Michael Coleman: The Enduring Magic

Claddagh Records CHCD-008

Format: CD, Album
Country: Ireland
Released: 2004
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Celtic, Irish Fiddle
[Tracklist]
01 The Liffey Banks/The Shaskeen (2:57)
02 Tom Ward's Downfall (3:18)
03 Dougherty's (2:41)
04 Lord Gordon (2:59)
05 Stack of Barley Medley (3:07)
06 The Wind That Shakes the Barley/The Lady on the Island (3:05)
07 Lord McDonald (3:11)
08 The Derry Hornpipe (3:13)
09 Wellington's Reels (2:55)
10 The Foxhunter's (3:12)
11 The Morning Dew/The Woman of the House (3:06)
12 Trim the Velvet (2:53)
13 Mrs Kenny's Waltz/Men of the West (3:06)
14 The Green Fields of America/The Swallow's Tail (3:09)
15 Tobin's (3:04)
16 The Blackbird/Molloy's Favourite (4:54)
17 Bonnie Kate/Jennie's Chickens (3:06)
18 Dr Gilbert/The Queen of May (2:58)
19 The Kerry Reel/The Boyne Hunt (2:58)
20 Mrs Kenny's Barndance (3:06)
[Credits]
Michael Coleman (fiddle) Ed Geoghegan (piano)
Producer: Gregory Daly and PJ Hernon, Cover Artwork: Ideas That Fly, Photographer: Dave Knight, Remastering Engineer: Robyn Robins
[Notes]
An Irish-American fiddler, Michael Coleman (1891–1945) was from County Sligo, and a major exponent of the Sligo fiddle style. In the absence of the Gael-Linn collection, this is the only full CD devoted to Coleman's recordings. It contains some of the material that was included on the Shanachie LPs, augmented by 78 rpm records from the archive of the Coleman Heritage Society in Gurteen. There are eight tracks that are new to CD, including two unaccompanied sets that were made privately for a friend. The music of Coleman is so important that it is great to see even these twenty tracks becoming available. Every time you listen to them you will hear something new.

Barbara Dane: Anthology of American Folk Songs

Tradition Everest – TR 2072

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: United States
Released: 1967
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
01 When I Was A Young Girl (3:26)
02 Little Maggie (2:57)
03 Nine Hundred Miles (2:09)
04 Turkey Reveille (4:24)
05 Who's Gonna' Shoe Your Pretty Feet (3:27)
06 Ramblin' (2:41)
07 Girl Of Constant Sorrow (3:46)
08 Gypsy Davy (2:05)
09 Single Girl (2:02)
10 I Know Where I'm Going (2:23)
11 The Danville Girl (2:48)
12 Stung Right (2:10)
13 Greensleeves (3:58)
14 La Le Too Dum (3:00)
15 Don't Sing Love Songs (3:43)
[Credits]
Barbara Dane (guitar/vocals) Tom Paley (guitar/banjo)
Cover Photo: Edwin Francis, Liner Notes: Barbara Dane
[Notes]
Although Barbara Dane is chiefly thought of these days as a blues singer (she even recorded an album with Lightnin' Hopkins, 1964's Sometimes I Believe She Loves Me, where she more than holds her own with the Texas bluesman), she came to the blues through the folk door, and this wonderful set, recorded in 1959 at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, shows that she understood the feel and emotional tone of the blues even before she officially turned to it. Featuring her husky, expressive voice and solid acoustic guitar playing, with occasional help from Tom Paley (of the New Lost City Ramblers) on second guitar or banjo, these 15 tracks have a depth and immediacy frequently lacking in similar collections from other urban folk singers of the so-called Folk Revival. Where other singers of the day might present songs like "When I Was a Young Girl," "Nine Hundred Miles" (or "Five Hundred Miles" or however many miles you want to make it) or Woody Guthrie's "Ramblin'" as brittle, stylized and often sanitized facsimiles, Dane's amazingly soulful singing personalizes them, and in her hands these familiar songs seem both freshly born and truly lived. Tradition Records released the original LP, and the sequence has been issued a few times since, most recently in 1997. It remains a little known high point of the Folk Revival, the debut album of a powerful and graceful singer. -- AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett

Dark River: Songs Of The Civil War Era

Blue Corn Music BCM-1103

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Sep 13, 2011
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
01 Shiloh: Warren Hood And Rich Brotherton (2:42)
02 Hard Times–Drew Nelson (4:08)
03 Swing Low: Rebecca Folsom And Celeste Krenz (2:59)
04 She Moved Through The Fair: Slaid Cleaves (3:21)
05 Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier: Erin Ivey (4:50)
06 The Last Rose Of Summer: Chuck Pinnell (2:19)
07 Lorena: Jimmy LaFave (4:02)
08 Oh! Susanna: Suzi Stern (4:05)
09 Jack Of Diamonds: Jon Dee Graham (3:10)
10 Colorado Trail: Eliza Gilkyson (3:28)
11 The Yellow Rose Of Texas: Rich Brotherton (2:16)
12 Red River Valley: James McMurtry (3:43)
13 I Ride An Old Paint: Rita Hosking (4:02)
14 The Streets Of Laredo: Slaid Cleaves (3:48)
15 Home, Sweet Home: Jeff Plankenhorn (2:42)
[Credits]
Produce and Liner Notes: Chuck Pinnell, Photography: Scott Newton, Design: Neil Ferguson

Delta Blues: Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Skip James, Son House

Roots RL-339

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Limited Edition, Remastered
Country: Austria
Released: 1971
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues
[Tracklist]
A1 Ramblin' On My Mind: R.J. (San Antonio, Nov 23, 1936)
A2 Come On In My Kitchen: R.J. (San Antonio, Nov 23, 1936)
A3 Phonograph Blues: R.J. (San Antonio, Nov 23, 1936)
A4 Cross Road Blues: R.J. (San Antonio, Nov 27, 1936)
A5 Little Queen Of Spades: R.J. (San Antonio, Nov 23, 1936)
A6 Drunken Hearted Man: R.J. (Dallas, Jun 20, 1937)
A7 Stop Breakin' Down Blues: R.J. (Dallas, Jun 20, 1937)
A8 Love In Vain: R.J. (Dallas, Jun 20, 1937)
B1 Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues: C.P. (Richmond, Jun 14, 1929)
B2 Four O'Clock Blues: S.J. (Boston, Nov 1964)
B3 Drunken Spree: S.J. (Boston, Nov 1964)
B4 Illinois Blues: S.J. (Boston, Nov 1964)
B5 How Long Blues: S.J. (Boston, Nov 1964)
B6 Sundown: S.H. (Rochester, Sep 23, 1969)
[Credits]
Robert Johnson (vocals/guitar) Charley Patton (vocals/guitar) Skip James (vocals/guitar/piano) Son House (vocals/guitar)
Compiled and Produce: Evelyn Parth, Remastered: Hans Peter Strobl
[Notes]
Discographical Details from Blues and Gospel Records 1902-42 by John Godrich and Robert Dixon (revised edition, Storyville 1969) and from Blues Records 1943-1966 by Mike Leadbitter and Neil Slaven (Hanover Books Ltd).

Worried Blues: Mississippi John Hurt 1964

Piedmont PLP-13161

Series: Volume II Of The Original Piedmont Recordings
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country Blues, Delta Blues
Country: US
Released: 1964
[Tracklist]
A1 Lazy Blues
A2 Farther Along
A3 Sliding Delta
A4 Nobody Cares For Me
A5 Cow Hooking Blues No. 2
B1 Talkin' Casey
B2 Weeping And Wailing
B3 Worried Blues
B4 Oh Mary Don't You Weep
B5 I Been Cryin' Since You Been Gone
[Credits]
Mississippi John Hurt (vocals/guitar)
Liner Notes: Dick Spottswood, Design: Louisa Spottswood, Photos: Peter Bartók & Seth Beckerman, Recorded: Peter V. Kuykendall, Mastered: Peter Bartók
[Notes]
Recorded at Wynwood Recording Studio on March 14, 15 and 21, 1964.

Mississippi John Hurt 1963: Volume I Of The Original Piedmont Recordings

Piedmont PLP-13157

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1963
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country Blues, Delta Blues
[Tracklist]
A1 Avalon Blues
A2 Richland Women Blues
A3 Spike Driver Blues
A4 Salty Dog
A5 Cow Hooking Blues
A6 Spanish Fandang
B1 Casey Jones
B2 Louis Collins
B3 Candy Man Blues
B4 My Creole Belle
B5 Liza Jane-God's Unchanging Hand
B6 Joe Turner Blues
[Credits]
Mississippi John Hurt (vocals/harmonica/guitar)
Liner Notes: Dick Spottswood & T. G. Rockwell, Design: Pete Welding, Photo: Raeburn Flerlage, Recorded: P. V. Kuykendall, Peter Silitch and Sandy Fisher, Mastered: P. V. Kuykendall
[Notes]
Recorded on March 24, 26, 29 and April 2, 1963 in Washington, D. C.

Long Journey Home: 1998 Television Mini-series

Unisphere Records 09026-68963-2

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Rock, Classical, Stage & Screen
Style: Folk Rock, Neo-Classical, Soundtrack
[Tracklist]
01 Shenandoah: Van Morrison And The Chieftains (3:52)
02 Main Theme: The Irish Film Orchestra (4:25)
03 Paddy's Lamentation / Ships Are Sailing: Mary Black (4:47)
04 Emigration Theme: The Irish Film Orchestra (5:08)
05 The Bard Of Armagh / The Streets Of Laredo: Vince Gill (5:03)
06 Skibbereen: Sinéad O'Connor (4:15)
07 The Night That Larry Was Streched–Jig: The Chieftains and Friends (2:27)
08 White Potatoes: Liam Ó Maonlaí (3:31)
09 Famine Theme: The Irish Film Orchestra (3:37)
10 Mildoon, The Solid Man / Grandfather's Tune: Mick Moloney (3:42)
11 An Raibh Tú Ag An Gcarraig? (Were You At The Rock?): Sissel (5:30)
12 O'Carolan's Farewell To Music: The Irish Film Orchestra With Derek Bell (2:30)
13 Bean Pháidín: Kevin Conneff (1:44)
14 O'Donnell's Lament / Reel With The Beryle: Eileen Ivers (2:45)
15 American Theme: The Irish Film Orchestra (2:57)
16 Long Journey Home (Anthem): Elvis Costello With Anúna (4:16)
[Credits]
Art Direction: James O'Mara, Producer: Paddy Moloney
[Notes]
Long Journey Home is the soundtrack for the PBS/Disney production of the story and celebration of the Irish in America. It is produced by Paddy Moloney, which immediately sets it apart. Among others contributing to this dazzling aural painting are the Chieftains, Vince Gill, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, and the Irish Film Orchestra. This is a strongly consistent work, but if forced to pick out highlights, one might run from the haunting version of "Shenandoah" by Van Morrison and the Chieftains through the controlled power of Sinéad O'Connor's version of "Skibbereen" and the beautiful work of Sissel to the finale of "Long Journey Home (Anthem)," composed by Costello and Moloney and sung by Costello. This is a seamless blend of traditional and original Irish music that stands on its own as an outstanding piece of work, and at the same time not only complements, but also enhances, the documentary it goes with. (Review by Bob Gottlieb)

All the Best Wishes in 2017

Fiddling His Way, Eastman Johnson, American painter (1824-1906)

Wishing you a happy and magical New Year 2017! We hope it brings you lots of joy and happiness. All the best.