Singing in Scots: Julie Fowlis

Julie Fowlis, from North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, has proved one of the fastest rising young stars of Gaelic music in the last three years. This is a sort of home video version, certainly, of a gig in Dingwall, Scotland. The ending sounds like the tape was out of timing, but that's a minor flaw. Along with the video of Cathie Ryan singing in Irish, below, it does give you an idea of what singing in the Celtic languages is like when done by two of the best at it. Even if you've no clue what they are talking about, they hold your attention and they communicate. Whether or not that helps you think about the Dylan project, that's up to you.

More good stuff on Scots music at http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/celticconnections/

Singing in Irish: Cathie Ryan

Fred (and other readers),
I'm going to have to think about that a bit to come up with a comment about Bob Dylan in Scots Gaelic.Many Irish and Scots artists have covered Dylan -- but they usually sing in English. Really fine versions of Dylan songs by Mary Black, Altan, Danu, Dervish, many others.


While I am thinking about this, I would not want you to be without a video. The people in your post are talking of Scots Gaelic, and she's singing in Irish, of which Scots Gaelic is an offshoot, but anyway, here is a link to a quicktime video of Cathie Ryan singing PeataBeagDoMhathar.

Gaelic is the Loving Tongue

I'm breaking my self-imposed rule, as there is no music video connected with this one - yet - but I found the story so fascinating that I decided to post it anyway. And it looks like it would be perfect for my colleague, Kerry's, plate.

via Northings - the Highlands and Islands Art Journal - comes this fascinating, if occasionally dense, article by Rody Gorman, a Skye-based Gaelic translator and poet. Unfortunately, the main body of the article is in PDF format, which requires you to use Acrobat Reader to open. I hope Rody or someone eventually puts this into HTML. I volunteer to do it gratis if you're reading this, Rody.

Inspired by Roddy Woomble's Ballads Of The Book project melding the talents of the contemporary Scottish writing and music communities, Woomble and Gorman are working on a spin-off to produce a CD of Bob Dylan songs translated and sung in Gaelic. Here's an excerpt of Gorman's translation of Dylan's Buckets of Rain.

Sileadh (Buckets of Rain)

Sileadh gun euradh, sileadh nan deur,
Cur thairis le sileadh, mo thruaighe gheur,
Sileadh on ghealaich na mo chròg.
Bheir mi dhut gaol gu sìorraidh, mo rùn geal òg.

- Translation © Rody Gorman, 2007

Even though I know more Yiddish than Gaelic, I can hear those words singing in my head.

Well worth the hassle of loading the PDF file and dealing with the article's occasional academic rat-hole digression, Gorman explores and translates Dylan songs including Knockin' On Heaven's Door, and It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry, and a few older songs where Dylan's music has its roots, such as Corrina, Corrina.

It's hard to tell from the article how close Gorman is to making the CD reality. Have any takers, Kerry?

Bob Dylan - Positively 4th Street Unreleased Video Promo

I haven't researched this one thoroughly, but the original poster claims it to be an unreleased video originally created to promote Dylan's single release of Positively 4th Street. Since that single was released in 1965, the first thought to occur to me was, "a promo for where?" What venue would Columbia possibly have used this for in 1965? Certainly not television. For a sales meeting? It looks more like a promo for either Don't Look Back, or even No Direction Home, as most of the visuals appear to be from the 1965 tour, and it appears way too modern to have been released in `65. The opening few seconds are Dylan doing a sound check of Tell Me, Mama in an empty hall, which looks like it's direct from the Manchester Free Trade concert.

In any case, it's a somewhat weird, even creepy, video, with near-hysterical Beatlesque-type fans, people noting their distaste for Dylan, people claiming to be friends of Dylan, one person claiming to be Dylan. A pretty accurate reflection of that insane time, I would guess, but understandable why it was shelved if it's real.

More on this as I come across it

Michael Boston - Steel Bars

Because we love - and listen to - our readers here at Series of Tubes, here's an excerpt of Mr. Bolton performing Steel Bars in Dublin - the somg he co-wrote with Mr. D. :-)

And you can find the full lyrics at Dylan's site.

Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

Bob Dylan has done a number of songwriting collaborations over the years with partners as varied as Jacques Levy to Michael Bolton. There's even been some imaginary Dylan collaborations, such as his mythical team-up with ex-Monkee Mike Nesmith to supposedly create Nesmith's song Rio.

Here's a real Dylan collaboration with an unusual twist. Dylan originally developed Rock Me, Mama, a.k.a Wagon Wheel, during the 1973 studio sessions for his under-appreciated movie soundtrack album - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. As with many of the songs recorded during the Mexico City and L.A. sessions that produced the movie's soundtrack, Wagon Wheel never was completed much past a basic melody and the refrain,

"Rock me, mama, in the wind and the rain,
Rock me, mama, like a southbound train.
Rock me, mama, anyway you feel.
Rock me mamma, like a wagon wheel."

As noted in a Wikipedia article, the inspiration for Rock Me, Mama probably derives from Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's original song of the same name, although I couldn't find any evidence of the writer's assertion that any version of Crudup's original ever contained the line, "roll me like a wagon wheel."

In any case, Dylan's take on Rock Me, Mama was left off the final release of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, but surfaced in the bootleg Peco's Blues [sic], which can also be found under the alternate title Lucky Luke. As an aside, if you can lay your hand on the bootleg under either name, the completist Dylan fan will probably find it rewarding, as it contains several nice instrumentals that never made it to the finished album, plus lots of studio chatter from the recording sessions.

Ketch Secor, a member of one my favorite Americana/Roots groups Old Crow Medicine Show, must have come across Rock Me, Mama at some point and revised/finished the song under the title Wagon Wheel. The adaptation was obviously done with Dylan's blessing, as the copyright reads: Wagon Wheel by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor (Bug Music, BMI).

The band apparently was performing a version of the song as early as 2001; one of its first uses was to commemorate Dylan's 60th birthday during an OCMS live performance in Nashville. Wagon Wheel was officially released on Old Crow Medicine Show's 2004 album, O.C.M.S. The song was one of the hit singles of that hit album (and a major hit among Americana fans, selling well over 100,000 copies), and numbers among its fans Garrison Keillor, who regularly requests Wagon Wheel during Old Crow Medicine Show's frequent appearances on A Prairie Home Companion.

The above is the "official" video of Wagon Wheel, with a slightly ribald 1800 hootchie-cootchi flavored carnival theme. As a special bonus, look for a cameo by OCMS friends and sometimes collaborators, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

455 Rocket: Kathy Mattea

Several posts back, Fred told us of his respect for singer and songwriter Gillian Welch.. Country Grammy winner Kathy Mattea also likes Welch’s writing. Mattea, who’s been known to sing deeply serious, thoughtful material, also thinks songs which make make you laugh are just as important, and she’s recorded a few of those, including this video of Welch’s 455 Rocket. Embedding has been turned off but you may view that here.
Welch and David Rawlings join Mattea for the video.




On the more serious side, Mattea’s current project, due out in early 2008, is a CD of coal mining songs, which bring together the West Virginia native's love of music, family history, and concern for the environment. More on this project, called simply Coal, at her website.