FRCD 31 - "Still Swanning after all these years"

THE OLD SWAN BAND celebrate 21 years - in style!! Old Swan are widely acknowledged as the spearhead of the continuing revival of English southern country dance music - born out of those wild and heady sessions in the early 70s involving members of 'Oak', of 'Flowers & Frolics' and the 'Cotswold Liberation Front'! Their early line-up and repertoire was fuelled with rich sources of traditional tunes learnt 'at the knee' of great living traditional musicians like Oscar Woods, Bob Cann, Jim Smith and the legendary Scan Tester, whose fine music lives on in the band's performances. And, for a band born in the Cotswolds and closely involved with the Bampton and Old Spot Morris, there's always a generous leavening of great Cotswold Morris tunes in the Swan Band's playing - and founder members Fi Fraser and Martin Brinsford can be heard on John Kirkpatrick's Morris tunes CD 'Plain Capers', (still available on Vinyl from Free Reed - see below) - while Rod Stradling has been the one of the musicians for Bampton Morris for years! This most welcome CD release celebrates the 21st birthday of this institution of the English folk-scene. Though always happiest as a live band, they were thankfully 'dragged kicking & screaming' into the recording studios just four times during the late 70s and early 80s, and each of these sessions is featured on this new CD. Their first two albums were on Neil Wayne's 'Free Reed' record label: 'No Reels' - the title hints at the Band's uncompromising attitude to their repertoire - (no 100mph 'Rigs & Jeels' HERE, thank you!) - while in 1978 their 'Old Swan Brand' appeared, with a sprinkling of songs and more fine sets of tunes that are still in every decent band's repertoire. Their 3rd LP, on Dingles - 'Gamesters, Pickpockets & Harlots' was exclusively of newly discovered Cotswold material, and the 1983 line-up, now with John Adams, Paul Burgess and Richard Valentine, then recorded an 4-track EP (remember them?) for Waterfront - their last record until now! This celebratory '21st anniversary' CD - (Free Reed FRCD 31, 'Still Swanning after all these Years'), includes very the best material from all four of these long-lost recordings, with detailed tune notes from founder-member and melodeon maestro Rod Stradling, and a wry and nostalgic 'Recollection' of the Band's 21 years from Dan Quinn, once of Flowers & Frolics and now of Gas Mark Five. As with all of Free Reed's old vinyl releases, Neil Wayne's resurgent CD-based label gives us great value - 'Still Swanning...' has a decent and readable 12-page booklet crammed with great archive photos, detailed tune notes from Rod, a thorough discography and Dan Quinn's amusing history of the Band - and best of all, provides over 78 minutes of the best that ever there was of English country music by the band who, as Dan says 'gave English folk-dance music a good kick up the arse!' in the 1970s. It's a must for those who've long ago worn out their treasured vinyl copies, and a grand introduction to The Old Swan Band - guv'nors of English folk bands for the last 21 years! FRCD 31 "Still Swanning....." - 78 min CD - £10.00 Order Form

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