Wednesday, April 26, 2023

VA - Three Score & Ten: A Voice to the People [2009] (7 x CDs)

 

BRITISH FOLK

VA - Three Score & Ten: A Voice to the People [2009] (7 x CDs)

Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label.

Topic Records is truly one of the world's musical treasures, a company that has, for 70 years now, gathered, organized, described, and distributed recordings of folk singers, instrumentalists, ensembles, and songwriters from across the British Isles and beyond into Europe. If you've heard the music of the Watersons, Ewan MacColl, Martin Simpson, June Tabor, Eliza Carthy, Dick Gaughan, the Battlefield Band, or Shirley Collins, it's in large part due to the efforts of Topic's small but dedicated staff. Three Score & Ten compiles seven discs of material taken almost (but, weirdly, not entirely) from the Topic catalog and sticks them into the inside front and back covers of a handsome coffee-table book filled with priceless photos and a comprehensive label history. To listen through the whole set is to be both entranced and surprised: those who know the label mainly as a source of traditional English, Irish, and Scottish folk tunes may be a bit startled by the material from its earlier, radical period, and perhaps discomforted by some of that material as well. You don't have to be a card-carrying socialist to sympathize with Pete Seeger's call to union solidarity against fiendish bosses, but given what we know about the realities of the Soviet system it's a bit harder to sit through lusty renditions of "The Internationale" and "The Red Flag" without squirming. Also surprising to some listeners may be the occasional incursions of Eastern European folk melodies into what is largely a program of traditional fiddle tunes, ballads, and music hall fare. But that's a more salutary kind of surprise, and those whose tastes don't run to such foreign exotica will still find an almost overwhelming wealth of what they came to hear: Ewan MacColl making "Sixteen Tons" sound like it was written in Wales during the Thatcher administration (though he recorded it in 1956); piper Seamus Ennis keening his way thrillingly through "The Blackbird"; Brass Monkey reclaiming the village brass band tradition on "The Maid and the Palmer"; and, of course, the Watersons' heartbreaking rendition of the maritime tragedy "Three Score & Ten." Read along in the book while you listen and you'll come away, nearly eight hours later, with both a deeper understanding of the rich and varied folk traditions that Topic is dedicated to preserving and an almost awestruck appreciation for both the breadth and the quality of the label's work over the past seven decades. (AMG review by Rick Anderson)

==========================================================

Pt.1     Pt.2     Pt.3 

===========================================================

Track lists

CD1

01 Nic Jones - The Humpback Whale 6:05

02 Davy Graham - Angi 2:27

03 John Wright - The Shaskeen Road 3:05

04 Oldham Tinkers - The Lancashire Toreadors 3:15

05 Pat Mitchell - Sullivan's March 1:43

06 Jesse Fuller - San Francisco Bay Blues 3:31

07 William Kimber - Country Gardens 2:12

08 Mike Waterson - Tamlyn 10:59

09 Alistair Anderson - The Air For Maurice Ogg / Jumping Jack / The Air For Maurice Ogg 5:22

10 Joseph Taylor - Creeping Jane 3:06

11 Andrew Cronshaw - Wasps In The Woodpile 3:45

12 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick - Prince Heathen 6:59

13 Harry Cox - The Bonny Labouring Boy 3:29

14 Lee Nicholson - Rawtenstall Annual Fair 3:08

15 Patrick Street - Music For A Found Harmonium 2:46

16 John Tams - Bitter Withy 6:45


CD2

01 Britannia Coconut Dancers - The Nut Dance (Excerpt) 2:28

02 Bob & Ron Copper - Spencer The Rover 3:24

03 Shirley Collins - All Things Are Quite Silent 2:37

04 Anne Briggs - Blackwater Side 3:52

05 A.l. Lloyd - The Two Magicians 4:44

06 Oak - Scan's Polkas 2:16

07 Frankie Armstrong - The Crafty Maid's Policy 2:17

08 June Tabor - A Place Called England 4:42

09 Peter Bellamy - When I Die 2:46

10 Sam Larner - The Bold Princess Royal 3:54

11 Watersons - Hal-An-Tow 2:08

12 Fred Jordan - We Shepherds Are The Best Of Men 3:09

13 John Kirkpatrick & Sue Harris - The Rise Of Britain's Isle / Glorishears 4:42

14 Tom Willett - Riding Down To Portsmouth 3:44

15 Phoebe Smith - Higher Germany 3:21

16 Cheviot Ranters - The Ideal Schottische 4:09

17 Roy Harris - The Methody Parson 2:25

18 Brass Monkey - The Maid And The Palmer 5:35

19 Louie Fuller - Hopping Down In Kent 2:06

20 Walter Pardon - The Devil And The Farmer's Wife 2:53


CD3

01 Jackie Daly - The Rising Sun / The Pope's Toe 2:39

02 Paddy Tunney - The Waterford Boys 3:39

03 Sarah Makem - The Banks Of Red Roses 3:04

04 John Doonan & John Wright - Gillan's Apples / The Prize Jig 2:06

05 Mcpeake Family - Slieve Gallon Brae 2:01

06 Seamus Tansey With Reg Hall - Paddy Ryan's Dream / Mamma's Pet 2:17

07 Flanagan Brothers - My Irish Molly O 3:06

08 Séamus Ennis - The Blackbird 4:20

09 Margaret Barry - The Factory Girl 3:23

10 Irish Country Four - Roaring Mary / The Old Torn Petticoat 2:35

11 Sean Mac Donnchadha - Spailpina Rún 2:31

12 Willie Clancy - The Choice Wife 3:09

13 Mary Ann Carolan - The Tinker's Old Budget 3:16

14 Boys Of The Lough - Padraig O'keefe's / Con Cassidy's 1:49

15 Hugh Gillespie - Dowd's Favourite 2:57

16 Joe Heaney - Wife Of The Bold Tenant Farmer 3:08

17 O'halloran Brothers - The Music In The Glen / The Greenfields Of America 2:21

18 Len Graham - The Knight Templar's Dream 3:58

19 Sean O'shea & Bobby Casey - The Yellow Tinker / The Humours Of Scarriff 1:55

20 Frank Harte - He Rolled Her To The Wall 3:34

21 Russell Family - The Heather Breeze / The Traveller 2:31

22 Dominic Behan - The Patriot Game 4:01

23 John Rea - The Belfast Hornpipe / The Rights Of Man 3:41

24 Packie Duignan & Seamus Horan - Bridie Morley / Duignan's Favourite 2:19


CD4

01 Battlefield Band - Miss Drummond Of Perth / Fiddler's Joy / Traditional Reel / The Shetland Reel 3:27

02 Fisher Family - Come All Ye Fisher Lasses 1:48

03 Belle Stewart - Queen Among The Heather 3:47

04 Kentigern - Cullen Bay / Jig O'slurs / Seagull 4:24

05 Norman Kennedy - Wi My Roving Eye 3:30

06 Cilla Fisher - Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk 3:16

07 Aly Bain & Tom Anderson - Soldier's Joy 2:24

08 Gordeanna Mcculloch - The Dowie Dens Of Yarrow 4:14

09 Dick Gaughan - Erin Go Bragh 4:31

10 Sheila Stewart - Young Jimmy Foyers 2:47

11 Jock Tamson's Bairns - Kempy Kaye 3:49

12 Winnie Campbell - Lady Eliza 3:14

13 Curlew - Tilley Plump / Auld Foula Reel / Oot And In Da Harbour 2:43

14 Willie Scott - Herd Laddie O' The Glen 3:39

15 Isla Cameron - The Fireman's Not For Me 2:35

16 Isabel Sutherland - Dance With Me, Morag 1:01

17 Jimmy Mcbeath - The Wind That Blew The Bonnie Lassie's Plaidie Awa' 3:43

18 Jeannie Robertson - Maccrimmon's Lament 4:17

19 Ian Manuel - The Gallant Forty Twa 3:22

20 Ray & Archie Fisher - The Twa Corbies 2:08

21 Davie Stewart - Boulavogue 3:49

22 John Burgess - The Wandering Piper 2:10


CD5

01 John Tams - Unity (Raise Your Banners High) 4:51

02 Martin Carthy - The Dominion Of The Sword 3:40

03 Ian Campbell Folk Group - The Sun Is Burning 2:25

04 Ewan Maccoll - Go Down Ye Murderers 3:28

05 Bob Davenport - Police Patrol 1:49

06 Eliza Carthy - Two Tears 4:17

07 Martin Simpson - Never Any Good 5:27

08 Dick Gaughan - Both Sides Of The Tweed 3:42

09 John Kirkpatrick With Brass Monkey - George's Son 5:00

10 Ron Kavana - Reconciliation 4:39

11 Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight - Stumbling On 4:10

12 John B Spencer - Acceptable Losses 2:59

13 Steve Ashley - Ships Of Shame 3:40

14 Vin Garbutt - The Land Of Three Rivers 2:49

15 Linda Thompson - No Telling 5:03

16 Johnny Handle - Dust 2:52

17 Bill Caddick - Two-Fisted Heroes 4:17


CD6

01 Paddy Ryan - The Man That Waters The Workers' Beer 2:48

02 Pete Seeger - Talking Union Blues 3:09

03 Paul Robeson - Joe Hill 2:58

04 Martin Simpson - Masters Of War 5:34

05 Bob Smith's Ideal Band - The Red Flag 3:31

06 Louis Killen - The Blackleg Miners 1:19

07 Billy Bennett - No Power On Earth 3:52

08 Topic Singers & Band - The Internationale 2:55

09 Ewan Maccoll - To The Begging I Will Go 2:36

10 Harry Boardman - The Hand-Loom Weaver's Lament 2:42

11 Shirley Collins - The Rigs Of The Time 3:11

12 Stan Kelly With Leon Rosselson - Greedy Landlord 2:55

13 Richard Thompson - Time To Ring Some Changes 3:18

14 Ewan Maccoll - Sixteen Tons 2:07

15 Ian Campbell Folk Group - The Peat-Bog Soldiers 1:47

16 High Level Ranters - Aa'm Glad The Strike's Done 3:08

17 Watersons - Three Score And Ten 3:31

18 Ewan Maccoll - Dirty Old Town 2:44

19 Spinners - The Liverpool Barrow Boys 1:29

20 Celebrated Working Men's Band - The Weaver's March 0:52

21 Waterson:carthy - We Poor Labouring Men 5:51

22 Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick - Perfumes Of Arabia 3:12

23 Bob Davenport & The Rakes - Hot Asphalt 2:03


CD7

01 Billy Pigg - Skye Crofter's / The Swallow Tail 3:23

02 June Tabor - While Gamekeeper's Lie Sleeping 1:52

03 Roza Tsetkova - Boi Se Otvori 1:19

04 Tim Van Eyken - Barleycorn 6:06

05 Tom Paley & Peggy Seeger - The Girl On The Greenbriar Shore 2:34

06 House Band - The Happy One-Step / Green Willis 2:47

07 Nic Jones - Clyde Water 6:03

08 Vlado & Nikola Robanovski - Baranca 2:33

09 Levi Smith - Georgie 1:30

10 Scan Tester And Rabbidy Baxter - Jenny Lind 1:56

11 Eliza Carthy - Worcester City 4:48

12 Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Talking Dustbowl Blues 2:57

13 Refki Taho, Hysen Zizolli & Ahmet Metolli - Kaba Vençe 3:04

14 Alison Mcmorland & Peta Webb - The Green Banks Of Yarrow 2:30

15 Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band - Johnny, Will You Marry Me? 2:58

16 Vestlandsgruppa - Hamburger - Polka Fra Hardanger 1:58

17 Silly Sisters - Hedger And Ditcher 2:44

18 Chris Droney - Burren No. 1 / Chris Droney's Favourite 2:42

19 Jauharah Orchestra - Nna Hamu 2:43

20 Hedy West - Little Sadie 2:46

21 Andy Cutting (blowzabella) - Fulmine 2:41

22 Blue Murder - No One Stands Alone 4:49

=============================================================

=============================================================

No comments:

Post a Comment