Rugged Roads North All-era traditional & modern folk selection. Alternative versions of many well-known traditional songs line up alongside more contemporary compositions. Spotlights on Judee Sills , Pete Coe , Bob Fox & Mary Black .   ^^free stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page (and our lives) & stream or d/l^^ Highlighting outstanding tracks from the amazing self-titled Mary Black album from 1983, including her wonderful rendition of My Donald  and the very Emmylou-esque Rose of Allendale . Californian singer-songwriter  Judee Sills had a promising career cut short all too soon by her death in 1979 having released only 2 albums in 1970 & 72. Tracks on here are from that period and centre around some great demo recordings which don't suffer from the over-production that blighted her first LP. The crudely recorded North Country is very rough but is a strong song worthy o...

  Song of the Labouring Classes An ode to working class struggle, labour rights & unionisation  History and solidarity through folk music and song.  "The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor" Thomas Donahue (AFL-CIO USA 1979-95).  The trials & tribulations of the lower classes have long been well documented and the only wonder is how come we've stood for it for so long (for millennia actually). Union solidarity and industrial action has always been the sole route to improvements in living & working standards, we achieve only when we fight to demand - they ain't never gonna just hand it out on a plate. The conditions are again ripe for a renewal of class consciousness with the clear & present threat of fascist takeover and overt narcissist authoritarianism. Right now people around the world are showing a renewed interest in counter-fascist ideology as they reach the logical conclusion that radical socialism is the only alternati...

Seeya on the Allendale Road English, Scottish and Northumbrian folk ballad selection. Forgotten gems alongside some popular folk standards. Oh for the love of wor lush and native Northumbrian fells... Corbridge to Lowgate & Plankey Mill, to Allenbanks & Ninebanks then back over to Catton & bonny Allendale.  We'll meet again hinny up on the Allendale Road... ^^free stream & download^^ TAP PLAY ONCE THEN TWICE to play here or tap building icon to enter the internet archives page (and our lives) & stream or d/l^^ The Devil's Water at Dilston by Annette Bushby Featuring some largely forgotten songs from two of Yorkshire's great balladeers Dave Burland and Tony Capstick . Burland's debut album  A Dalesman's Litany was released in 1970 and is an interesting collection of old & rare ballads. He came together with Richard Thompson  in 1992 to record New Saint George , a warning about the rise of nationalist fascism. Capstick's equally absorbin...

Outspanned The best of Steeleye Span from 1968 to 1982 - the Tim Hart years. Including work with Maddy Prior in the 60s prior to forming the band. Influencial, melodic, lively & oft uplifting, groundbreaking. Part 1    Part 2     ^^stream & download^^ TAP PLAY TWICE^^   Continous mixes. Total 5 hours -download via the streaming bar above- Thanks for tuning in...  

Like A World Without End  and we though that this would go on forever... A wee reminder that nothing is eternal, everything is finite or goes through revolutionary change. All of the Earth's, our, resources must be protected & fostered if we are to look to a future but the capitalist mirage makers think only of today, paying little or no heed to long term sustainability, let alone the advancement of humanity and social justice. They can't see past the next $$$ or, rather, they don't give a hoot.  Listen to Like A World Without End by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at Selection of great protest songs old & new. Some cutting lyrics written by the legendary Leon Rosselson and a spotlight on vetaran campaigner & artist Eliza Gilkyson. Show of Hands are in serious militant mood. Touching also on the issue of homelessness and the exploding wealth gap.    Continuous mix 90mins. Download via the link above Thanks for dropping by!      ...

Legends Of Folk Guitar 44 tracks of flowing acoustic music from across the years by 45 master guitarists. Acoustic guitars take centre stage here (give or take the odd mandolin, bouzouki or ukulele, lap steel, etc.) while recordings are either solo pieces or have only minimal accompaniment (unplugged) and date from the early 60s to the present. Stream/download here         This mix is not in any way definitive or comprehensive, in fact, there are countless glaring ommissions & oversights and of course there are gaps in my collection. There's still plenty to chew on here nonetheless...  Numerous big name appearances; from Bob Dylan, Donovan, Bert Jansch, Ralph McTell, John Renbourn & Dick Gaughan to Joni Mitchell, Julie Felix, Ry Cooder, Chris Cornell, Bonnie Raitt & Ani DiFranco. Paul Brady, Richard Thompson, Tracy Chapman, Kurt Cobain & Joan Baez to Stephen Stills, Ben Harper, Rory Gallagher, Neil Young, Martin Carthy & Steve Knightley. A ho...

  A Seafarer's Life: Music and Song A Collection of folk tunes & songs about the sea and the lives of everyday people during the eras of exploration & colonialism. From the humble life of Jack Tar aboardship on the high seas and on foreign shores to the loved ones that he left behind back at home, from slaveships & privateers to haulers, whalers, traders, frigates & gunboats and then, finally, the long-awaited return to a friendly shore & home port... Stream/download here   Popular historic, traditional seaman's songs, jigs, reels & melodies sail astern with more contemporary compositions. Show Of Hands feature on 4 tracks, painting a story of epic proportions with Tall Ships . Fiddler/singer Barry Dransfield is a specialist in the field and features heavily with several classics as do Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick . Regular June Tabor co-collaborators Mark Emerson , Andy Cutting & Tim Harries carry the swing with great interpretations of ...

  Rosemary Moore & The Poor Ploughboy Folk songs and storytelling... June Tabor, Jim Moray, Eliza Carthy and the great Joan Baez lead this collection of laments and ballads   Listen to Rosemary Moore & The Poor Ploughboy by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at Continuous mix 2hrs33 Thanks for visiting the roving revellers Download via the hearthis link above

  When protest is now longer allowed, what then?   Selection of protest music 1950s-present. The current crackdown on certain modes of dissident action in the West, particularly environmental protest, signals a new era of totalitarianism & suppression of expression. A whole series of legislation, beginning in the 80s, have eroded & removed many of the rights that were formerly taken for granted while the cursed tranfer of power known as privatisation has leeched society and bled regular people dry. That heads of governments are seen to overtly collude with commercial titans & media moguls only reinforces the prevailing mood of helpess futility & inevitability, a feeling reinforced by economic neccessity and, crucially, the law. Criminal injustice at every level & on all fronts.   Listen to High Up There In Gilded Boardrooms by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at Traditions of musical resistance that have roots stretching back into antiquity...

 Everyday lives of regular people reflected in their songs and melodies Listen to Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man by Old Timer in Isan on hearthis.at     Continuous mix 2hrs36  Download from the above hearthis stream Thanks for listening