Lonely Horse Band – Tallowoods & Tollywongs 2CD Set

The Lonely Horse Band – Tallowoods and Tollywongs: A living memory of Dorrigo CD Review by Chris Spencer

As best as I can make out, The Lonely Horse Band, is based around Tonchi McIntosh, Mick Daley and Andrew Hull. They add extra musicians as the need arises. This is their second album: the first released in 2006 was called Pomegranates and Peppercorn Trees, and was based on stories and poems from the Nymagee district in NSW. In this instance, the trio have given Dorrigo the same treatment.
This ambitious recording consists of two cds. One consists of 7 songs and a poem performed by the Lonely Horse Band, the other has identities from Dorrigo who tell of their affection for the Dorrigo district, relating their first experiences of living in the town. The 2nd cd also has several songs recorded by different musicians.
The title track is a slowish, gentle ballad underpinned by the ukulele playing of McIntosh, and is the first of several songs on this cd covering the efforts of the pioneers describing the history of the district.
“My Three Boys” follows a similar theme, but is upbeat with the addition of drums. “Railway Man” is a refreshing change in rhythm, being a jugband inspired romp. A feature of this cd I found entertaining was the way the three vocalists alternated songs, providing variation in the presentation and genre.
I think it’s Andrew Hull who provides the spoken word on “Dorrigo”. In contrast is Tonchi’s “The Big Pull” which is almost hip hop in structure, with some unusual soundscapes in the background. On first listening I found some of the stories on cd # 2, or radio documentaries as they are termed, interesting, but on subsequent listens, they lost some of their lustre.
The songs on this cd include recordings done at one of the annual Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festivals: Howard Hollis singing (presumably his own song) “Dear Old Dorrigo”. I’m not a big fan of yodelling, but Betty Sawtell’s version of “Take me Back to Montana”. This live recording is a testimony to the sound engineer who has achieved an excellent sound, particularly an echo effect.
Other songs on this cd is “Megan Memories” by Bridget Sommers, “The Day It Didn’t Rain”, “Rust to Dust”, “Back in the Day” and an out of place heavy thrash song by an unnamed young band to complete the set.
I found out what a tallowood was, but I’m still none the wiser what a tollywong is – I suspect it’s a bird?