Description
Dave De Hugard – Where the Wattles Bloom – TN2599-33 – $20
Dave De Hugard – To the Far Tatiara and Back – TN2600-33 – $20
CDs reviewed by Graham Seal.
TN177 Apr 26
Dave De Hugard has released two CDs on Rouseabout Records with a selection of new and old recordings.
Where the Wattles Bloom and To the Far Tatiara and Back feature around forty songs and dance tunes collected, learned and/or rearranged by Dave.
As the blurb says in part: “Dave is a natural singer and musician.
“He sings from the heart.
“This is not your usual collection of bush songs, for these songs and tunes have travelled down the years and have been re-fashioned in Dave’s unique and sympathetic style”.
The songs and tunes display the full range of bush music, including bush ballads, mostly in very different versions than those you might hear performed by a bush band; folklorised music hall and popular songs of the nineteenth century, as well as a lively array of mazurkas, waltzes, schottisches, and a few set tunes.
There are also a couple of Dave’s own songs and settings, as well as the best version I’ve heard of Bill Scott’s great song, ‘Hey, Rain’.
Dave accompanies himself on concertina, accordion, harmonica, banjo, piano and fiddle, sometimes all at once!
He is frequently joined by a star array of folk musicians, past and present, including Barry McDonald, Bob McInnes, Julie Castles, Kate Burke, Wayne Richmond, Graham Dodsworth, Bill Woolard, Bob McInnes, Ian White, Bill Moynahan, Ken Greenhaugh, Tom Rummery, James Greening, Bill Moynahan, and Dave Pilley.
The recordings, made at many different times and places, have been cleverly re-engineered by Marcus Holden.
Those with an interest in Australian traditional music interpreted for modern audiences by a master musician steeped in the tradition will appreciate these recordings, together with the extensive notes provided.
This is a truly outstanding body of work.
You can have the lot from Trad&Now.
Dave is recognised as one of the leading interpreters of Australia’s folk music heritage. His debut solo album ‘Freedom on the Wallaby’, issued in 1970, became a landmark for what has become known as ‘bush music’. He went on to release two more solo albums, ‘’The Magpie in the Wattle’ (Larrikin 1986) and ‘Magpie Morning’ (1993) and appeared on several compilation albums, including the first album released on the Larrikin label, ‘Man of the Earth’ (1974).
The new albums, his first in 32 years, are all the more extraordinary since Dave turned a grand 83 this year. Age has certainly not wearied him, and his distinctive voice and skilled musicianship shine through these songs and tunes.
Rouseabout’s Executive Producer, Warren Fahey, comments on the importance of these new recordings. “Folk songs often reveal a great deal about the emotional history of a country and, in many ways, are good signposts of our journey through the years. Some are poems turned into songs, some are adaptations of older songs, some can be attributed to specific writers, and most are anonymous creations that were circulated orally among singers. Whatever their credentials, the majority of folk songs in the Australian context tell about life’s aspirations, frustrations, pains and pleasures. The songs in this collection come from various directions and have been strongly influenced by Dave de Hugard’s lifelong association with Australian storytelling and music-making. Dave is a natural singer and musician. He sings from the heart. This is not your usual collection of bush songs, for these songs and tunes have travelled down the years and have been re-fashioned in Dave’s unique and sympathetic style. They have also been influenced by some of the people he recorded for his oral history collection at the National Library of Australia. Above all, these long-awaited recordings set a new benchmark in how we perceive the role of old bush songs and dance tunes, as they provide evidence that everything old is new again. Folk music creativity knows no boundaries.”
Bio: Dave de Hugard (b.Queensland, 1942) has been a prominent figure in Australian folk music for over sixty years as a singer, musician, and folklore collector. He has an intuitive approach to storytelling and musical performance. Dave became interested in folk music in the early 1960s. Inquisitive, he wanted to learn more about the music’s origins, especially those who had included the old songs and tunes in their repertoire. He became adept at playing several musical instruments, including the Anglo-German concertina, button accordion, banjo, mouth organ, 5-string banjo and fiddle. The recordings feature many leading folk music instrumentalists, as well as Kate Burke’s evocative singing.
