Norman Kennedy Ballads and Songs of Scotland FSS-34

Norman Kennedy's Ballads and Songs of Scotland was released as FSS-34 in 1968. At this writing Ballads and Songs of Scotland is one of the few, if the only, full length studio LP's recorded by Kennedy. The other I found was Scots Songs and Ballads (Topic Records 12T 178, 1968 UK), which seemed to be credited as a "Folk Legacy Recording" with many, but not all, of the same tracks featured here. Kennedy, who hails from Aberdeen, Scotland, was invited to perform at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Yes, the same year Bob Dylan became "Electric Bob.” From handbills of the day, Kennedy led a workshop of "British Songs & Singing Styles" on Saturday afternoon from 3:00-4:00pm and performed during the evening concert on July 24th. Dylan plugged in for 15 historical minutes on the evening of Sunday, July 25th. In my mind, Kennedy performed on "the last day of the early 60's." (See also: the last day of the late 60's a.k.a Altamont Speedway Free Festival)

Ok, enough with the dates, let's talk about the record. For me this record was a challenging listen. It is the only record in my collection of traditional Scottish folk music. Keeping that in mind, I found it refreshing, and made me focus on the inflection of the singing even more. Kennedy sings each tune unaccompanied either in Gaelic or with a heavy Scottish accent. At times it sounds like it could be a combination of the two. Unfortunately, I do not have the book insert for this album, so following along with the songs was a difficult at times.

The biggest "take away" from me is a deeper understanding of the Gaelic influence in folk music. Any full album of unaccompanied music could seem tedious, but Norman Kennedy executes this album perfectly. It is hard to emphasize how important rhythm and enunciation is to the root of Gaelic folk without listening to this album. A few tracks have brief spoken word introductions to the songs. "Guise O' Tough" ends with quick story about a special chair used to get rid of unwanted guests where local musicians performed. At the start "Kishmul's Galley," Kennedy explains how the song speeds up during a quick ad lib to Sandy Paton (recording engineer and founder of Folk Legacy). The song is a "waulking" song, which is essentially a work song sung while making tweed.

Norman Kennedy currently resides in Vermont. In 1976 he founded the Marshfield School of Weaving in Marshfield, Vermont. Kennedy still performs occasionally, but his recorded output remains fairly limited. Outside of the album on Folk Legacy, a handful of his tracks have popped up on compilations. The sound clip* presented is from the track "Mouth Music." If you liked what you've heard, the CD of this recording is available through Folk-Legacy directly here.

A1. Night Visiting Song

A2. Sixteen Come Sunday

A3. A Student Boy Ca' Courting Me

A4. A Beggarman Cam' O'er Yon Lea

A5. The Fause Knight Upon the Road

A6. Mouth Music

A7. My Highland Soldier

A8. Johnny, My Man, Dae Ye Nae Think O' Rising

B1. Oh, Hae Ye Heard o' the Merchant's Song?

B2. Coarachree

B3. I'm Forester in the Wood

B4. I'll Lay Ye Down, Love, I'll Treat Ye Decent

B5. There Was a Jolly Beggarman

B6. Kishmul's Galley

B7. Guise O' Tough

B8. Drumdelgie

Normankfss34 by Folklegacyproject

*Note about the sound clip. Each clip is sourced from my vinyl copy of the album and is intended for educational purposes. The sound clip is to put my review in context. No copywrite infringement is intended. Entire songs will not be published, or will be available to download through 3rd party links, so don't bother asking. I respect the owners of this recording; any request to remove the sound clip will be honored.