Ewan MacColl with Peggy Seeger – Freeborn Man (1983)

Ewan MacColl may well have been the most influential person in the British folk song revival. From his early manhood until his death in 1989, he remained passionately committed to folk, though not exclusively; he was also a poet, playwright, organizer, activist, songwriter, husband, and father. MacColl was born James Henry Miller in Salford, England in 1915. His father was a lowland man who spoke Scots English, his mother a highlander who spoke Gaelic. Both of his parents were singers. MacColl left school at 14 to busk and act in the streets, and was quickly discovered by the BBC. Soon he was not only singing, but also writing programs for the radio. He founded the first folk club in England, the Ballads and Blues Club, as well as the Critic’s Group, an influential early singing group that included such singers as Frankie Armstrong, Anne Briggs, and John Faulkner.

MacColl was one of the foremost interpreters of traditional songs ever recorded. The most ambitious project he undertook was to record a representative sampling of Professor Francis James Child’s English and Scottish popular ballads. While his early repertoire was mainly of street songs and traditional material, he was also an important songwriter. Most impressive was his competence in producing expressions that had an appeal to all levels of society; his songs have been covered by performers as diverse as Dick Gaughan, the Pogues, Roberta Flack, and Elvis Presley, and many have been collected in several versions from the oral tradition. They range from savage political satire to tender love songs, and are supremely effective at producing the desired emotions.

Beyond his activities as a singer and songwriter, MacColl was an actor and a playwright. In 1947, George Bernard Shaw commented, “Apart from myself, MacColl is the only man of genius writing for the theater in England today.” His playwriting and songwriting joined seamlessly in his “radio ballads,” radio plays that bordered on ballad operas. Many of his most lovely and best-remembered songs were written for these plays, some of which have been released in album form.

MacColl was married to Peggy Seeger, herself a singer of folk songs (and half-sister to American icon Pete Seeger). Together MacColl and Seeger, sometimes accompanied by their children, also skilled musicians and singers, recorded quite a few albums as well. Many of MacColl’s albums are out of print products of long-defunct record companies. Some, however, are readily available. All, like MacColl himself, are important factors in the history of the folk revival, to be cherished by all who encounter them. This great singer made many, many albums over many years. All of them are recommended for fans of great singing, though some may be a bit specialized (i.e., unaccompanied singing in broad Scots dialect) for some listeners. ( by Steve Winicka)

And here´s a pretty good “Best Of” album … with new recordings of his finest songs (Recorded at Pathway Studios, London)

Acknowledged by the family and Ewan himself as the very best versions of his best known songs.

A very intimate album with his strong voice and wonderful music … listen to the jazzy “Dirty Old Town” !

Enjoy this brilliant album !

Personnel:
Dill Katz (bass)
Calum MacColl (dulcimer, guitar, whistle, zither)
Ewan MacColl (vocals, guitar)
Neill MacColl (guitar, mandolin)
Peggy Seeger guitar, vocals,. autoharp, banjo, concertina)
Chris Taylor (harmonica)
Ian Telfer (fiddle)
Bruce Turner (clarinet)
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background vocals:
Calum MacColl – Hamish MacColl – Kirsty MacColl – Neill MacColl

Rounder Records front + backcover:

Tracklist:
01. North Sea Holes 2.39
02. The Shoals Of Herring 3.52
03. The Lag’s Song 2.48
04. Come, Me Little Son 3.50
05. Moving-On Song 3.17
06. Sweet Thames, Flow Softly 4.57
07. I’m A Rambler 4.34
08. Freeborn Man 3.46
09. The Driver’s Song 2.09
10. The Ballad Of Springhill 3.21
11. Thirty-Foot Trailer 3.56
12. Down The Lane 3.05
13. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 2.21
14. The Big Hewer 3.05
15. The Battle Is Done With 3.05
16. Dirty Old Town 2.49

All songs written by Ewan MacColl
except on 09.: Peggy Seeger

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Amiga ( German Democratic Republic) front + backcover:

Peggy Seeger & Ewan MacColl – Freeborn Man (1983)

Some not-so-old favourites by Ewan MacColl with the exception of “The Ballad of Springhill, ” which is chiefly the work of Peggy Seeger

For most of the nearly thirty years that Peggy and I have been singing together we have kept detailed programme lists. They fill twelve large notebooks and are an invaluable aid in planning the repertoire for a tour. Because of them we are able to visit a concert-hall or dub again and again, each time with a programme of new songs — or rather, with songs that are probably new to that particular audience.

It is these unfamiliar songs which lend the elements of surprise and freshness to a performance. But there is another equally important element which the new songs cannot provide: familiarity. Almost everyone who goes to a concert enjoys the stimulus that comes from listening to a new song but at the same time almost everyone finds comfort in listening to the old favourites.

The singer, then, must not only sing but compose programmes in which the familiar and the unfamiliar are held in balance. The people who have come to listen collaborate with the singer by requesting this or that song … and that brings us to the reason for issuing this album.

The titles listed above represent some of the most frequently requested songs in our joint repertoire. All of them have appeared on disc at some time or another but, for the most pan, are no longer available. A number of Peggy’s most popular songs are still available and consequently are not included here. The result is an album weighted rather heavily in my favour and consisting mostly of songs made up in the course of creating those BBC documentaries called “radio ballads, ” These songs were based on taped interviews with herring-fishermen, railwaymen, coal-miners, road-builders, boxers, and others and, several of them have already entered the traditional repertoire. (Ewan MacColl)

Biographical Note
Ewan MacColl is a Scot who considers himself primarily a playwright. He was one of the co-founders of Theatre Workshop and was their resident dramatist for eight years. He has worked in radio, television and film. Peggy Seeger, an American, joined him in 1956 and together they are considered one of the lop folksinging teams in the English-speaking world. Their records — nearly 160 LP’s — include connoisseur ballad-collections, women’s albums, children’s discs and specialised collections of songs Their sons Calum (20) and Neill (24), who play with them on this disc, occasionally accompany them onstage. (taken from the original liner – notes)

What a great family album … everybody who loves traditional folk songs … should listen to this album.

My album is a rare Amiga Records pressing … Amiga was the recorcd company of the German Democratic Republic, released in 1989 !

Personnel:
Dill Katz (bass)
Calum MacColl (zither, guitar, whistle, appalachian dulcimer, background vocals))
Ewan MacColl (vocals)
Neill MacColl (guitar, mandolin, background vocals)
Peggy Seeger (guitar, banjo, autoharp, concertina, vocals)
Chris Taylor (harmonica)
Ian Telfer (fiddle)
Bruce Turner (clarinet)
+
background vocals:
Calum MacColl – Hamish Mac’Coll – Kirsty

Tracklist:
01. North Sea Holes 2.38
02. The Shoals Of Herring 3.53
03. The Lag’s Song 2.49
04. Come, Me Little Son 3.50
05. Moving-On Song 3.18
06. Sweet Thames, Flow Softly 4.57
07. I’m a Rambler (The Manchester Rambler) 4.34
08. Freeborn Man
09. The Driver’s Song
10. The Ballad of Springhill
11. Thirty-Foot Trailer
12. Down the Lane
13. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
14. The Big Hewer
15. The Battle is Done With
16. Dirty Old Town

All songs are Traditionals

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Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger