Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 15, 2022: Part 1 – Remembering Tony Barrand and Norma Waterson; Part 2 – Love Songs

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

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/55205.html

Themes: Part 1 – Remembering Tony Barrand and Norma Waterson; Part 2 – Love Songs

In memory of Tony Barrand (1945-2022)

John Roberts & Tony Barrand- Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy
A Present from the Gentlemen (Golden Hind Music)
John Roberts & Tony Barrand- A Smuggler’s Song
A Present from the Gentlemen (Golden Hind Music)
John Roberts & Tony Barrand- A Pilgrim’s Way
Twiddlum Twaddlum (Golden Hind Music)

In memory of Norma Waterson (1939-2022)

The Watersons- I am a Rover
Troubadours of British Folk, Volume 1 (Rhino)
Waterson:Carthy- Polly’s Love
Common Tongue (Topic)
Norma Waterson- Black Muddy River
Norma Waterson (Hannibal)

Love Songs

Dave Van Ronk- Another Time and Place
Down in Washington Square (Smithsonian Folkways)
Reggie Harris & Colleen Kattau- Maybe It’s Love
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)
Steel Rail- Once in a While
Coming Home (Crossties)
Quartette- First Love Waltz
Rocks and Roses (Outside Music)

Miranda Mulholland- Heart Like a Wheel
By Appointment or Chance (Roaring Girl)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Foolish You
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Chaim Tannenbaum- (Talk to Me of) Mendocino
Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2018)

Eliza Gilkyson- Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me
Songs from the River Wind (Howlin’ Dog)
Tom Russell & The Norwegian Wind Ensemble- Finding You
Aztec Jazz (Frontera)
HuDost- Deliverance
Anthems of Home (HuDost Music)
Bruce Cockburn- Anything Anytime Anywhere
Greatest Hits (1970-2020) (True North)

Annabelle Chvostek- Dance Me to the End of Love
Dance Me to the End of Love – single (Annabelle Chvostek)
Nina Simone- Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair
Nina Simone for Lovers: Deluxe Edition (Verve)
The Twangtown Paramours- Anyone But You
Double Down on a Bad Thing (Inside Edge)
Josie Bello- Love That’s Real
Resilience (Josie Bello)

Next week: Songs of Fats Waller

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--Mike Regenstreif

John Roberts & Debra Cowan – Ballads Long & Short: The Best of Every Kind

JOHN ROBERTS & DEBRA COWAN

Ballads Long & Short: The Best of Every Kind

Golden Hind Music

goldenhindmusic.com

John Roberts, who moved from England to the United States in the 1960s, has long been known for his fine performances and recordings of traditional folksongs – primarily in a duo with fellow British expatriate Tony Barrand. It was at least 45 years ago that I first encountered John and Tony and have seen them often over the decades (and John occasionally as a solo artist).

Debra Cowan is an American singer of traditional songs I first encountered much more recently – maybe 15 years ago. Ballads Long & Short: The Best of Every Kind is the first recorded result of an occasional partnership of John and Debra that began when they booked some split billed concerts together in 2009 and discovered they enjoyed singing together.

The focus on this album – as you might gather from both the album title and past work of both artists – is on traditional balladry (in folk music a ballad is a story song as opposed to a jazz or pop ballad which is any song played slowly or quietly); even the occasional song with a credited writer sounds like a traditional ballad. The approach, too, is very traditional with some of the songs performed a cappella and John’s banjo or concertina as the only instrumentation on most of the others. The only additional musician is Bill Cooley who adds a lovely guitar accompaniment to “Fair Annie.”

Most tracks feature either John or Debra singing together or one or the other singing lead with the other adding a harmony vocal.

The album opens with a nice duet on “Drive Dull Care Away,” a traditional song collected in Prince Edward Island, with a message about how eternity evens out the results for the rich and the poor.

Among the highlights of the songs featuring John are “The Tailor’s Breeches,” a cautionary tale about what can happen when too much wine dulls the senses in the presence of a woman who might be up to no good; and “Jim Jones,” an Australian convict’s ballad.

Debra shines on the lovely “Fair Annie,” the album’s longest ballad; and on Chris Sugden’s “Combing the Mane,” a faux-pirate ballad set on the Spanish Mane that’s a lot of fun.

Other’s I particularly enjoyed include “Gypsum Davy,” a variant of the familiar “Gypsy Laddie” or “Gypsy Davy” ballad; and “Anderson’s Coast,” another Australian song.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif