Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Bushwackers "Warrigal Morning" LP 1983

This LP was very kindly sent to me by Mark from Victoria. Many thanks as I had been wondering just when I would be able to do this one.

From the outset let me say that this is not quite in the vein that you might expect from The Bushwackers. The reason for this is that it is the soundtack album from the 1983 remake of the movie "Bush Christmas". It includes original performances of the traditionals "Lachlan Tigers", "Waltzing Matilda", "Billy of Tea"and the instrumental "The Fishing Reels". Sadly, it also includes that absurd rewrite of Saul Mendelsohn's "Brisbane Ladies" ("Augathella Station") that I have ranted about before. The album includes an instrumental performance of "Silent Night". All other tracks are original compositions specially written for the movie but well-and-truly in the style favoured by the band. Very good perfromances especially the guitar work of Tommy Emmanuel.

The "Bush Christmas" was a flop but you might like to look it up on the web to provide some context for some of the music. Apparently it was released on DVD in 2012.

Tracklist
1. Prince's Theme (a race horse)
2. Warrigal Morning (the movie theme)
3. Lachlan Tigers
4. Silent Night
5. Waltzing Matilda (Queensland Version)
6. Goanna Stew
7. The Fishing Reels
8. Billy of Tea
9. Travelling Music
10. Stir the Pudding (two parts)
11. Augathella Station
12. The Race.

Click here to commence download of the album. It is a compressed file which you will need to decompress. If download is not available email me at mr.stockman@gmail.com and I will put it up again. 50Mb MP3 @224-256 VBR.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Lionel Long "Songs of a Sunburnt Country" LP 1965

Ian from Tasmania provided a rip of this album. Thanks Ian!

This was the fifth of Lionel Long's albums and it is a mix of Australian country and folk; the latter including a strong component of Australian traditional folk songs which most visitors will immediately recognise.

"The Note on the Woolshed Wall" was penned by Lionel Long about when he was a roustabout at "Tarewinnabar" station  in about the late '50s. He did write a composition onto the wall of his room in the station's shearer's quarters but I cannot remember if it was this song but I do recall the phrase about "wild horses". (Certainly, this song was in play long before this LP was released but I cannot find any details of its initial release.) Back then, the station was owned by Sir William Gunn of The Wool Board fame. "Tarewinnabar" is about 40 miles north-west of Goondiwindi and just on the Queensland side of the QLD/NSW border but the album blurb infers Lionel was in North Queensland.

The LP has obviously suffered some wear but has generally cleaned to an acceptable level. The major exception is the recitation of the "Banjo" Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River" which is highly sibilant. Fortunately, it is not that great a performance (IMO).

Tracklist

A1 The Shearer's Dream
A2 Oh, The Springtime It Brings The Shearing
A3 The Dying Stockman
A4 The Lime Juice Tub
A5 Anzac Cove
A6 My Country
B7 The Note On The Woolshed Wall
B8 Van Dieman's Land
B9 Out West
B10 Bold Jack Donahue
B11 The Man From Snowy River
B12 Waltzing Matilda (Queensland Version)

Click here to download. MP3 @224-256VBR - graphics included. 45MB
Want FLAC - click here - 139Mb with graphics.
They are compressed files needing decompression with 7-Zip, WINRAR, WIN  ZIP, or similar.
If link fails, let me know and I will create a new download link.