Shirley Jacobs "Songs of Love and Freedom" LP 1975

A real eclectic mix this LP featuring Australian traditionals, an early Bob Dylan, a soundtrack, an Australianised  version of Woody Guthrie's  "This Land is your Land", a traditional Scottish song, a song about Australian Rules Football to the tune of Percy Grainger's "English Country Garden", a childhood lost song reminiscent of Rolf Harris's "Two Little Boys", a song about loving through prison bars, three popular songs of the 60s and 70s, and a Henry Lawson poem set to music  - all receiving professional backing occasionally with some great instrumentation spoiled a little by too much woodblock percussion overall.

Shirley Jacobs was a Melbourne folk singer and anti-Vietnam activist and put out at least ten LPs on various labels mainly featuring folk music. I think this one may have been her last LP (anyone know better?) .

With Australia out of Vietnam in December 1972, Shirley went on to become involved with prisoner issues at Pentridge Gaol in Melbourne where she performed regularly eventually falling in love with a prisoner, Ronald "Joey" Hamilton, a painter and docker and prison activist.  The "Love and Freedom" title reflects this situation but only two tracks have any possible relevancy to that theme.  The cover portrait is of a sketch drawn by a prisoner of "B" Division.
Her LPs are somewhat difficult to come by and I'd love to have copies of her early albums. Can anyone help?

Tracks in order are Annie's Song, Ranchin' in the Evenin', Sad-eyed Teddy Bear, Cross of the South (rare traditional), Green Green Grass of Home, Love over the Walls, Cockies of Bungaree, This Land is Your Land (Oz version), Melbourne Football Song, Blowin' in the Wind, Wild Mountain Thyme, Scarlet Ribbons, and Bush Girl.

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Denis Gibbons "Folk Songs of Australia Vol 1 ~ Convicts and Early Settlers" LP 1974

This was the first LP in Denis Gibbons three-part "Folk Songs of Australia" series (Volume 3 has recently been posted on this blog).  This particular LP is a stereo version copied by Brendan of Tasmania and subsequently 'cleaned' by me  Many thanks Brendan.
Most of the tracks are the regular standards but there are also two rarer songs, namely, The Last Farewell to Stirling and The Catalpa. Other tracks are Botany Bay, Jim Jones, Bold Jack Donohue, Black Velvet Band, Old Bullock Dray, Wild Rover, Drover's Dream, Andy's Gone with Cattle, Old Bark Hut, and Wallaby Stew.
An interesting point that I perhaps should have raised far earlier is that of so many of our folk songs referring to convicts traveling to, and suffering at, Botany Bay.  The fact is that, although Botany Bay was selected as the intended first site of Australian settlement, on arrival a quick survey identified that it was unsuitable for settlement.  A search of the nearby coast discovered Sydney Harbour and the first fleet quickly moved to the site of modern Sydney and set up camp there. Nowadays, Botany Bay is part of southern suburban Sydney.
Another issue is that some of the convict-related songs make much of the cruelty and deprivation suffered by convicts e.g regular routine beatings, slavery and brutality.  There are exceptions but the far greater majority of convicts were better-off in Australia and many prospered while still "serving" their sentences.  Then, the lower classes in Great Britain suffered considerable hardship and very limited opportunity which is why the crime rate was so high anyway.  Initially, convicts were terrified of transportation to Australia because the Government went to great lengths to portray transportation as a deterrent to crime.  By the early 1800s, sufficient convicts had returned to British Isles and their portrayal of the conditions in the colony markedly lessened the fear of transportation and many convicts would formally request transportation.  Contrary to common belief, convicts of British citizenship were allowed to return to Great Britain after serving their time.  Some did but most opted to remain in Australia settling down to often hard, but far more satisfactory lives compared to their peers in the homeland.

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Denis Gibbons "Shearing Songs" 1962 EP

Gazza of Lithgow very kindly purchased this EP and forwarded it to me to rip a few months ago.  I was very happy to receive the EP thinking I might be able to get some cleaner version of identically named tracks on some of Gibbons LPs.  When I started working on it this week, I was very surprised to find that these are different versions which preceded those of the same name on subsequent LPs so this is a great find.  Many thanks Gazza.
Tracks are:
1. Flash Jack from Gundagai
2. Springtime it brings on the Shearing
3. Lime Juice Tub
4. Back Block Shearer (usually Backblock Shearer)
5. Another Fall of Rain

As expected there is a little distortion but a fairly good result from a 1962 EP.

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Seona McDowell "Australian Ballads - The Early Years" LP 1981

Seona McDowell was Irish born, New Zealand educated, took up Australian folk Music when residing in Australia, and now lives and works in the USA.
After winning the 1979 and 1980 Oz Music Awards, Folkways Records hired her to produce this album in the USA.
Seona has a great voice and does a very credible performance on this LP but the musical backing was obviously primarily provided by American performers based in the country and bluegrass genres and is, in my view, slightly discordant even though I am a big bluegrass fan.  Obviously this was a lot more palatable for an American audience even though I suspect that this was not really in strict accord with the Folkways philosophy.  Still, one must not quibble too much as these folk songs never had any real restrictions as to the type of musical backing and the very essence of folk music is its adaption to the instrumentation at hand and we've had enough Australian LPs with some quite off-putting musical backing at times.
"Lady Franklin's Lament" is somewhat of a questionable inclusion.  As far as I know, the only Australian connection is that the very famous Lord Franklin was Governor of Tasmania from about 1828 before perishing on the search for the North West Passage - still it's a great song.
I don't mean to put anyone off as this is well worth the download effort.  It's a good clean rip.  PDF graphics and lyrics from Folkways are part of the download.
Tracks are:- Black Velvet Band, Convict Maid, Botany Bay, Moreton Bay, Lady Franklin's Lament, With My Swag all on my Shoulder, Cross of the South, The Old Palmer Song, Wild Colonial Boy, Matt Brady, Click Go the Shears, Springtime it brings on the Shearing, Bold Tommy Payne, and, of course, Waltzing Matilda.

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Sorry folks, no more downloads following this courteous email from the Smithsonian Institute

Thanks for your interest and support of this Smithsonian Folkways recording. I came across your recent post regarding Seona McDowell’s “Australian Ballads”.

Smithsonian Folkways is the non-profit record label of the national museum of the United States. Our mission is to document the music of the world and distribute it while respecting the artists that make the music. As such, we collect revenue from music sales and distribute money back to artists as well as fund new recording projects. Please help our artists and help support our mission by removing the links to full-length downloads of this album and instead link to one of the many websites that distributes music legally. The Smithsonian Folkways website (www.folkways.si.edu), Amazon.com, eMusic, Rhapsody, Napster, iTunes, Pandora, and All Music are all good places to link.

You are welcome to post a link to the .PDF of the liner notes/lyrics.

Smithsonian Download Link US$9.99 for download album  (also link on that page to PDF Download)

Leonard Teale and Andy Sundstrom "Songs of the Sundowners" LP 1969

This was the first LP by these two. It was produced in 1969.  Although they are performing many of the more popular Australian folk songs, they are mainly using less common tunes and variations.
These tracks have been kindly provided by our Tasmanian correspondent, Brendan.  There is some distortion and minor faults on some tracks but they are still very enjoyable particularly for those interested in the rarer renditions of these  folk songs.

Tracklist
Waltzing Matilda, Flash Jack from Gundagai, Bluey Brink, The Overlanders, Jim Jones at Botany Bay, The Jolly Farmer, Look Out Below, Van Dieman's Land, Black Velvet Band, Rabbiter's Song, Lazy Harry's, and Euabalong Ball.

Download compressed file containing tracks and album graphicsMP3 @192-224 VBR
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Ulick O'Boyle & The Settlers "Kiandra and Beyond" CD 2002

 I have had quite a few queries about this particular album and its possible availability for purchase.  I've previously mentioned elsewhere that this CD is available from Ulick O'Boyle's daughter, Shannon O'Boyle, who lives in the Cooma area, but only as a comment to other entries relating to the original "The Settlers".
This is a much more recent album.  All tracks other than "Monaro Fantasy" and "Shoot Out in Sharp Street" are by the talented Ulick O'Boyle - the songwriter and lead performer with the original trio.
On this album, the performers other than Ulick are Paul Davey, Perin Davey, Ken White, and Fiona White.
Several of the songs continue with the Snowy Mountains theme but there are a couple which chronicle other aspects of Australian working life. Overall, this is a very enjoyable album and fans of the previous Settlers albums will definitely enjoy it.
This CD is only available from Shannon O'Boyle (all proceeds go to Ulick) and Shannon can be contacted by email at shanno2222@hotmail.com - price is $24.95. 
(NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Denis Gibbons "Folk Songs of Australia Vol. 3" LP c.1970s

The tracks and graphics for this LP were kindly recorded and forwarded by Brendan of Tasmania who previously provided the New England album "A long way from home".  He has also provided other albums which I hope to get up here sooner or later.  Many thanks Brendan. Blokes like you make the continuation of this blog so much easier.
The theme of this LP is "squatters, selectors, shearers and drovers". I have no idea when this was released but my guess and that of the Australian National Library is sometime in the 1970s.  (volume 2 was released in 1966).  In terms of presentation and singing style, there is a marked difference from earlier records and he has tried some different arrangements for some of the tracks.  I have no problems with that.  Folks songs are meant to be re-interpreted after all.
I do apologise because there is some distortion on a couple of the tracks - well-loved and well-played LPs often have that problem.  "Reedy River" has Denis Gibbons sounding a bit like Harry Belafonte.
It's a stereo LP encoded as MP3 at 192-224 VBR and 42Mb all up.
The tracks are:-
Lazy Harry's, New England Cocky, Another Fall of Rain, Humping Old Bluey, Bush Girl, Bullocky Song, Cockies of Bungaree, One of the Has Beens, Eumeralla Shore, Reedy River, Shearer's Dream, The Overlander.  Bush Girl and Reedy River are, if I recall correctly, Henry Lawson poems put to music.

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Paradiddle "Sorry to Keep You Waiting" LP 1980

This is the second (and as far as I know the final) album release by the Victorian based Paradiddle Folk Band.  It's quite an eclectic mix of traditional and modern folk from the British Isles and Australia.  There are some very good tracks on this one in the a capella style and also a couple of enthusuiastic instrumentals.And, just in case someone has never heard it, they have included their rendition of Bogle's great song ".... Waltzing Matilda". It has been a pleasure to work on these two Paradiddle albums  - nice clean vinyl!
MP3s encoded at 192-224 VBR - 70 Mb file
Tracks are:
1. I am a Tolerant Man
2. The Jolly Tinker
3. Norman Brown
4. Auld Wullie
5. Snakes
6. Oh, Bedad then, Says I
7. The Hole in the Boat (instrumental)
8. Bullockies Ball (a rarely performed Australian traditional collected by John Meredith)
9. The Kelly's Turning
10. The Miner
11. The Landlord's Fool (Landlord fill the flowing bowl)
12. Maranoa Drovers
13. Merry Clare
14. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

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Paradiddle "Wait Till The Word Gets Around" Mono LP 1978

The Paradiddle Folk Band was comprised of Greg Rough, Mark Leehy, Rob Fairbairn, Kev O'Mara and Marilyn Hodgson when they put out this album in 1978.  It's quite a lively album with a mix of traditional and contemporary tracks in the folk style. The tracklist is:-
1. Strike the Bell
2. Sally Brown (shanty)
3. Faithful Johnny
4. S.P. Polkas (Dennis Murphy's and The £42 Cheque)
5. The Cross of the South
6. Ryebuck Shearer and 'Ard Rain
7. Bail Up!
8. Warrandyte Morning
9. Shores of Botany Bay
10. An Gaoth Andheas (South Wind)
11. Dogs' Concert and Paddy in the Peas
12. The Shearing Song


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Tina Lawton "Fair and Tender" LP Mono 1967

This is the third of Tina Lawton's three LPs.  Her first LP, self-titled, was released in 1965 and featured earlier in this blog. Tina, a South Australian, was one of Australia's foremost folk singers in the 1960s but tragically died in late 1968. This rip comes from copies of the LP provided by two of our visitors; one a kind lady in Armidale and the other an ex-pat now residing in the UK. I have edited the files to remove unwanted features.  Many thanks to the two of you as this LP has been very hard to obtain.
This is a great album.
The tracks are all from the British Isles and are:-
1. Courting in the Kitchen
2. Lassie wi the Yellow Coatie
3. Stuttering lovers
4. Lady Mary
5. I'll tell my Ma
6. Nut Brown Maiden
7. Butcher Boy
8. Three Lovely Lasses from Banyon
9. Come all Ye Fair and Tender  Ladies
10. Raggle Taggle Gypsies Oh!
11. Greensleeves
12. Coulter's Candy
13 Mary Hamilton

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