A Folk Concert in Town Hall, New York

• Artist: Oscar Brand
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1959
• Type: Live
• Genre: Vocal Music

Review

A spirited 1959 live set from the ongoing duo of Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand (with their usual banjo-playing accompanist, Dave Sear, getting equal billing for the first time), A Folk Concert in Town Hall, New York sounds downright jubilant most of the time. Although Ritchie and Brand had long and successful solo careers, there's something special about their harmonies. Unlike many of the more mannered and academic folksingers of the age -- Pete Seeger comes immediately to mind -- Jean Ritchie grew up singing these songs for fun, and that brand of unfeigned enthusiasm comes through on her freewheeling renditions of familiar tunes like "Shortenin Bread" (sung as a round with Brand and Sear) and "Shady Grove." Even less familiar to the casual folk fan, nuggets like "Ennery My Son" and "The Inniskillin Dragoon" sound intimate and lived-in (Brand, who had a sideline in risqué folk ditties, spins the occasional double entendre with dry wit) in comparison to the technically "correct" but often far-too-stiff versions so common in the '50s folk revival. A Folk Concert in Town Hall, New York is an impressive addition to both Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand's catalogs. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Similar Albums

American Folk Songs for Children, Weavers at Carnegie Hall, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, Big Folk Hits, Our Men in San Francisco/London Concert, Jug Band Music, Tradition Years: Come Sit by My Side, There Ain't No Way Out, Live at Newport, Troubadours of the Folk Era, Vol. 3: The Groups

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Shortenin' Bread	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Ha Ha This-A-Way	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Shady Grove	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
The Rolling of the Stones	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Pretty Polly	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
The Admiral	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Dhrinnin Dhu Dhrinnin	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
My Boy Willy	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Jenny Jenkins	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Poor Howard	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Lord Randall	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Ennery My Son	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
The Inniskillin Dragoon	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Trip Trap Robbers in the Sea	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
The Talking Atom	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Aiken Drum	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Fair and Tender Ladies	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear
Black-Eyed Susie	Traditional	Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, David Sear

Credits

David Sear (Banjo), Oscar Brand (Performer), Jean Ritchie (Vocals), David Sear (Vocals), Jean Ritchie (Performer), Jean Ritchie (Dulcimer), Oscar Brand (Guitar), Oscar Brand (Vocals)