Robert Rodriquez told me he was writing a review of the Loomis House Child Ballads for something - maybe if was the folknik newsletter of the San Francisco Folk Music Club. I asked him to send me a copy for posting here, and here it is. He called in a number of additions and corrections that I'll add to this text later, but I thought you might want to see his review as soon as I finished typing the first draft. Thanks, Robert.
-Joe-

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The Music of Story, the Magic of Music

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, by Francis James Child
A review of the Loomis House edition by Robert Rodriquez

The only thing better than finding a treasure is to share it with others.
-Traditional Turkish Proverb-

Someone once said that wanting something is more pleasing than having it; or, to put it another way, wishing for something is more enjoyable than its actual attainment. Perhaps that may be true in a universe where emotional mortals live side by side with Klingons, logical or otherwise; but in a realm where the reverse or opposite is the case, when one waits long enough for something worth waiting for and when it finally comes to fruition; well, then its final attainment is more than well worth the wait, especially if that wait has been a decade in the making.

It has indeed been ten years since Mark and Laura Heiman, also known as Loomis House Publications out of Northfield Minnesota, decided on an undertaking which would take a great deal of research, effort, a vast labor of love and patience, much monetary cost out of their own pockets, and a lot more besides. But, ballad buffs everywhere, it has all been worth the wait, for the final volume of the new edition of the English and Scottish Popular Ballads is finally out, and what does yours truly say: Huzzah! Three Cheers! and a very grateful thanks for the results.

Himself a longtime singer of Child ballads since the 1970s, Heiman wanted to bring this landmark literary effort once more into print, especially as the 1960s Dover edition had been out of print since the early 1970s and it was time to bring Professor Child's musical masterpiece back into print.

This new edition, available in both hardcover and paperback, is a resounding success on several important levels. It is substantially more cohesive, relevant, and up-to-date in several major instances.

First, the Heimans have included many more tunes than in previous efforts, from the original Riverside editions to the Dover effort - in fact, somewhere around two hundred, to be exact. Also, the tunes can be easily located because they can be found with the particular ballad in question, a very nice plus for those of a singing nature, yours truly included; and there are more than just a few of us out there - no brag, just fact. So for those of us who are both ballad scholars and singers as well, and this of course is not mutually exclusive by any means, the new edition's importance is even more amplified.

Second, and just as meaningful, all the additions and corrections originally included by Child at the end of each volume in the first instance, have been carefully, assiduously, meticulously, and skillfully woven into the body of the text to make a much more enjoyable and literary whole, as it were. As I said before, even this alone had to be a grand labor of love to make this new version of the Child Ballads more meaningful and accessible to the ballad community and bring it right up to date in the early years of the twenty-first century.

And, perhaps most importantly of all, the true art of storytelling has been advanced a lot with this new edition, because, in the final analysis, good and excellent ballad singing equals good and wonderful storytelling. If you do not believe that, just listen to the likes of Dan Keding, Martin Carthy, Ian Robb, Kate Rusby, April Grant, Tim Jenkins, Sylvia Herold, Amelia Hogan, Lorne Brown, Moira Cameron*, and a host of other fine singers of story songs to find out just what the master storyteller's art is really all about.

After all this time, these timeless story songs are still relevant and more than worth the singing; for in the end, a good tale truly never dies. It gets told and retold, in one form or another, whether through spoken word or through the magical art of music. And thanks to the truly tireless efforts of Mark and Laura Heiman, the ballad and storytelling communities are more than truly well-served for this new edition of Professor Child's grand ballad compilation, now back in print, and hopefully here to stay for a very, very long time to come.

Ballad lovers of the world, unite! We now have Child back with use and happy singing times ahead for us all. To Mark and Laura Heiman, long may your musical fruit blossom and truly multiply and may the ballads continue to be sung and retold, from one end of musical creation to another. Truly, and the old Turkish saying goes, you have given us a treasure once again to be shared with others. Long may this musical treasure stay with us, today, tomorrow, and always to come.

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*Robert called later and named a few others: Brian Peters, Frankie Armstrong, Sheila Kay Adams, Anita Best (of Newfoundland), Tony Barrand, Jerry Epstein.