"Keep me from the gallows pole..."

Here's a song with a long and fascinating history that's is kind of hard to pin down. Versions of it date back centuries and can be traced across Europe from Finland and Sweden to Lithuania and Hungary. They follow the same theme though - a condemned person (male or female) about to hang pleading with family members or spouses to bring money to bribe the executioner.

It's been done in numerous different ways over the years and as such is known by numerous different titles in English alone. An early version was called The Maid Freed From The Gallows, while other titles include The Prickly Bush and The Streets Of Derry. Lead Belly named it Gallis Pole in the '30s, from which later versions derived the name Gallows Pole (a la Led Zeppelin). In the 60s, Judy Collins recorded a version called Anathea, while Bob Dylan dubbed it Seven Curses.

I love Lead Belly's version most, but then I love Lead Belly full stop! He recorded it two or three times. The first time it appeared on 'Negro Sinful Songs' an album released in 1939 on 10" shellac. Those very early albums consisted of a number of discs contained in a bound book with a hard cover, like a photograph album. A later version by Leadbelly was recorded by Alan Lomax sometime during the 40s. I have difficulty deciding which of them I like best.

Here's a few versions of the story, including a breathtaking rendition by American folk singer John Jacob Niles which comes pretty damn close to Lead Belly's take.


Soundtrack:

• Gallis Pole [1939] - Lead Belly (from 'Negro Sinful Songs')
• Gallis Pole [version 2] - Lead Belly (from 'The Smithsonian Folkways Collection')
• The Maid Freed From The Gallows - John Jacob Niles (from 'Folk Balladeer')
• Gallows Pole - Led Zeppelin (from 'Led Zeppelin III')
• Seven Curses - June Tabor & The Oyster Band (from 'Ragged Kingdom') - awesome cover of the Bob Dylan version

From Inside The Pod Revisited #14

This was one of my favourite pods back in the day. Looking at the tracklisting today I'm not surprised - there's some great tunes on it, and a real mix. As always, the text remains pretty much untouched from the orignal article written four years ago. The rant about Simon Cowell is still relevent. I keep digging and trawling for new music and have managed to avoid every single episode of the X Factor ever since it started. I don't think that's likely to change any time soon.

Pod 11: Illumination
(first published January 2011)

After struggling to come up with a single idea for a title for this podcast, I finally settled on 'Illumination' for two reasons. First, it is the title of one of the tracks and acts as a tribute to its singer who passed away prematurely just a week or two ago. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it shows the breadth of diversity in music that constantly entriches our lives. Simon Cowell would have us all believe its about young pretty boys and girls, a Christmas number one and loads of money in his bank account. But Cowell can kiss my lily-white arse. If you really want to light up your life with music, you have to open your mind, go in search of it and immerse yourself in the wonder of what amazingly talented people there are out there beyond horrible mainstream TV and radio. Ten more examples of such delight are presented here in another illuminating podcast.

1. Rachel Goodrich The Black Hole (2008, Tinker Toys)

It's hard to classify an artist like Rachel Goodrich. Is she pop, folk, indie, retro? Her music seems to cover all these grounds and more. She has a new album - her second - due for release next month.

2. Broadcast Illumination (2000, Extended Play 2 EP)

The sad passing of Broadcast's Trish Keenan this month proved to me once more that life is a fragile thing and that it matters not if you are good or bad, talented or not, it gets us all in the end, sometimes, like Trish, far too soon. Broadcast were/are extremely well respected in electronic-indie circles and this track illustrates beautifully their atmospheric minimalist psychedelia.

3. Joy Division Dead Souls [pitch corrected] (original 1980, Still; this version 2010, A Recycle Sampler)

Thank the lord for nerds. If it weren't for the kinds of music geeks over at thepowerofindependenttrucking, neworder-recycle or smithsrecycle, we wouldn't have brand spanking new remasters of iconic music like this new version of the track which originally appeared on the b-side of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' pitched too high. These guys are working through the back catalogues of New Order, Joy Division and the Smiths to clean-up and correct the originals far better than the so-called professionals who have continually messed up with each set of official re-releases. Yes indeed, nerds of the music world - take a bow!

4. Signe Tollefsen Down By The Water (2011, Baggage)

Dutch/American singer-songwriter Signe Tollefsen is a rising star in Holland and is an in-demand support act for established artists. Her newest release, a six-track EP, contains intriguing re-interpretations of other people's songs. Nestling between versions of tracks by Michael Jackson and David Bowie is this amazing take on PJ Harvey's 1995 single. It's only January and I think I've already found one of my tracks of 2011.

5. Frank Turner Try This At Home (2009, Poetry Of The Deed)

Like a 21st Century Billy Bragg, Frank's folk-punk is gaining him an increasingly massive following thanks in no small part to his hectic live shows and festival appearances. I love the sentiment of this track - music is in all of us and we could all do something a damn-sight more meaningful and relevant with a guitar than many of today's "rock stars". Do it!

6. James Vincent McMorrow From The Woods!! [edit] (2011, Early in The Morning)

The debut album from this Irish singer-songwriter draws on the "darker, less spoken about aspects of life, solitude, disillusionment" in novels by Roald Dahl, John Steinbeck and F Scott Fitzgerald. Musically, there are obvious parallels with Bon Iver, but James is picking up enough plaudits on his own merits without the lazy comparisons. By the way, I had to tweak this to make it more podcast friendly, using the intro of an earlier version of the song, and cutting out a bit of 'dead-airtime' in the middle. So what you get here is a unique mix!

7. Miranda Sex Garden Lovely Joan (1992, Iris)

Back in August, podcast number 3 included a track by the Mediæval Bæbes featuring Katharine Blake. I said I would post something by her original band - so here you go. Miranda Sex Garden began as an a capella trio busking in Covent Garden singing traditional English madrigals. Over time, their sound mutated into avant-garde gothic darkwave. This track marked the start of that process; the song itself dates from around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.

8. Future Of The Left Arming Eritrea (2009, Travels With Myself And Another)

Cardiff band formed from the remains of Mclusky and Jarcrew in 2005. Certainly one of the noisiest things I've featured in a podcast to date but nonetheless rousing and original. Triv question: what is the link between Future Of The Left and Frank Turner (above)? Answer at the end...

9. Saint Etienne Mario's Cafe (1993, So Tough)

It may come as a bit of a surprise to those who think they know me to learn that one of my all-time favourite albums is Saint Etienne's second 'So Tough'. There is something distinctive about the London trio's brand of pure pop that sets them apart from everyone else and I find I can still listen to this record without a hint of irony. This is a wonderful observation of everyday London life as told by the gorgeous voice of Sarah Cracknell.

10. Leadbelly Goodnight Irene (1947, Complete Recorded Works 1939-1947)

Arguably the greatest folksinger/storyteller of all time, Huddie William Ledbetter, with one of his many signature tunes. The origins of the song are disputed, but it is generally agreed that Leadbelly pretty much made it his own, and this version of it, his third, was from the last session he recorded before his death two years later.

Get illuminated here!

And the answer to the triva question: current Future Of The Left bassist Julia Ruzicka was once a member of hardcore punk outfit Million Dead, fronted by Frank Turner.

From Inside The Pod Revisited #2

So here's another old Podcast from my previous blog. This one dates from November 2011 (hence its title) and the artwork features a view of Newport in the rain. Apparently. Nothing has been re-written, it is exactly as it originally appeared.


pod 21: Eleven/Eleven
(first published 18 November 2011)

After a flurry of themed pods, it's back to the randomness of normality. The long dark nights have drawn in, it's cold and wet outside, and to make it worse, it's nearly Christmas!

I've pieced together an assortment of tunes to put some colour into your November drabness (for half-hour, at least). 

A double-bill for December is being lined up, featuring some of my fave records of the year. In the meantime, feast on this little beauty, which contains a sample of the delights I've been feeding my head in recent weeks.

1. Stereolab Lo Boob Oscillator (part 1) [1993, single]

JC over at The Vinyl Villain recently posted an old TV clip of Stereolab performing their best-known track 'French Disko'. I was never a big fan, but this made me go back and re-evaluate their work. In doing so I discovered the magnificent European-retro sound of 'Lo Boob Oscillator' and liked it very muchly.

2. Bruce Springsteen Born In The USA [Nebraska demo] [1982, Lost Masters 1: Alone in Colts Neck (bootleg)]

Bit of a surprise inclusion? Possibly, but it can't be much of a shock to learn that my favourite Springsteen album by far is Nebraska, with its stripped-down, back-to-basics maudlin folk sound. 'Born In The USA', his biting critique on the isolation and poor treatment Vietnam vets faced on their return home, was originally written for Nebraska. It was passed over and ended up, in a completely different form, becoming the title track for The Boss' next album. Here though, you can hear the anguish and the desolation.

3. Cambodian Space Project Mean Visa Kmean Bai [2011, 2011: A Space Odyssey]

I've featured music from all over the world on this blog, but this is the first from Cambodia. It has taken a little while for the country to rediscover its culture since the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge which murdered its musicians and artists. During the 60s, it had a thriving rock & roll scene. Last year, the Cambodian Space Project became the first Cambodian act to release a single since 1975 (the year Pol Pot came to power). Having toured the world this year to rave reviews, expect to hear a lot more from them in the future.  The title of the song translates as 'Have Visa, No Have Rice'.

4. Sheepdogs Hang On To Yourself [2007, Trying To Grow]

I have our friend Sean in Thunder Bay, Ontario to thank for this. He recently sent me a mammoth playlist (that I still haven't got through) which included a track by the Sheepdogs. I'm a sucker for some good old country-tinged rock 'n' roll so naturally I loved it. Like the Kings of Leon did in their early days, the Sheepdogs sound as if they should have been around in the early 70s mixing it with the likes of Gram Parsons, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Band. Actually, they've only been around a few years, this track featuring on their debut album.

5. U-Roy Chalice In The Palace [1975, Dread In A Babylon]

I said last time out that there was a distinct lack of reggae here at FItP, so this is the first step towards fixing that. I should perhaps have left this for the Queen's diamond jubilee next year. I can't think of many better sights than Her Maj sharing a fat reefer with The Originator (aka: toasting legend U-Roy).

"One is totally wasted, mon...", she slurred to her favourite corgi as she took a final puff of the enormous spliff and handed it to an equally stoned Duke of Edinburgh...

6. Dead Can Dance Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to The Book [1990, Aion]

I didn't get Dead Can Dance at first, but then being a mere 20 years old just as grunge was exploding, that's perhaps understandable. But late one night (or more likely early one morning), in a dimly lit room at the end of a house party, someone put 'Aion' on the turntable and it suddenly made complete sense. This track in particular continues to stand out, its lyrics having been penned by Spanish Renaissance poet Luis De Góngora. I suppose in less poetic language, it's all about 'sod's law'!

7. Throwing Muses Shark [1996, Limbo]

The utter genius that is Kristin Hersh recently came to Cardiff with Throwing Muses, their first tour in too many years. And I missed it! Couldn't go. Gutted! Have to make do with the wonderful memories I have of the classic Muses line-up supporting R.E.M. in London in 1989, blowing the several hundred people there present into the middle of the following week! *sob* Life can be so cruel. While nothing can quite make up for this terrible injustice, I'm including this amazing track which was strangely omitted from the band's recent self-compiled 'Anthology' (out now!)

8.Leadbelly Birmingham Jail [1948, Leadbelly's Last Sessions]

Why can't people tell stories anymore? Or at least, why can't anyone tell a story like Leadbelly? His songs have endured for 60, 70, 80 years or more, and this one, his variation of the traditional American folk song 'Down In The Valley', is one of my favourites. It was one of his last ever recordings, sadly passing away the following year.

9. Helen Love So Hot [1994, Summer Pop Punk Pop EP]

Perhaps only Shonen Knife can rival Swansea's Helen Love as the band that most worships, and wants to be, the Ramones. 'Da Brudders' influence is so great, they are frequently referred to in the Welsh combo's song titles and lyrics, and the trademark catchy, often very short blasts of punk-pop are uncanny. Joey Ramone even guested on one of their early singles! Sadly, "Hey ho, gadewch i ni fynd" doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

10. Jeffrey Lewis Gas Man [2007, 12 Crass Songs]

It's been kind of cool to like Jeffrey Lewis for a while. Hugely prolific (16 albums/EPs in 14 years, many of them lo-budget, self-released affairs), he's beginning to become more and more popular with every new release. Which most likely means he's no longer cool, of course... He has also written and illustrated his own series' of comic books. This song is possibly one of his most angry, but eerily poignant still.

November spawned a podcast - download it here!