(Review by Ann Alex).
This
is my (double) CD of the year (just caught for 2015 on New Year’s Eve) and we
are very lucky that the CDs exist at all. They have been produced by Jeremy
Kearney (the BSH reviewer a.k.a ‘JC’) and the music was restored by Adam
Sinclair from tapes recorded live at the Foxrock Folk Club, (just south of
Dublin) in 1970-72. The original
recordings were made by a 15 year old schoolboy, Kevin McCann (bless you,
wherever you are now) on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, so we have the immediacy
of a live recording, involving some of the best folk and jazz players around
Dublin at that time. There’s something for everyone here, traditional folk (The Unquiet Grave; Blackwaterside); blues (Talking Dust Bowl Blues; Cocaine); Jazz (Swinging The Blues by Basie); satire (Humpty Dumpty); contemporary song (Alabama 58 by Ewen MacColl); and even a version of Summertime (apologies to Lance!) sung by Suzanne Murphy, who later joined Welsh National Opera.
Listen
to this for 3 ragtime guitar tunes from Johnny Norris, including Bill Bailey (a
lot of notes!); a French Piaf-like tune L’Oiseau
with vocal, guitar, cello; New Orleans jazz Please
Don’t talk About Me When I’m Gone from a band of the last 8 jazz people
listed below; the satire of Ronnie Drew’s Humpty
Dumpty; Sally Brown, a shanty in
stirring harmony from The Gingermen; moving folk songs such as The Unquiet Grave (all about the
mourning process) from Luke Kelly and his banjo. There’s even a bit of rock, Helplessly Hoping (Stills) from a band
called WE 4 (Hogan, Lunny, Harrington and Murphy.) And lots more musical goodies, from the time
when folk clubs were probably at their most numerous and when a very wide range
of music was available.
Thanks
again to all involved in making these CD’s available, especially for the work
of Jeremy Kearney. The booklet,
providing details of how the CD’s originated with relevant photographs and
illustrations, shows how much work went into the whole project. The CDs are issued by Cornelscourt Records CR
001. See www.foxcroftfolkclubproject.blogspot.com
Ann Alex
Blues And Jazz
Red Peters (vocal) Brian Fry (vocal, guitar); Johnny Norris (vocal, guitar); Shay Fogarty (harmonica); Gerry Doyle (guitar); Suzanne Murphy (vocal); Larry Hogan (vocal, guitar); John Harrington (vocal, bass); Rock Fox (trumpet); Phil Butler (clarinet); Charlie Devenny (ten sax); Dock Buckley (bar sax); Tony Drennan (piano); Jimmy Mckay (bass); John Wadham (drums); Martin Walsh (bass)
Folk And Contemporary
Andy Irvine (vocal, guitar, mandolin, harmonica); Luke Kelly (vocal, banjo); Sonny Condell (vocal, guitar); Ronnie Drew (vocal, guitar); Al O’Donnell (vocal, guitar); Paddy Finney (vocal, guitar); Jolyon Jackson (cello) Danny Doyle (vocal, guitar); Sean Potts (tin whistle) Donal Lunny (vocal, guitar); Brendan Grace, Paul Malone, John Gilette, Desi Redmond (‘The Gingermen’, vocals)
1 comment :
We got this for Xmas and have LOVED it - can highly recommend it if you like music!!!!
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