Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 25 Oct 12 - 08:34 AM

More fresh audio.

Alan Rosevear sings The Murdered Maid on YouTube.

Read PlanetSlade's story behind the song here.

"I had a go at putting the words to a traditional murder ballad tune - usually used for Bruton Town," Alan says.

Thanks to him for tackling the song, and thanks also to John Stephens of Topsham Folk Club in Devon for passing on the lyrics to Alan for me. The 1832 sheet where I first found these lyrics places the real murder in Exminster, just a few miles from Alan's Exeter home, so there's a real local connection at work.

I hope Kim C. won't let this put her off doing her own version of the song as well. I'm sure I'm not the only one who still wants to hear it, Kim!

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 25 Oct 12 - 01:26 PM

I've just added an MP3 version of Alan's recording on SoundCloud too. You can find it here.

Like all the GBP tracks, it's free to listen to or download. Collect them all!

I've spoken to Kim C. this afternoon, and she's confirmed that she's still planning to give us her version of The Murdered Maid too, so that's good. Anyone else who wants to add a second version of one of the songs already covered is perfectly welcome to do so, of course.

The only two of our 16 songs no-one at all has recorded yet are Mary Arnold and Nathaniel Mobbs. We may have some news there very soon, though...

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 08 Dec 12 - 08:53 AM

More fresh audio:

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by South County
Soundcloud audio
PlanetSlade background essay

South County's George Gierer has taken the original 1853 ballad sheet as a starting point, but written his own tune and lyrics from scratch. He's kept the essential points of the story - the drunken Nat Mobbs killing his wife Caroline in a fit of jealousy and then hanging for it in front of a huge crowd - and adapted the original ballad's chorus: "Oh what numbers flock to see / Mobbs die upon the fatal tree".

George has plans to develop the song further with the rest of the band, and we'll have more news of that soon. For information on South County, and a chance to hear more of their music, please visit the band's website.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 11 Dec 12 - 05:15 AM

More fresh audio.

The Murdered Maid, by Kim Caudell
SoundCloud Audio
Background.

Kim adds her own tune to the original 1832 ballad sheet's lyrics, singing them unaccompanied just as the sheet's first buyers must have done. By the time the nine short verses are done, Tom Johnson has been plunged into terrible poverty, accidentally murdered his own beloved daughter and been sentenced to hang for it.

To hear more of Kim's music, please visit her website here.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 06:15 AM

More fresh audio:

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by Fred Smith
Soundcloud audio.
Lyrics & background.

Fred's Dust of Uruzgan was one of the albums of 2012 for me, using his Australian Foreign Office experience with the country's troops in Afghanistan to offer a soldier's-eye view of daily life in that particular war. "These are modern folk-rock stories by a writer of considerable talent," Mike Cooper said of the album in fRoots. "Acute, moving observations seen not from the armchair … but from the actual dust of Uruzgan's streets."

You can hear more of Fred's music on his own website here: http://www.fredsmith.com.au/. Mudcat won't let me post that last one as a "blue clicky" at the moment, so I'm afraid you'll have to cut and paste it for yourself.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 24 Dec 12 - 11:28 AM

http://www.fredsmith.com.au/

That last post was from me, of course, but I forgot to sign it. Here's the Fred Smith link I was trying to give earlier.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 29 Dec 12 - 05:46 AM

More fresh audio.

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by South County (full-band version)
Soundcloud audio.
Background essay.

This is the full-band treatment promised when I posted George's solo rendition on December 8 (above). The electric guitar, melodica and added female vocals bring a whole new level of mournful atmosphere to the song, I think. I've taken the earlier version off Soundcloud now to avoid confusion.

For information on South County, and a chance to hear more of their music, please visit the band's website.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 05 Jan 13 - 10:01 AM

More fresh audio.

The Monster, by Doc Bowling & Sons
Soundcloud audio.
True (?) story.

Doc Bowling is normally to be found fronting London band The Blues Professors, but here he's working with his sons Samson and Johannes to give Mary Arnold The Female Monster a soulful, jazzy work-out.

The trio took the original 1843 ballad sheet's lyrics as their starting point, adding their own music on keyboards and sax. Doc sings/speaks the horrific tale over this seductive backing, throwing in a scat section for good measure. It's one of the most imaginative treatments we've had for a GBP track yet, but there's no doubt it works.

For more information on Doc Bowling & The Blues Professors, please visit the band's Facebook page.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: DrugCrazed
Date: 05 Jan 13 - 03:58 PM

I might have a crack at one of those not taken. Gore stories are the best ;-)

[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 05 Jan 13 - 05:15 PM

Please do. The Jetsonics have written a splendid song of their own telling Cruel Lizzie Vickers' story, but no-one's used the original 1853 ballad's lyrics yet.

That's only one possibility, though - feel free to tackle whichever song you prefer. There's always plenty of scope for second, third or even fourth interpretations of a single ballad, in as many different musical genres as we can manage.

You'll find a link to the whole "album" to date in this 87-minute Soundcloud set.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 06 Jan 13 - 07:24 PM

New video. South County playing The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs - "Live at The Basement, Dec 2012". YouTube link.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Jan 13 - 11:37 PM

I got an e-mail from Paul Slade today today, with a link to the Soundcloud recording of the Gallows Ballads Project.

It's good music, with lots of Mudcatters performing. Here's a link:

https://soundcloud.com/planetslade/sets/the-gallows-ballads-project

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 25 Jan 13 - 11:46 AM

Thanks, Joe - glad you're enjoying it.

I've just updated the PlanetSlade pages for this project too, which offer individual links to all the tracks here.

Now that we've got at least one recording of all 16 ballads I started researching back in 2010, I'm going to stop actively chasing new contributors. Anyone who still wants to take part is very welcome, though, as second, third, or even fourth versions of a particular ballad can often shed fascinating new light on the song.

The more musical genres we can pull into this, the happier I shall be. We've already got a couple of promising new contributions in the works. If the response in 2013 justifies it, I'll put together a Volume II compilation for Soundcloud again in January next year. In the meantime, let me repeat my thanks to everyone who's taken part already.

Here's the Top Ten* tracks by number of Soundcloud album plays so far, together with a note of where I found that particular contributor:

1) The Old Baby Farmer, by Tim Radford: 140 plays (Mudcat)
2) Death of William Palmer, by Big Al Whittle: 101 plays (Mudcat)
3) Cruel Lizzie Vickers, by The Jetsonics: 87 plays (Mojo)
4) Jealous Annie, by Pete Morton: 83 plays (e-mail)
5) The Murdered Maid, by Kim Caudell: 73 plays (Mudcat)
6) The Sister & the Serpent, by Mary Humphreys: 68 plays (Mudcat)
7) The Monster, by Doc Bowling & Sons: 49 plays (e-mail)
8) The Silent Grove, by Sedayne: 45 plays (Mudcat)
9) The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by South County: 42 plays (No Depression)
10=) Gallows Child, by The Hammond School: 41 plays (PlanetSlade)
10=) The Liverpool Lodger, by Gerry Jones: 41 plays (Mudcat)

* Strictly speaking, it's a Top Eleven, as we've got that tie in tenth place.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Big Al Whittle
Date: 27 Jan 13 - 12:38 AM

Didn't realise I'd played it that many times...!

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 28 Jan 13 - 05:06 AM

I missed this thread until the last few days. Looks very interesting. Although it has already been done well by South County (very atmospheric melodica and slide guitar!) I'd be interested in having a go at Nathaniel Mobbs, as I spent nearly 7 yrs in Whitechapel in my long-gone student days. I looked up the location and Goodman's Yard is very close to the Tower of London.

It also reminded me of a poem I found on display in Linlithgow Burgh Halls - The Lament of Peter McLean, now lying under sentence if Death. Like Nathaniel Mobbs, it's written in the first person, and also includes advice to shun drink and other "evil passions". Peter McLean was the last man to be hanged publicly in West Lothian on 2.2.1857. The gibber had to be brought from Edinburgh and the executioner from London. Had been meaning to set this to music too.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 28 Jan 13 - 05:11 AM

Well done Paul. Congratulations on seeing this through.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 28 Jan 13 - 05:26 AM

GIBBET! A pox on the all too helpful predictive text in iPad!

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 28 Jan 13 - 02:19 PM

Cheers, Al - though all I really did was nag people. It's thanks to you and all the other contributors that it turned out as well as it did.

I'm always game for another version of Nathaniel Mobbs, Mr Bogle, so if you should feel moved to tackle the song that'd be great. I've just found a broadside with the Peter McLean ballad you mention here. So I guess it was originally written and sold in much the same circumstances as our other ballads.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 29 Jan 13 - 02:05 PM

Thanks Paul (from MRS Bogle). Yes that was the same broadside that I found in Linlithgow Burgh Halls. As it was in a glass cabinet, I copied all the words down by hand!

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 30 Jan 13 - 09:15 AM

My mistake. Beg your pardon, m'am.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Jan 13 - 08:15 PM

Pardoned sir: not a hanging offence!

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 29 Apr 13 - 12:21 PM

More fresh audio:

The Ballad of Mary Arnold, by The Blues Professors.
Soundcloud audio.
True(ish) Story.
Video.

Doc Bowling again, this time with a very different take on Mary's tale. He's playing here with a slimmed-down version of his regular band The Blues Professors, comprising Doc himself on guitar and vocals, Sophie Loyer on violin and Roger Chapman on cajon.

The tune he's chosen is borrowed from St James Infirmary Blues, and I recorded the performance at a dark and noisy pub gig near King's Cross on April 25, 2013. You can learn more about the band on Facebook.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 03 Jun 13 - 01:05 PM

More fresh audio.

Murder at Westmill, by Patrick Rose.
YouTube video.
True story.

Plot: Nine-year-old boy brutally murders his infant sister. Mother driven mad by the crime.

Patrick recorded this version of the 1848 ballad as his entry for Islington Folk Club's Trad2Mad2013 competition.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 14 Jul 13 - 09:37 AM

New video:

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by South County.
YouTube footage.
True story.

It's the full band in action this time, not just the core trio we saw earlier. They're playing the song live on stage at The Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY, on July 11, 2013.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 06 Aug 13 - 09:17 AM

The new Jetsonics EP is out today, and I'm delighted to say it contains the first of our Gallows Ballads Project tracks to get a commercial release. Please head over to iTunes and look for Cruel Lizzie Vickers if you'd care to invest 79p (or 99c) in buying it.

We already have the band's live demo of the song, of course, but the studio production gives this new version a lot of extra punch. Think The Jam circa 1980, and you won't be too far out. The record's called EP Four, and a CD release is promised soon.

The band's written its own lyrics telling this true story of a Brixton housekeeper who beat her elderly employer to death in 1853. It was inspired by a genuine ballad sheet from that year which they found on PlanetSlade. Forgive my gushing about it, but its release marks another little milestone for the project and I genuinely think the song's a corker.

Jetsonics' website   
Lizzie's true story.

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 28 Mar 14 - 05:10 AM

More fresh audio

Streams of Crimson Blood, by C#Merle
SoundCloud track
Plot: Burglar breaks into rich old couple's house and kills them both.

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs, by C#Merle
SoundCloud track
Plot: Drunken bully cuts his wife's throat in a fit of jealous rage. Bungles his own suicide attempt, and lives long enough to be hanged at Newgate.

C#Merle on his approach to tackling the two tracks:
"Streams of Crimson Blood was recorded using my homemade three-string bass, four-string licence plate guitar and a reggae drum track. The toast in the middle was added by my friend Cris Portillo. My vocal was a one-take effort but it seemed to work OK. Nathaniel Mobbs was recorded entirely on the four-string 'lowebo' guitar I built back in 2010, featuring a cone made by Mike Lowe of Texas, and it's tuned G-d-gg. I started by making a loop for the backing then improvising a couple of slide tracks to compliment the lyrics. Both tracks were relatively quickly put together - the reggae one only took about an hour."

You can find C#Merle, demonstrating his instrument-making skills and playing some more tunes on both YouTube and (in another alias) on SoundCloud .

Subject: RE: Musicians Wanted: The Gallows Ballads Project
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 30 Mar 14 - 11:58 AM

I should have mentioned earlier that you can find the trues stories which inspired C#Merle's two songs over on PlanetSlade itself. Links below.

The Execution of Nathaniel Mobbs

Streams of Crimson Blood