Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads Vol.6: Bawdy Western Songs (1956)

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AUDIO FIDELITY STEREODISC AFSD 5920

BAWDY WESTERN
SONGS, VOL. VI
OSCAR BRAND, guitar • Dave Sear, Banjo

Every man with red blood in his veins sooner or later has the yearning to stand up on his hind legs and break out in rollicking song. None of that sissy stuff, mind you, but lusty lyrics for men with hair on their chests and hope in their hearts. Indeed, this unique collection of bawdy songs and backroom ballads performed by Oscar Brand may serve as inspiration for such stalwarts, not to mention all those persons who would have if they could have. No disappointment here for hungry and thirsty souls doomed to frustration because it is unlawful to send through the mails with impunity unexpurgated versions of fine songs. You're certain to find something here to delight your palate—exploits of cowgirl punchers, amorous triumphs of oriental roues, dramas of embraces belayed and passions betrayed—all in all, as stimulating a miscellany of ditties as ever whetted the human appetite.

True ballad enthusiasts dislike seeing songs in print, just as nature lovers hate to find wild flowers in vases or animals in cages. In fact, most of the world's greatest ballads have been handed down by way of mouth from generation to generation, sometimes losing a stanza in one place, but invariably gaining at least one new one somewhere else. One of the most typical reactions by an ardent balladeer to printed song is reflected in a story concerning Sir Walter Scott and an old Scotswoman. It seems that Scott had heard the old lady singing and was so fascinated that he wrote down the words of the pieces she had performed. When he showed her the texts, she was very annoyed. "They were made for singin' a' no for readin'," the woman declared, "but y' have broken the charm now and they'll never be sung again." She hastened to add that Scott had not only misspelled certain words but had recorded them incorrectly. Many folksong lovers share the feeling of this Scotswoman, which makes it easy to understand why balladry is such a vital art.

Over the years, experts have carried on a running battle about the question of ballad origins. There are two main schools of thought: One held by the so-called communalists, who feel that the old traditional ballads originated as accompaniment to choral dances in medieval times and were sung spontaneously by the dancers; and the second, known as the individualists, which claims that ballads are creations of anonymous entertainers which have been fashioned into enduring shape by being passed along from one generation to another. Both schools are correct, and there are probably half a dozen others whose theories on ballad origins are no less credible.

It was Francois Rabelais who said, "What is got over the Devil's back is spent under the belly." Music lovers who appreciate ballads for their objectivity, their story appeal and the moral lessons they pose will not be shocked by this bit of Rabelasian philosophy. For they know full well that the soundest philosophy, like the best ballads, is that which is stripped to essentials.

Unfortunately, the subtle art of ribald song has been neglected because too many prudish and hypocritical molders of thought and custom have prevented this choice form of music making from gaining the place it deserves in the world of communications. Yet, there is considerable precedent in literary and musical history to support the merits of this art. Chaucer, Rabelais, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Francois Villon, Thomas Moore and Robert Burns are but a few of the amorous bards who enjoyed penning a lusty lyric every now and then. All are said to have joined their voices in many a lascivious chorus. Oscar Brand has delved into their dusty archives and many other sources for countless ballads he has mastered over the years. His talent for taking songs in their original innocuous form and fashioning them into more spiced versions is without parallel in the musical world. Such is the case with the tunes included in this recording, alongside which the original versions pale by comparison.

Most of the selections in this collection are time-honored classics with which listeners will experience fond associations. For example, there is "I Ride An Old Paint," "The Little Brown Bull," "Chisholm Trail" and "The Great Big Wheel," which have been perennial favorites. Refurbished by Oscar Brand, they take on new and hilarious meaning. The same applies to ditties like "The Old Grey Bustle" and "Poor Little Angeline;" the results of many years of painstaking research into the storehouses of song treasures, they provide a mirthful and highly satiric commentary on the original versions.

Those who are familiar with ballad style will appreciate the authenticity of Oscar Brand's art. While the language of these songs is ripe and the imagery most suggestive, Brand's interpretations conform to the accepted pattern of Ballad narration. Settings, locales, characterizations and emotional motivation are presented in a typically casual manner. Transition of action and story telling are accomplished with a minimum of exaggeration, except where Brand deems it important to emphasize a bit of moralizing in order to drive home some point. The folksinger's mastery of improvisation is amply demonstrated by the way in which he substitutes off-color words for those that are commonplace. As it should be, Brand's protagonists are always drenched in primary colors like scarlet, lily white or bloody black.

The use of the ultimate in guaranteed total frequency range recording and engineering techniques affords the listener a compelling realism of sound and many subtleties of expression that otherwise would be lost in an ordinary recording. Moreover, Oscar Brand has had extensive experience in sound transmission and acoustics, which results in a more compelling and more unusual sound experience for the listener. This indeed is a recording calculated to delight the tastes of the most discriminating high fidelity record fan.

Here, then, is a conglomeration of mad mirth and merriment, of wisdom wrecked by folly, of prudence despoiled by prurience. Be as fastidious as you wish, or let your imagination have wings and enjoy a sally with Oscar Brand into the realm of fallen angels and their malefactors. Sample the bittersweet and content yourself with the thought that there but for a more fortunate turn of fate might be you. Frolic now, cheer up your hearts and, as Rabelais put it, remember that "One inch of joy surmounts of grief a span, because to laugh is proper to the man."

OSCAR BRAND will almost certainly be remembered as one of the outstanding folksinger-chroniclers of the twentieth century. As a ballad singer he ranks among those few in the world of song who can be called a musician's musician. He is not only a seasoned performer, but a gifted satirist, a scholar and an expert on audio-video applications of musical expression. Brand was born in Winnipeg, Canada, and has traveled all over the world, assembling a huge knowledge about folksongs. His library and repertory comprise literally thousands of folksongs and ballads on virtually every subject. He has been heard in concerts at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as in top concert halls throughout the United States and abroad. For many years, Brand has been director of folk music for the Municipal Broadcasting System in New York City and has conducted his own song program over Radio Station WNYC. He has probably the widest andmost loyal group of folksong fans of any artist in the nation.

Audio Fidelity Records produced and released the world's first Stereophonic High Fidelity record (Stereodisc) in November, 1957.

Write for free catalogs listing the latest Audio Fidelity monaural, Stereodisc and Stereo Mastertape releases: Audio Fidelity, 770 Elevenfh Avenue, New York 19, New York.

Words and music from this popular Audio Fidelity record series have been put into Oscar Brand's sensational songbook, "Bawdy Songs & Backroom Ballads." Available at book stores everywhere.

PRINTED IN U.S.A. COPYRIGHT 1960 BY AUDIO FIDELITY, INC.

 

Side 1

1.  The Old Grey Bustle
2.  Chisholm Trail
3.  As I Was Out Riding
4.  The Little Brown Bull
5.  Charlotte the Harlot
6.  Pinto Pony
7.  Blinded by Turds

Side 2

1.  In Abilene
2.  Ride On
3.  I Ride An Old Paint
4.  My Love Is a Rider
5.  Poor Little Angeline
6.  The Texas Boys
7.  The Great Big Wheel


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