“Scots Drinking Songs” by Ewan MacColl - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1956Album Chart of the Decade: 1950s

TJR says

Ewan tackles 19 auld Scots drinking songs, 13 of which are sung as they would have been in their traditional bothy form - a capella. Breaking things up throughout, 4 songs are accompanied by Brian Daly on guitar ("Blow The Candle Out", "We're Gayly Yet", "Jack Hawk's Adventures In Glasgow" & "The Wind Blew The Bonnie Lassie's Plaidie Awa'") and 2 are accompanied by Alf Edwards on concertina ("The Carlton Weaver" and "The Day We Went To Rothesay"). Excellently, each song comes with written notes, and there is also an album overview, all from the man himself: “I can remember as a child being allowed to stay up at Hogmanay parties when a dozen Scots iron-moulders and their wives would settle down to serious drinking. ‘A Wee Drappie O’t’ would be sung with everyone joining in the chorus with maybe a few English friends looking a bit embarrassed at this display of celtic emotion and the beer jugs would be circulating freely and whiskey bottles would empty at an alarming rate. In between the songs the company would argue the merits of Edward Clod’s ‘History of Creation’ and Volny’s ‘Ruins of Empires’ and then as the singing became more and more rough I would be sent off to bed. As these junketings often lasted for a whole week I had plenty of opportunities to learn the songs.” Nothing gets me too excited here - but ten times out of ten I'd take Ewan's respectful and earnest renditions over the glib telly eejits with their forced jollity that pretty much ruined this auld form for two whole generations.

The Jukebox Rebel
16–Apr–2018

Tracklist
A1 ** [01:50] 5.5.png **Ewan MacColl - We’re A Jolly Fu’ (Traditional) Folk
A2 ** [02:23] 6.0.png **Ewan MacColl - The Carlton Weaver (Traditional) Folk
A3 ** [00:49] 5.3.png **Ewan MacColl - When She Came Ben She Bobbit (Traditional) Folk
A4 ** [02:38] 5.2.png **Ewan MacColl - The Laird Of The Dainty Doon Bye (Traditional) Folk
A5 ** [01:28] 5.0.png **Ewan MacColl - Blow The Candle Out (Traditional) Folk
A6 ** [02:47] 5.5.png **Ewan MacColl - Donald Blue (Traditional) Folk
A7 ** [03:13] 4.9.png **Ewan MacColl - The Brewer Laddie [1956 version] (Traditional) Folk
A8 ** [01:19] 5.8.png **Ewan MacColl - We’re Gayly Yet (Traditional) Folk
A9 ** [02:42] 6.2.png **Ewan MacColl - A Wee Drappie O’t (Robert Tannahill) Folk
A10 ** [01:00] 4.7.png **Ewan MacColl - The Cuckoo’s Nest (Traditional) Folk
B1 ** [01:06] 4.5.png **Ewan MacColl - Green Grow The Rashes, O [1956 version] (Traditional, Robert Burns) Folk
B2 ** [01:18] 5.1.png **Ewan MacColl - The Day We Went To Rothesay (Traditional) Folk
B3 ** [01:31] 5.2.png **Ewan MacColl - The Bonnie Lassie Who Never Said No (Traditional) Folk
B4 ** [02:50] 6.4.png **Ewan MacColl - The Muckin’ O’ Geordie’s Byre [1956 version] (Traditional) Folk
B5 ** [02:37] 4.6.png **Ewan MacColl - Jack Hawk’s Adventures In Glasgow (Traditional) Folk
B6 ** [02:33] 6.0.png **Ewan MacColl - The Brisk Young Lad (Traditional) Folk
B7 ** [02:15] 5.0.png **Ewan MacColl - I Wish That You Were Dead Guidman (Traditional) Folk
B8 ** [03:04] 5.2.png **Ewan MacColl - The Wind Blew The Bonnie Lassie’s Plaidie Awa’ [1956 version] (Traditional) Folk
B9 ** [01:50] 5.4.png **Ewan MacColl - Andro And His Cutty Gun (Traditional) Folk
© The Jukebox Rebel 2005-2020 All Rights Reserved