the "Woolloomooloo Blues" (the latter usually known as "The Woolloomooloo Lair". In their song "Eumeralla Shore" usually spelt "Eumerella", they are actually singing the name of the Victorian town of that name. Otherwise Australia is littered with the name "Eumerella" especially as being fully or partlty the name of various localities, sheep and cattle stations, streets and roads.

You rarely get much variation in the performance of "Black Velvet Band" but this group gives it a easy-going treatment which I found to be a very pleasant change from the norm.

Tracklist
1. The Old Bullock Dray
2. Flash Jack from Gundagai
3. Ned Kelly (Poor Ned Kelly)
4. Flies
5. Catalpa
6. The Old Bark Hut
7. Wild Rover No More
8. Springtime brings on the Shearing
9. Snowy River Roll
10. Eumeralla Shore
11. The Black Velvet Band
12. Woolloomooloo Blues (Lair)

Click here to  commence downloading the album file with graphics. MP3 224-256VBR. 48Mb.
Click here for the FLAC (lossless) version   84MB
The file will need to be decompressed before any attempt is made to "play" it.
Please let me know at mr.stockman@gmail.com if the download becomes unavailable and I will re-up it.