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.

Lionel Long "Australia! Australia!" LP 1975 Stereo

Ian from Tasmania has very generously provided digital copies of several LP albums of Australian Folk Singers and Songs along with their graphics and some graphics to supplement previous postings - and all of a high quality too. Many thanks Ian.
I know very little about this album and you will notice that the liner notes are totally uninformative as to when and where these tracks were recorded and what other musicians and singers were involved. It is supposedly produced by a "Tweed Harris"??
I have not bothered to check but I guess that some of the tracks are re-issues from earlier albums possibly cashing in on his various television appearances in Australian series. I'd welcome any definite information than any of our readers can provide.
Still, this is a worthy album portraying the stronger RCA focus on Long's traditional folk side.

Tracklist
1. Cash & Co.
2. Click go the shears
3. 10,000 miles
4. The Wild Colonial Boy
5. The Banks of the Condamine (shearing version)
6. The Brisbane Ladies (Augathella Station)
7. Waltzing Matilda
8. Razorback (Moonlight Rider)
9. On the Banks of the Reedy Lagoon
10. Botany Bay
11. The Wild Rover
12. Wallaby Stew

Download here with graphics from MediaFire  (FLAC version) 139MB
The Download file must be decompressed before playing.
Link failed? Tell mr.stockman@gmail.com and I will put it up again.

Lionel Long "Today" LP 1967

Lionel Long put out this album in 1967 after returning to Australia from a stint spent in Europe. It's a bit of an eclectic mix mainly of (then) contemporary folk and popular music.
I recently discovered a copy of this LP - a World Record Club re-issue - which accounts for the rather bland cover shown here. (can anyone provide a copy of the original cover?)

The tracks are:-
1. The Piney Wood Hills written and originally performed by the outstanding Amerind performer Buffy Sainte-Marie.
2. Dancing Distance from Mason Williams and John Stewart.
3. Love Minus Zero by Bob Dylan
4. Flowers of Peace - Penned by Pete Seeger to fit the tune of the Scottish folk song "Wild Mountain Thyme" aka "Will ye go, lassie, go"
5. Follow the Wind - a 1965 composition by the then 18 or 19 year old Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees) and originally recorded by them in 1965 as the B side of a 45rpm single (despite claims that Lionel Long was the first to record this this song). Lionel does a great job on this track and it is definitely in the contemporary folk genre of the 1960s.
6. Many a Mile by Patrick Style
7. Them Poems - Mason Williams wrote and performed several short comedic songs which were collectively known as "Them Poems". Lionel performs five of these, namely. Stamp Lickers, Banjo Pickers, Toad  Suckers, Sportcarers, and Hors d'oeuvres.
8. Life Song another by Mason Williams much admired by Lionel Long.
9. Alberta - a modern reworking of a traditional Afro-American song.
10. Blind Men Wander by Peter Best (Australian composer)
11. The Marvellous Clouds by the American poet/songwriter/singer so popular in the 1960s, Rod McKuen. (My preference would be for other Rod McKuen songs)
12. Less of Me by Glen Campbell. It was a hit in Australia in 1966 for Gail Martin, daughter of Dean Martin.
13. Come the Time - another by Peter Best
14. A Repco Brabham Car - A comedy piece penned by Lionel.
15. The Green Years - Lionel wrote this largely autobiographical song straight from the heart.

 Definitely not your usual Lionel Long fare but nevertheless very entertaining. My favourite is "Follow the Wind".

Download with graphics MP3  @ 224-256 VBR 65Mb
From MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com

Lionel Long "Close Up" LP 1970

A somewhat mixed LP this one - not really country, not really folk and hardly a "close up" of the usual Lionel Long offerings.  And with a rather strange LP cover and rear having absolutely no bearing to the music, most of which is of American country and western origin, prominently by Merle Haggard so I guess it should be categorised as country but the overall production is certainly not country.

In my opinion, it definitely is not Lionel's best work.  I suspect that this might be why he broke with EMI after the production of this LP and, with Columbia, returned to his folk side. Still there are a couple of good tracks on this album with the standout being "Ned Kelly" by Shel Silverstein.  The tracks are "Ribbon of Darkness" (Gordon Lightfoot), Merle Haggard's "Sing me back Home"; "Mama Tried"; "I take a lot of Pride in What I am"; and "Shade Tree Fix-it-man", "Wildwood Flower" (Carter Family), "Ned Kelly" (Shel Silverstein), "The Great White Horse" (Buck Owens and L Scott), "The Mule Skinner's Son" (from Jimmy Rodgers and George Vaughan, "I am off to Kambalda" (Ken Neate), and two tracks composed by Lionel Long, namely, ""Sugarcane Country Blues", and "Believe me Lord".  Mary Jane Boyd performs with Lionel on "The Great White Horse" and assists with "I am off to Kambalda".

This LP was published as being Stereo but I guess it only meant it could be played on stereo pickup because it was very definitely mono in all respects other than subsequent defects - so it's MP3 mono VBR 196-224 - 51Mb

Download from MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com

Lionel Long "Walkabout" LP 1968

This album was billed as Lionel Long's first country and western album when it was released in 1968.  It certainly leans towards being a country album but is hardly typical of that genre.  It is more of an eclectic and interesting mix of songs from a rural perspective.

Nine of the eleven tracks on this LP were written by Lionel Long; the other two being the song "A Town like Alice" penned by Lettie Katts and an Australian traditional "Westward", more commonly known as "Hurrah for the Roma Railway" but given more of a country treatment.  Nevertheless, there are some very good tracks on this album.

The tracks on this LP are Bindi-i-i, Curraweena Station, Lucky Opals, Thursday Island Girl, Legend of Pirili, 600 Miles, Westward, Jet Plane, Thar She Blows, A Town Like Alice, and Nick the Greek.

The LP cover and its label are very definite about this being a stereo LP.  In fact, it was totally mono - not even an attempt at simulated stereo so I have encoded it as mono as this halves the size of the file.

With graphics - encoded at 192 VBR MP3.
Download from MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com

Lionel Long "The Bold Bushrangers" 1963 (2 LP Set)

The Bold Bushrangers was a two LP set issued in 1963.  All but two of the tracks were specifically penned for this project by the Australian author Kenneth Cook (best known for "Wake in Fright").  Somewhat paradoxically, whereas Long previously recorded traditional material with modern-style musical backing, this contemporary material has a very folky backing often with just Long accompanying himself on guitar.  Some tracks also feature that superb five-string banjo player, Dave Guard, an original member of the Kingston Trio who migrated to Australia in 1962 and backed several Australia performers (sometimes under other names e.g with Tina Date as Dynamite Finkelstein).

Kenneth Cook's wife, Patricia Cook is the soloist on three of the tracks and performs a duet with Long on one other. I know nothing about this lady but she gives a strong performance with a distinct Irish style highly reminiscent of the legendary Delia Murphy, the "Queen of Connemara" who was very well-known in Australia as she had accompanied her husband Tom Kiernan when he was appointed as the first Irish Ambassador to Australia in the post WWII years and often performed especially on ABC radio.

There have been some difficulties in getting reasonable LPs of this set.  Finally, Ian of WA, has provided me with copies of both volumes (thanks Ian),  Volume 1 is mono whereas volume 2 is stereo and in far better condition than 1 which had three fairly worn tracks on side two (the first three) causing some minor distortion which I can't correct.

Ian has also kindly provided text of the rears of the LPs. and these are included in the download.

The two traditional tracks are "The Wild Colonial Boy" and "Moreton Bay" and Kenneth Cook has written some really great songs for this set. My favourites are "The Drifting Smoke of the Mountain" and "Sir Frederick Pottinger" but others are also enjoyable.

MP3 @ 192-224

Download from MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com 

Lionel Long "Amberwren and Other Folk Songs" 1966

LP Rip MP3 192VBR
Track List
1. Amberwren
2. I Dreaned of Two Ships
3. Two Doves
4. Farewell
5. Namatjira
6. Turn, Turn, Turn
7. Boll Weevil

Lionel Long has previously featured here mainly for traditional music of the British Isles, Australia and of the sea and ships. This album is markedly different. The only traditional song it features is the American "Boll Weevil" which he gives more of a rock than a folk treatment. "Amberwren" is the feature track of almost 17 minutes and took up all of side 1 of the LP. It was penned by American musician and songwriter Mason Williams in 1963 and takes the form of a minstrel lay of the medieval period which well suits Lionel's folky style and the backing he gives it on his "guitar-lute". (I don't know if any other musician ever recorded this song). "I Dreamed of Two Ships" and "Two Doves" were both composed by Lionel in the folk style demonstrating that his many talents also stretched to song writing. "Farewell" is the Bob Dylan composition. "Namatjira" is a protest/tribute song for the Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira; the work of Gordon Tolman, and "Turn, Turn, Turn" is, of course, the well-known Pete Seeger composition made famous by "The Weavers".
It has been a long struggle ripping and editing this album as all three copies I hold have been damaged to some extent and you may well notice that there are still some residual problems but I am sure you will enjoy this album.

Download with graphics (Downloading suspended - see comments)

Lionel Long "Songs of the Sea" 1964

LP Rip MP3 Mono 192-224
Track List
1. High Barbaree
2. Good-Bye My Lover Goodbye
3. The Golden Vanity
4. The Eddystone Light
5. The Greenland Whale Fishery
6. Captain Kidd
7. The Chivalrous Shark
8. The Sloop "John B"
9. Johnny Todd
10. Botany Bay
11. The Drunken Sailor
12. Sally Bolt
13. Oh! You New York Girls




I have just finished ripping this hard-to-get album. Sadly, it's only mono but then, with an issue date of 1964, the "stereo" version was probably more pseudo-stereo than actual. This was a well-used LP and, although I have cleaned up the tracks, it is not quite up to the high quality that I usually aim for. But I am probably just being too self-critical. (It's hard to avoid getting that way when you have just spent hours editing tracks).
All the tracks are well-sung with great music backing. There are some great folk classics here including some that are not that common on "sea songs" albums.

Download with graphics

From MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com

Lionel Long "The Wild Colonial Boy" 1962 LPs (Mono and Stereo)

LP Rip MP3 VBR 192-224
Track List
1. The Overlander
2. The Crocodile
3. Stockman's Last Bed
4. The Dalby Ram (Australian adaption of Derby Ram)
5. Jabbin Jabbin (adapted Aboriginal)
6. Ten Thousand Miles
7. Wild Colonial Boy
8. Banks of the Condamine
9. Old Bark Hut
10. Brisbane Ladies (Augathella Station)
11. Dust in the Sun
12. Black Velvet Band
13. A Nautical Tale
14. Fool's Gold

Yes, this is one of Lionel Long's early albums where the backing is not all that appropriate and a little overdone. Still, don't let that reduce your enjoyment of Lionel's clear no-nonsense rendition of these mainly traditional Australian songs.

Download MONO Album and graphics MP3 @192-224 VBR 60Mb (2008)
Download STEREO Album and graphics - flac 200Mb

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com

Lionel Long "Troubadour - Folk Songs of the British Isles" 1965

LP Rip 192-224 VBR MP3
Track List
1. The Fox
2. Barbara Allen
3. Queen Jane (shown on sleeve as "Queen Anne")
4. Early One Morning
5. Greensleeves
6. The Four Marys
7. The Ash Grove
8. The Troubadour Song
9. Knick-Knacks
10. The Four Ravens
11. Green Broom
12. John Riley



Lionel Long was, in terms of income and general recognition, the most successful folk singer of the folk revival period and did more to bring Australian folk music to the notice of the general population than any other artist. Folk "purists", however, often took exception to his commercially successful ways and it true that some of his early albums were a little "over-the-top" in terms of popular music backing. There are no such problems with this album; it's a good clean performance in the troubadour style. This Album was originally issued under "Long Ago - Songs of the British Isles". Despite his success, there is only one CD of his songs currently available, namely "Waltzing Matilda" which is mainly a re-release of his 1961 LP of the same name but with the cover of this "Troubadour" LP being reused with re-branding as Waltzing Matilda.
For those who may be interested in more detail about this gifted musician please click here to go to an informative site which includes a discography.

Download with graphics
From MediaFire

Link failed? Then please leave a comment or contact mr.stockman@gmail.com