Feasts & Spirits


Finest Kind
with
John D. Huston
as Charles Dickens

FAM07

Released in Nov, 2004
Finest Kind Biography

The eighteen tracks on the recording are:

° Shepherds Arise
° A Tight-Fisted Hand at the Grindstone
° Horsham Tipteerers' Song
° The Face in the Knocker
° Gower Wassail
° Party at Fezziwig's
° The Holly and the Ivy
° The Cratchit's Christmas Dinner
° While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

° The Two Children–Ignorance and Want
° The Homeless Wassail
° Grieving for Tiny Tim
° The Cradle Carol
° Christmas Morning
° O Little Town of Bethlehem 
° The End of It
° Please to See the King
° Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

Silks & Spices


Finest Kind

FAM05

Released in Aug, 2003
Finest Kind Biography

"I simply recommend every track on this joyous album" 
Roy Harris; The Living Tradition

The long-awaited third CD from Finest Kind. In the trio's own words:
Finest Kind’s repertoire has so many sources, our musical closet so many skeletons, and our performances so many opposing elements, there’s no neat summing us up. “Folk music” serves as a point of departure, but in our case obscures as much as it explains.
The best we’ve come up with is a slogan, “Old Songs in Close Harmony.” But it too only partially covers the ground. Take the word “old:” on Silks & Spices there’s blackletter-broadside old, Napoleonic-days-of-sail old, Victorian-Christmas and golden-age-of-country-music old, Ottawa-Valley-logging and early-American-sheet-music old, antiwar-protest, civil-rights, and bellbottom-pants old—plus one song with a tune as old as Canada but words written 136 years later.
As for “close harmony,” well, we’re often told that Finest Kind sounds like no one else, but in our arrangements we hear the harmonic strains of the Copper Family and Young Tradition, barbershop quartet and Sacred Harp, doo wop and country brother duos, and many more. How can we bundle that up in a nice neat phrase?
So we decided Silks & Spices was an apt title for this CD. Finest Kind is not one thing or another, but some of each and every. Once you hear us, you understand what we do.
Produced by James Stephens, who also adds his instrumental magic to the CD.

The fifteen songs on the recording are:

° Bright Shining Morning
° Fair Maid Walking
° At the End of a Long Lonely Day
° The Ten Dollar Bill
° The Maple Leaf Forever
°As I Roved Out
°Jack the Jolly Tar

° Shepherd of the Downs
°John Barleycorn
° Sweet Forget-Me-Not
° Shepherds Arise
° Blackest Crow
° The Painful Plough 
° The Times They Are a-Changin'
° Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Grass Roots


The Old Sod Band

FAM04

Released in Nov, 2001
Old Sod Band Biography

"An absolutely brilliant recording."  Dirty Linen

'Grass Roots' is the first release by 'The Old Sod Band' and includes some familiar faces from 'Finest Kind'. Based on a strong melody line delivered by Ian Robb (concertina) and Dan Schryer (fiddle), the group has been playing for Contra-Dances for 13 years. This recording covers a range of musical roots from Quebec to Ireland, the U.S. and Scotland. Although primarily traditional, the recording features some favorite original jigs, reels and waltzes from around the globe. Solid accompaniment by Ann Downey (bass, banjo, percussion), Ian Clark (guitar), Philip Murphy (guitar, mandolin) and Tim Cutts (mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo, nyckelharpa) gives each tune a unique flavour and drive. A note for dancers- some sets are long enough to be used at your bandless dances! Guest appearances include Denis Lanctot, Don Kavanagh, Raj Mudhar and James Stephens. Produced by James Stephens. 

The Tunes:

Heart's Delight


Finest Kind

FAM03

Released in Feb. 1999
Finest Kind Biography

Following in the footsteps of Lost in Song, Finest Kind's second release demonstrates once again why they are considered among the most exciting exponents of vocal harmony on the scene. Like the first recording, this one is crammed with a rich and varied mixture of mostly old songs from Canada, England and the U.S., plus a few more recently penned gems including a couple written by band members Shelley Posen and Ian Robb. Includes guest appearances by Ian Clark, Ken Harper and James Stephens. Produced by James Stephens.

The seventeen songs on the recording are:

°  A Sailor's Life
°  Fond Affection
°  The Fugitive's Lament
°  Jordan
°  Jack Ashton
°  If You Can't Get Five, Take Two
°  Brigg Fair
°  Someday You'll Call My Name
°  April Morning

°  In Praise of Alcohol
°  Down at the End of Memory's Lane
°  Homeless Wassail
°  The Mermaid
°  Squid Jiggin' Ground
°  Home in Pasadena
°  No More Fish, No Fishermen
°  Who Will Sing for Me

Lost in a Song


Finest Kind

FAM02 

Released in 1996
Finest Kind Biography

Listen to a sample (mp3: 3.4Mb)

CD: $18.00  

Cassette: $9.50

Finest Kind's debut CD and cassette release from Ian Robb, Shelley Posen and Ann Downey. Lost in a Song is a collection of old and new songs from Britain, Canada and the US, all delivered with Finest Kind's trademark hair-raising vocal harmonies. The songs are about half-and-half acapella and accompanied, and the latter feature some very tasteful fiddle and mandolin back-up from producer James Stephens, in addition to the trio's own guitar, bass, banjo and concertina. 

The seventeen songs on the recording are:

° The Banks of Sweet Primroses
° Give me Just a Little More Time
° The Miner's Dream of Home
°  Blue Mountain
°  The Sussex Drinking Song
° The Night Pat Murphy Died
° The Storms May Roll the Ocean
° Goodnight-Loving Trail
° Only Remembered

° Fa-Sol-La
° Going to the West
° A Handful of Maple Leaves
° Gower Wassail
° What Was I Supposed to Do
° I Heard the Bluebird Sing
° The Faded Roses of December
° A Pilgrim's Way

This Side of the Ocean

The Friends
of Fiddler's Green

FOFG 3
Re-released In 1997
(with additional live tracks)
FOFG Biography

CD re-release of the Friends' first vinyl album, produced by Ken Whiteley. Enriched with a bunch of live tracks recorded in the intervening years. Great songs, tunes and stories, from a band which refuses to take itself seriously. Vintage FOFG, matured (huh?) in the barrel, challenging to the palate, a big nose and nice legs. Has been known to make grown men cry. 

The twenty songs on the recording are:

° Oats and Beans
° Polkas: Salmon Tails Up the Water / Harper's Frolic
° Kelty Clippie
° Down in the Coalmine
° The Golden Vanity
° Come Me Little Son
° The Shetland Fiddler / High Road to Linton
° The Oily Rig
° Hornpipes: The Black Swan /
The High Level Bridge
° The Works Outing

° Torn A' Ma Goon / Captain Ross
° Kiss Me Goodnight, Sargeant-Major /
Bless 'Em All
° The Hole in the Wall / Once I Loved a Maiden Fair
° The Hell-For-Leather Polkas
° Freedom Come All Yes
° Over the Gate
° Arky's Toast
° Malpas Wassail
° Miss McLeod of Raasay /
The Mason's Apron
° The Dogs

Rose & Crown

Now re-released on CD!

Ian Robb

Folk Legacy C-106
Released In 1985
Biography

Cassette & CD: Please order directly from Folk Legacy.

A collection of songs and tunes featuring some of Ian's own songs, most notably his anthem to the English pub, "The Old Rose and Crown", which has been sung wherever there are pubs, around the world. Aided and abetted by the fine musicianship and singing of Ian Bell, Anne Lederman, Grit Laskin, Alistair Brown and Shelley Posen. 

The ten songs on the recording are:

° The Jolly Grinder
° Aftermath
° Diana
° The Trees They Do Grow High
° Song for the New Year

° The Old Rose & Crown
° The Iron Lady
° The Female Rambling Sailor
° Sherborne Waltz /
Sweet Forget-me-Not /
Gaspe
° Singer's Farewell

The Barley Grain
For Me

Margaret Christl
& Ian Robb

Folk Legacy CD-62
CD only
Originally released In 1976
Re-released in 1998
Ian Robb Biography

Re-release on CD of Ian and Margaret's 1976 album on Folk Legacy. Traditional songs, many of them of British and Irish origin, collected in Eastern and Central Canada by Helen Creighton, Edith Fowke, MacEdward Leach, Kenneth Peacock and others. Great accompaniment and vocal back-up by Grit Laskin. This re-release is dedicated to the memory of Ontario song collector, writer and scholar, Edith Fowke. 

The fourteen songs on the recording are:

° Campbell, the Drover
° Hard Times
° Save Your Money While
You're Young
° The Crockery Ware
° Oh, No, Not I
° Green Bushes
° The Barley Grain For Me

° Jack, The Cow Boy
° The Weaver
° The Foggy Dew
° Willie Drowned in Ero
° The Banks of Newfoundland
° The Ten Dollar Bill
° By the Hush

Ian Robb
& Hang The Piper

Folk Legacy C-71
Cassette only
Released In 1979
Ian Robb Biography

Cassette: Please order directly from Folk Legacy.

Cassette re-release of Ian's 1979 album for Folk Legacy. A blend of Ian's mostly English songs with mostly Irish instrumentals. Ian, Grit Laskin, John Goodman and Terry Rudden are joined by Sligo fiddler extraordinaire Seamus McGuire for some great tune sets. 

The thirteen songs on the recording are:

° Warlike Seamen
° Cherish the Ladies
° The Handloom Weaver's Lament
° O'Connell's Lamentation
° Jim Jones
° Old Hag, You Have Killed Me /
I Buried My Wife and
Danced on Her Grave /
Coppers and Brass / Tom Billy's

° The Banks of Red Roses
° The Little Stack of Wheat
° The Black Swan
° Clear Away the Morning Dew
° The Crab in the Skillet /
Travers Reel
° Champion at Driving 'em Crazy
° Two Mazurkas
° Rolling Down to Old Maui

Locating other recordings by performers who appear on the Fallen Angel label

By Alistair Brown:

alistair@alistairbrown.com
TEL: 519-673-0334
Alistair is also a good source for Castagnari accordions
at discount prices.
Contact him for a price list.

By Grit Laskin:

grit@interlog.com

By David Parry:

Contact Caroline Parry
carolinebp@sympatico.ca

Other Canadian Sources for Ontario and Québec Recordings:

Thirty Below

Great collection of Québec traditional music

Camsco Music