Rattlers, The – Comradeship

The Rattlers – Comradeship

CD review by Rick Narbutas

One may be forgiven for believing that the necessity of preserving an oral history in a digital world is passé, that the labyrinth behind the black mirror is the sole “suppository“ (thanks Tony) of human history, complete with click bait.

That’s the myth of the modern age.

But there are some more local stories you just can’t access on the Internet, who will tell these tales?

Aboard the Comradeship, Mulheron and his fellow artists cruised and crafted a collection of just such stories into song.

Here then are a few snippets woven into an oral history.

Sing along!

Offerings of cheeky deeds and never say die defiance are interspersed with some light-hearted ditties.

“Four Strong Women” tells of Angie Zeltner and her three friends, the common people (although uncommon in their resolve and ingenuity) whose actions even a judge couldn’t fault, what a ripper of a story!

Such an irony that little hammers could save the lives of many.

The Rattlers give a nod too, to our own larrikin history.

Who ever heard of the black listing of Lee Hayes?

Further on, Mulheron gives us an anthem to the power of wind and shovel in, “When the Coal Blew Away”, re-visiting the deeds of labour pitted against the power of the bosses during the Bulli Lockout of 1938

Covering John Dengate’s song, famous boxer, Les Darcy, is fighting against greater forces having declared his opposition to conscription.

Decades before Mohammed Ali, Darcy refused to be a pinup boy for war.

We are reminded of the dramas of Maralinga and some even darker places too.

“In So Many Ways”, Patrick Barnett uses Liz Frencham’s soulful voice to expose the toll conflicts take on the innocent, the bottomless plunge into sadness at the madness of war.

Recorded at Main Street Recording Studios in Corrimal NSW, this CD brings together the essence of what good folk music has to offer.