CD Review: Live At Foxrock Folk Club - The Parish Hall Tapes 1970-72

(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)