REVIEWS OF PODCASTS
MANIFOLD'S LUTE reviewed for the Australian Cultural Library.
I so enjoyed listening to Manifold's Lute.I played it traveling through the landscape on the train to Rosewood ( and again coming back) and was completely transported to that era, to the time and place conjured up so clearly. The music and scene around it; the spirit, talent and humor of the amazing people who gathered in Wynnum around John Manifold.
What a lovely cultural record it is, sharply observed and without any excess sentimentality. It felt real and true. You guys put it together so well - the tone and pace, such wonderful voices, the narration, the narrative movement, the music, sounds, and the choice of poems and songs (I loved Bubble and Squeak - what a tough song.)
You've created something rich and warm with memory, intimate but sort of a bit epic too. I wanted to have been there and I was a little sad when it ended.
Thank you - I loved it! Gawain Barker, Brisbane
BILL SCOTT'S CAPE LEEUWIN DIARY reviewed in TRAD & NOW by Tony Smith
Over three parts, the 22 tracks bring to life the diary written by Bill Scott between May 14 and July 11, 1955.
Scott's contribution to, and standing within, the folk traditions of Queensland and Australia are already gue and deservedlyt well-known.
This diary preserves perhaps a lesser known area of his life, serving aboard the Commonwealth Lighthouse Vessel ' Cape Leeuwin '.
These experiences will provoke reminiscences among sailors, northern explorers, lighthouse keepers, meteorologists, ornithologists and cartographers as well as poets, raconteurs, singers and lovers of humour.
The Restless Music crew bring the diary to life, not only with recitations by Jordan , introduced and backed by guitar and banjo lacings, but also with music.
Some songs, or snippets of songs really are Scott/Ilott arrangements, including On Top of High Peak , South to Moreton Bay , Trochus Boats, Blow Wind Blow and Back to the Sea Again, Johnny. Old Man's Song is Scott's.
When he died there were many tributes to Bill Scott. Some placed him in the folk verse and yarn-teller pantheon with Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson. Some quoted his line “What good is your life if it isn't a song?” Clearly his output was much greater than the classic Hey Rain!
This podcast is a work of history as well as biography. It brings to life the coast of Queensland in the days before the tourism boom.
As with the “Manifold's Lute”podcast, the “Cape Leeuwin Diary” will give those familiar with the great folklorist deeper insights into the man. It will also, through some enjoyable songs and recitations, introduced Bill Scott to a wider audience and increase the appreciation of the work of song collectors and writers like Davies & Ilott. (Trad & Now Issue 170)