Music from Australia with Lynne King

Folk Music & Beyond Playlist for April 30, 2005
Music from Australia with Lynne King

(Playlist and notes by Lynne King.)

1. Kookaburra Call, from Australia: Our Land, Our Music, CD 1. Available from the ABC shops.

2. The Bushwackers, "That's Australia," from a long out-of-print CD I bought at Down Home Music about 20 years ago.

3. Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, "The Banks of the Condamine," from Songlinks, vol. 1 on Fellside, available at all good record shops, Amoeba, Rasputin's, Mod Lang, Down Home, or online at Fellside Recordings or Elderly Instruments. This shop in Lansing, Michigan has very low prices and prompt service; highly recommended.

4. Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, "The Banks of the Nile," from Songlinks. See above for details of where to purchase.

5. Cloudstreet, "King Willie," from Swallow the Concertina. This and most of the other Aussie stuff is available from Folk Australia. There are links to the artists' pages from this page, as well as folk clubs, venues, instrument makers, etc. It's a wealth of information.

6. Moving Harps, "Planxty Fanny Powers," from The Next Move. I bought this at a festival and despite persistent Googling haven't been able to track anything down.

7. The Wheeze and Suck Band, "Sammy's Bar," from their out-of-print debut CD. Their newest is available from Folk Australia. I had to beg and plead with one of the band members to get a homemade copy of the first one, as he didn't feel it was up to snuff. Personally to my ear it was fine.

(Music Under Announcements Wongawilli, "Under the Willow / Ernie Goodman's, Railway Hotel / Moonan Flat," Australian Tradition, Musica Pangaea.)

8. Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton, "The Banks of Claudy," from Songlinks, CD 1. See above recommendations for Fellside, etc.

9. Rocky River Bush Band, "Albany Immigrants," from Seaboots and Swags, available from Folk Australia.

10. Bruce Watson, "Landlubber's Shanty," from A Moving Feast, also available at Folk Australia.

11. Dennis Tracy, "The Free Selector's Daughter," from a long out-of-print LP. Can't find a trace of him anywhere.

12. Gerry Hallom, "The New Chum Shearer," from Undiscovered Australia, v.2. I think this is also out of print, but you might try Camsco Music in Connecticut.

13. John Williamson, "Home Among the Gum Trees," Anthems. You can find him at the Folk Australia page or his own Web site.

14. Judy Small, "Mary Parker's Lament," from The Best of the 80's. I got this used from Amazon. Try the shops around town.

15. Peter Hicks, "If It Weren't for the Union," Our World Is Not for Sale.

16. Jim Low, "From the Days of the Dinosaurs," from Negatives of Glass. He sent this to me in the mail, but you can get it from Folk Australia.

17. Bernard Carney, "Reaching for the Light / The Devil's Run," from Feathers and Tributes. Available from Folk Australia.

18. The Bushwackers, "Ned Kelly's Tunes," from So Far, Folk Australia, or you can try the Bushwackers Web site, but it's not been updated since 2001.

19. Collector, "Ben Hall," from Coming in from the Cold, Folk Australia.

20. Bushwackers, "Stringy Bark Creek," So Far. See above.

21. Redgum, "Poor Ned," from Caught in the Act. Try the Country Music Store; I can't guarantee success here, though.

22. The Fagans, "Factory Lad," from Turning Fine. This family band includes James Fagan, who performs with Nancy Kerr. Folk Australia.

23. John Williamson, "Waltzing Matilda" with 2,000 voices, from Anthems. See above.