Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 21, 2025: Blood on the Tracks Revisited and A Complete Unknown

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/68626.html

Themes: Blood on the Tracks Revisited and A Complete Unknown.

Blood on the Tracks Revisited

It was 50 years ago this week, on January 20, 1975, that Bob Dylan released Blood on the Tracks, one of his greatest albums. On this program, we revisit the songs from Blood on the Tracks, in order, played by various artists.

Ben Sidran- Tangled Up in Blue

Dylan Different (Bonsai)

Dave's True Story- Simple Twist of Fate

Simple Twist of Fate: DTS Does Dylan (BePop)

Emma Swift- You’re a Big Girl Now

Blonde on the Tracks (Tiny Ghost/CRS)

Lucinda Williams- Idiot Wind

Bob’s Back Pages: A Night of Bob Dylan Songs (Highway 20)

Barney Bentall & Valentino Trapani- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Cosmic Dreamer (True North)

Sloan Wainwright- Meet Me in the Morning

Rediscovery (Derby Disc Music)

Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson & Joe Ely- Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts

Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs (HighTone)

Erik Balkey- If You See Her, Say Hello

If You See Her, Say Hello – single (Hudson Harding)

Crowe’s Pasture- Shelter from the Storm

Edge of America (Crowe’s Pasture)

Dave Van Ronk- Buckets of Rain

…and the tin pan bended, and the story ended… (Smithsonian Folkways)

Bob Dylan recorded two other songs during the sessions for Blood on the Tracks that he left of the original album. "Call Letter Blues" and "Up to Me" were included, though, on More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14, a 2018 box set that included every take of every song Dylan recorded for Blood on the Tracks.

Bob Dylan- Call Letter Blues

More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 (Columbia/Legacy)

Bob Dylan- Up to Me

More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 (Columbia/Legacy)

A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is a partly true, partly fictional account of Bob Dylan from his arrival in New York City in 1961 until his first electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

As a movie, I really enjoyed A Complete Unknown and thought the main cast members – Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Elle Fanning as the Suze Rotolo character renamed Sylvie Russo, and the rest – were all very good.

Fo the most part, I didn’t mind the many historical inaccuracies I recognized in the film and thought A Complete Unknown did a good job of capturing the essence of Dylan’s rise in the first half of the 1960s.

Timothée Chalamet- Song to Woody

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Monica Barbaro- Silver Dagger

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Edward Norton- Wimoweh (Mbube)

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Timothée Chalamet & Edward Norton- When the Ship Comes In

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Monica Barbaro & Timothée Chalamet- It Ain’t Me, Babe

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Timothée Chalamet- Like a Rolling Stone

A Complete Unknown soundtrack (Columbia)

Next week: Harmonica.

--Mike Regenstreif

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 14, 2025: Remembering Peter Yarrow

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/68573.html

Theme: Remembering Peter Yarrow (1938-2025).

The theme on this edition of Stranger Songs is Remembering Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary. Peter died on January 7 at age 86 following a four-year battle with bladder cancer.

This program includes songs performed by Peter and Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as some songs from his or their repertoire performed by several other artists.

Peter Yarrow- Don’t Ever Take Away My Freedom

Peter (Warner Bros.)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Puff (The Magic Dragon)

Moving (Warner Bros.)

Dave Van Ronk- River Come Down (Bamboo)

Down in Washington Square (Smithsonian Folkways)

Priscilla Herdman- Autumn to May

Stardreamer (Stardreamer Music)

Kronos Quartet with Sam Amidon, Brian Carpenter, Lee Knight & Aoife O'Donovan- Where Have All the Flowers Gone

Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger (Smithsonian Folkways)

Bethany Yarrow with Peter Yarrow- The Cruel War

Rock Island (Little Monster)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Blowin’ in the Wind

In the Wind (Warner Bros.)

Peter Yarrow & Richie Havens- The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)

Lifelines Live (Warner Bros.)

Cliff Eberhardt- 500 Miles

500 Miles (Red House)

Grayson Capps- Early Morning Rain

Heartbreak, Misery & Death (Royal Potato Family)

Penny Lang- If I Had a Hammer

Live at the Yellow Door (She-Wolf)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Rich Man Poor Man

Late Again (Warner Bros.)

Tom Paxton- The Last Thing On My Mind

The Compleat Tom Paxton (Even Compleater) (Rhino Handmade)

Peter Yarrow- Tall Pine Trees

Peter (Warner Bros.)

Stan Rogers- Delivery Delayed

Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Day is Done

The Very Best of Peter, Paul & Mary (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Noel Paul Stookey & Peter Yarrow with The Paul Winter Consort- Et Misericordia

Something New and Fresh (Neworld)

Peter Yarrow- Freedom Medley: Woke Up This Morning with My Mind on Freedom/Oh Freedom/This Train is Bound for Glory/Twelve Gates to the City/Down by the Riverside/We Shall Overcome

Lifelines Live (Warner Bros.)

Peter Yarrow- Weave Me the Sunshine

Peter (Warner Bros.)

Peter, Paul & Mary with Tom Paxton, Fred Hellerman, Ronnie Gilbert, Odetta, Richie Havens, Dave Van Ronk, Susan Werner, Buddy Mondlock & John Sebastian- River of Jordan

Lifelines Live (Warner Bros.)

Next week: Blood on the Tracks Revisited.

--Mike Regenstreif

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 7, 2025: Remembering Josh White, Jr. , Alan Senauke and David Mallett

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/68479.html

Theme: Remembering Josh White, Jr. (1940-2024), Alan Senauke (1947-2024) and David Mallett (1951-2024).

The theme on this edition of Stranger Songs is Remembering Josh White Jr., Alan Senauke and David Mallett, three old friends who passed away last month. I’d known all three of them since the 1970s and all of them had played at the Golem, the Montreal folk club I ran in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Josh White, Jr. died on December 28 at age 84. Josh – who was affectionately known as Donny off stage – began his career at age 4 when his father, Josh White, the legendary blues and folk singer and guitarist, began bringing the young boy up on stage to perform a song or two with him. Josh White Jr. had a remarkable career that literally spanned 80 years. Josh was a wonderful performer of folk and blues material and a masterful interpreter of his father’s repertoire.

Josh White, Jr.- Say a Prayer for a Stranger

Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)

Josh White, Jr.- The Dutchman

Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)

Josh White, Jr.- It’s Chilly Out Tonight

Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)

Josh White, Jr.- Cortelia Clark

Cortelia Clark (Silverwolf)

Josh White, Jr.- One Meatball

Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)

Josh White, Jr. & Robin Batteau- St. James Infirmary

Jazz, Ballads & Blues (Ryko)

I first met Alan Senauke – who died on December 22 at age 77 – in the late-1970s when he was the editor of Sing Out, the authoritative folk music magazine, and performing with Howie Tarnower as The Fiction Brothers. He was also a member of several other groups including The Blue Flame Stringband – with Kate Brislin and Suzy & Eric Thompson – and a solo artist.

Country Cooking with The Fiction Brothers- The Harder They Come

Country Cooking with The Fiction Brothers (Flying Fish)

Country Cooking with The Fiction Brothers- Joe Hill’s Will

Country Cooking with The Fiction Brothers (Flying Fish)

Alan Senauke- Wise County Jail

Wooden Man: Old Songs from the Southern School (Native and Fine)

Alan Senauke- Meeting is Over

Wooden Man: Old Songs from the Southern School (Native and Fine)

Blue Flame String Band- Blues Stay Away from Me

Blue Flame String Band (Flying Fish)

David Mallett was a gifted singer and songwriter from Maine who died on December 17 at age 73. In addition to his own recordings and performances, David’s songs were widely sung and recorded by many other artists.

David Mallett- Fire

Inches & Miles 1977-1980 (Flying Fish)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Garden Song

Around the Campfire (Warner Bros.)

Miscellaney of Folk- Moon Upon the Left

Atlantic Sounds (Miscellaney of Folk)

Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy- Ballad of St. Anne’s Reel

The Makem & Clancy Collection (Shanachie)

David Mallett- Dulcimer

Inches & Miles 1977-1980 (Flying Fish)

David Mallett- Open Doors & Windows

Open Doors & Windows (Flying Fish)

Kathy Mattea- Summer of My Dreams

Time Passes By (Mercury)

Priscilla Herdman- Thanks to Mother Mercy

Seasons of Change (Flying Fish)

David Mallett- Hope for One and All

…In the Falling Dark (Vanguard)

Next week: Remembering Peter Yarrow.

--Mike Regenstreif

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – December 3, 2024: Top 10 for 2024

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/67938.html

Theme: Songs from my top 10 folk-rooted and folk-branched albums of 2024.

The annotated and illustrated list is posted on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches blog at this link. https://frfb.blogspot.com/2024/11/top-10-for-2024.html

Number 10 – Heartbreak, Misery & Death by Grayson Capps

Grayson Capps- Hallelujah

Heartbreak, Misery & Death (Royal Potato Family)

Number 9 – Lonesome Road: Suite for Solo Guitar and Voice – Songs of the Lost Generation 1924-1928 by Joel Mabus

Joel Mabus- The Lonesome Road

Lonesome Road: Suite for Solo Guitar and Voice – Songs of the Lost Generation 1924-1928 (Fossil)

Number 8 – American Patchwork Quartet by American Patchwork Quartet

American Patchwork Quartet- Shenandoah

American Patchwork Quartet (Carolina Jasmine)

Number 7 – Heart of the Swan by Carla Sciaky

Carla Sciaky- Standing by a River

Heart of the Swan (Propinquity)

Carla Sciaky- This Forsaken Garden

Heart of the Swan (Propinquity)

Number 6 – Two Sides to Your Story by Chris Rawlings

Chris Rawlings- Bastille Day

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Chris Rawlings- Smoker’s Lullaby

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Number 5 – Live at the Scala Theatre and In the Real World by Eric Bibb

Eric Bibb- Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie

Live at the Scala Theatre (Stony Plain)

Eric Bibb- Best I Can

In the Real World (Stony Plain)

Number 4 – American Railroad by Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens

Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens- Swannanoa Tunnel/Steel-Driving Man

American Railroad (Nonesuch)

Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens- Tamping Song

American Railroad (Nonesuch)

Number 3 – Feel with Blood by Lenka Lichtenberg

Lenka Lichtenberg- Feel with Blood

Feel with Blood (Six Degrees)

Lenka Lichtenberg- Wintry Dusk

Feel with Blood (Six Degrees)

Number 2 – Bandits, Ballads and Blues by James Talley

James Talley- The Love Song of Billy the Kid

Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)

James Talley- If We Could Love One Another

Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)

Number 1 – A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend by Perla Batalla

Perla Batalla- A Singer Must Die

A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)

Perla Batalla- You Want It Darker

A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)

I’m taking the next four weeks off and Stranger Songs will feature some repeat shows from 2022. You can see the playlists and stream the shows at the following links.

December 10: Songs of the Mountain City Four and Kate & Anna McGarrigle. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/57707.html

December 17: “Acapella Stella” and other a capella songs. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/57170.html

December 24: Happy Holidays. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/58701.html

December 31: Songs of – or inspired by – Jesse Winchester. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/56097.html

New programs will resume on January 7.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Top 10 for 2024

Here are my picks for the Top 10 folk-rooted or folk-branched albums of 2024. I started with a list of about 30 superb albums released between December 2023 and November 2024. I’ve been over the list several times over the past couple of weeks and came up with several similar – not identical – Top 10 lists. Today’s list is the final one. The order might have been slightly different and there are several other worthy albums that might have been included, had one of the other lists represented the final choice. Any new albums that arrive between now and the end of the year will be considered for my 2025 list.

1. Perla Batalla – A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music). Early in her career, in the late-1980s and ‘90s, Perla Batalla toured the world as a backup singer in Leonard Cohen’s band. I remember being mesmerized by her singing as I sat front row, centre at the St. Denis Theatre in Montreal in 1988. In 2004, Perla released the superb collection, Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, and now follows up with this sublime album. She includes superb versions of eight of Leonard’s songs; a version of “The Partisan,” a song from the French Resistance in the World War II that Leonard made his own; and two of Perla’s original songs inspired by her friend and mentor.

2. James Talley – Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron). James Talley has been one of my favorite singer-songwriters since he released Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, but We Sure Got a Lot of Love in 1974. On Bandits, Ballads and Blues, James sings compassionate songs about old west outlaws, family, a missed dog, and – most importantly – common folk victimized by forces beyond their control.

3. Lenka Lichtenberg – Feel with Blood (Six Degrees). Feel with Blood by Lenka Lichtenberg, the second album that Lenka has done based on poems written by Anna Hana Friesová, her maternal grandmother, while she was a prisoner at the Theresienstadt concentration camp during the Holocaust. While Thieves of Dreams, her first album of this material was largely sung in Czech, this album is largely sung in English translation.

4. Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens – American Railroad (Nonesuch). The Silkroad Ensemble is a multicultural group of musicians founded by Yo-Yo Ma and now under the artistic direction of Rhiannon Giddens. As explained on the Silkroad Ensemble website, American Railroad, was inspired by the impact that African American, Chinese, Indigenous, Irish, and other immigrant communities had on the creation of the transcontinental and connecting railways in North America.

5. Eric Bibb – Live at the Scala Theatre (Stony Plain) and In the Real World (Stony Plain). The always inspiring Eric Bibb, who has been a favorite folk and acoustic blues performer for many years, released both a live album, Live at the Scala Theatre, and a studio album, In the Real World, this year and both are deserving of inclusion on this list, so I decided to bend my list and have two albums share a slot.

6. Chris Rawlings – Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music). I’ve known Chris Rawlings since circa 1970 and I think that Two Sides to Your Story – featuring stellar backup from Henry Heillig and Jim Hoke – is his best (and best sounding) album yet. Among the highlights is a new version of “Smoker’s Lullaby,” a piece that Chris sang the first time I heard him about 55 years ago, featuring slightly edited lyrics that make a great song even better – and whose opening line gives the album its title.

7. Carla Sciaky – Heart of the Swan (Propinquity). Heart of the Swan, the first solo album in about 30 years by Carla Sciaky, marks a triumphant return of a fine singer and songwriter who was unheard from for too long. This is an album of quiet power with several tracks featuring recurring instrumental or vocal passages from the traditional ballad, “Polly Vaughn,” about a hunter mistakes the woman he loves for a swan.

8. American Patchwork Quartet – American Patchwork Quartet (Carolina Jasmine). American Patchwork Quartet is a multicultural group whose members are both ethnically and musically diverse, traits which they bring to their delightfully re-imagined versions of 14 traditional folksongs that demonstrate how relevant and powerful traditional source material remains for contemporary music.

9. Joel Mabus – Lonesome Road: Suite for Solo Guitar and Voice – Songs of the Lost Generation 1924-1928 (Fossil). Joel Mabus, a longtime veteran of the folk music scene, is a fine singer and player of many stringed instruments. Joel is also an excellent songwriter whose work is well informed by his knowledge of diverse styles including traditional balladry, old-time country, bluegrass, jazz, vintage pop and blues. On Lonesome Road: Suite for Solo Guitar and Voice – Songs of the Lost Generation 1924-1928 Joel offers fine versions of 14 classic songs written between 1924 and 1928.

10. Grayson Capps – Heartbreak, Misery & Death (Royal Potato Family). On Heartbreak, Misery & Death, Grayson Capps, a singer-songwriter from Alabama well-versed in folk and blues styles, turns his attention to really nice versions of traditional folksongs and contemporary folk classics written by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Jerry Jeff Walker and Randy Newman.

I will be featuring songs from each of these albums on Stranger Songs, Tuesday December 3, 3:30-5 pm (ET), on CKCU. The program is already available 24/7 for on-demand streaming at this link. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/67938.html

–Mike Regenstreif

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday November 30, 2024

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of the Saturday Morning show.

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/67920.html

Willie Nelson- Last Leaf

Last Leaf on the Tree (Legacy)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (1994)

Tom Paxton- Has Annie Been in Tonight

Up & Up (Mountain Railroad)

Bob Dylan- Annie’s Going to Sing Her Song

Another Self Portrait 1969-1971: The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Columbia/Legacy)

Tom Paxton- When Annie Took Me Home

New Songs for Old Friends (Reprise)

Laurie Lewis- Central Square

Bluegrass Sings Paxton (Mountain Home)

Chris Rawlings & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Chris Rawlings- Smoker’s Lullaby

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Jesse Winchester & Mike Regenstreif (2000)

Jesse Winchester- Defying Gravity

Learn to Love It (Stony Plain)

Ronney Abramson & Mike Regenstreif (2016)

Ronney Abramson- Purify My River

Ronney Abramson (Capitol)

Bruce Murdoch- (Can I) Come Across to You

Bruce Murdoch (Radio Canada International)

Kevin Head & Mike Regenstreif (2013) photo: Vanessa Burnett

Kevin Head- Digby Lament

Hear Them Callin’ (Kevin Head)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- The Ring

Recordings Celebrating 50 Years of a Musical Partnership (Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl)

Neale Eckstein- The Lighthouse (NE & Eric Schwartz)

Never Too Late (Neale Eckstein)

Howard Gladstone- Sea of Sorrow

Crazy Talk (Howard Gladstone)

Carolyn Shulman- No Sad Songs

Heart on a Wire (Carolyn Shulman)

Ball & Chain & The Wreckers- Man with the Pain

Satisfied (Moo Music)

Paul Mills- Stubbs Stomp

The Other Side of the Glass (Borealis)

Rufus Wainwright & Anohni- Going to a Town

Folkocracy (BMG)

Ferron- It Won’t Take Long

Shadows on a Dime (Lucy)

Moonfruits- Brittle Earth

Salt (Co-Op)

Jay Linden- Dreamers on a Sailing Ship

Ordinary Sunrise (Americana North)

Albert & Gage- I Used to be Lonesome

Burnin’ Moonlight (MoonHouse)

Efrat- We Just Need Love

We Just Need Love (Efrat)

Tom Mitchell & Mike Regenstreif (1999)

Tom Mitchell- Soap and Powder

Old Cloth (Yabut Music)

Rosalie Sorrels & Mike Regenstreif (1993)

Rosalie Sorrels- The Pine

Live at the Great American Music Hall (Flying Fish)

Shelley Posen & Mike Regenstreif on Zoom (2023)

Shelley Posen- Having a Drink with Jane

The Old Songs Home (Well Done Music)

Jane Voss & Hoyle Osborne- To All My Friends in Far-Flung Places

Sparkle and Shine (Front Hall)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Michael Jerome Browne- Where is the Song?

That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)

Paul Geremia & Mike Regenstreif (2012)

Paul Geremia- Kick It in the Country

Self Portrait in Blues (Red House)

Little Birdie (Orit Shimoni)- Can’t Stop This Train

Bare Bones (Little Birdie)

Perla Batalla- Awakened

A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)

Leonard Cohen- By the Rivers Dark

Ten New Songs (Columbia)

Perla Batalla- Take This Waltz

A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)

Chris Rawlings- Lifting the Darkness

Two Sides to Your Story (Cookingfat Music)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Come Back Baby

Pronto Monto (Omnivore)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Mike Regenstreif & Chaim Tannenbam (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Chaim Tannenbaum- Belfast Louis Falls in Love

Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2018)

Tom Russell- All on a Belfast Morning

Folk Hotel (Frontera)

Mike Regenstreif & Bruce Murdoch (2014)

Bruce Murdoch- Rompin’ Rovin’ Days

Singer-Songwriter Project (Elektra)

Kat Goldman- Take It Down the Line

The Workingman’s Blues (Kat Goldman)

Kurt Anderson- 900 Miles

Life on Interstate 40 (Riverlark Music)

Sonya Cohen Cramer- No Place to Fall

You’ve Been a Friend to Me (Smithsonian Folkways)

Grayson Capps- Columbus Stockade Blues

Heartbreak, Misery & Death (Royal Potato Family)

The Wailin' Jennys- The Parting Glass

40 Days (Jericho Beach Music)

I’m taking some time off in December so I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on January 25. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 26, 2024: Immigration, Part 2

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/67838.html

Theme: Immigration, Part 2.

Maria Dunn- Immigrant Dreams

Piece By Piece (Distant Whisper)

Joe Jencks- I’m a Stranger in This Land

The Forgotten: Recovered Treasures from the Pen of Si Kahn (Turtle Bear Music)

Rude Girls- Crossing the Border

Mixed Messages (Flying Fish)

Si Kahn- Lady of the Harbor

Best of the Rest (Strictly Country)

John McCutcheon- Third Way

Leap! (Appalsongs)

David Massengill- My Name Joe

Coming Up for Air (Flying Fish)

Grit Laskin- Sewing Machines

Unabashedly Folk (Borealis)

Mara Levine- Immigrant Dream

Jewels and Harmony (Mara’s Creations)

Brendan Nolan- The Curse of the Immigrant

Across the Great Divide (Ould Sagosha)

Martha Trachtenberg & Dede Wyland- Ticket Back

It’s About Time (Mom and Pop)

Crabtree & Mills- Across the Borderline

Flight of Fancy (Free and Easy Music)

Diana Jones- El Chaparral

Song to a Refugee (Goldmine)

Jackson Browne- The Dreamer

Downhill from Everywhere (Inside Recordings)

James Talley- Christmas on the Rio Grande

Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)

Guy Clark- Immigrant Eyes

Old Friends (Sugar Hill)

Eric Andersen- Eyes of the Immigrants

Woodstock Under the Stars (Y&T Music)

C. Daniel Boling- All of Us are Immigrants

Love, Dan (Berkalin)

Carla Sciaky- For Nyla

Heart of the Swan (Propinquity)

Ben Caplan- Traveller’s Curse

Old Stock (Rhyme and Reason)

Ben Caplan- You’ve Arrived

Old Stock (Rhyme and Reason)

Next week: Songs from my Top 10 Folk-Rooted and Folk-Branched albums of 2024.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 19, 2024: Immigration, Part 1 – The Man from God Knows Where

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/67731.html

Theme: Immigration, Part 1 – The Man from God Knows Where.

As I wrote in Sing Out magazine in 1999 … Thomas Russell was a leader of the United Irish Rebellion in the 1790s. Two centuries later, singer and songwriter Tom Russell was playing a gig in Downpatrick, Ireland when he was approached by an old man in a bar. “Thomas Russell,” he said, “we hung you across the road in 1798.” Tom bought the old man a pint of beer and heard the story of his namesake and of the narrative poem about him called “The Man from God Knows Where.”

For several years prior to that encounter, Tom had been working on a song-cycle that began when a phrase, “American primitive man in an American primitive land,” occurred to him. Originally, Tom conceived the piece as a long tone-poem that would tell some of the history of America absent from the standard history texts. But as he wrote, Tom soon recognized that his own family’s history would provide much of the raw material he needed to tell a compelling story of immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream.

So, more than 200 years after Thomas Russell’s hanging, the man from God knows where is resurrected to observe and to chronicle the struggles, tragedies and joys of the Russells and Malloys who immigrate to the United States from Ireland in the nineteenth century, and of the Larsens and Olsens who come from Norway, and of their lineage through to today’s Tom Russell.

Tom Russell’s The Man from God Knows Where is more than just a song-cycle, it’s a fully realized folk-opera featuring Tom and a superb cast of American, Irish and Norwegian singers. Using singers with authentic Irish, Norwegian and rural and urban American accents helps provide authenticity to the voices of Russell’s ancestors and to the other characters who are brought to life in the folk-opera. As well, Tom frequently utilizes distinctly Irish and Norwegian instruments and musical forms to complement the more familiar American folk styles that run through the score to The Man from God Knows Where.

Tom wrote most of the songs we hear in The Man from God Knows Where. There are also some traditional folksongs, a song written by David Massengill, and a poem by Walt Whitman.

Tom Russell- The Man from God Knows Where