The Last Holdout
An impressive 6th release from Saskatoon, Canada, tradition-bearer singer accompanying herself on guitar, Anglo-concertina and fretted dulcimer, with songs from a wide variety of sources. - Len Holton, From Albion and Beyond, Little Rock, AR
Tracks & Notes - Lyrics
- Kemp Owyne (Child #34) is a fairy tale: a saga complete with an evil stepmother, a young maiden turned into a dragon, and a prince to save the day. (vocal & dulcimer)
- Another transformation ballad, The Griesly Bride, was learned from Harry Tuft. Although this poem was written in Australia, I have always pictured its setting in the boreal forest of northern Saskatchewan. (vocal)
- I found the words of The Flower Carol in the Oxford Book of Carols, and set them to my tune. The song is followed by Alf Browne’s Jig, written to honour the man who planted many of the elm trees in Saskatoon in the early 20th century. (vocal, dulcimer, concertina)
- Llewelyn and Gelert is an ancient Welsh legend made into a ballad by Norm Walker, who recorded it on his CD T-Time: Time-Tested Tales, Tall and True.(vocal & dulcimer)
- Our Ship is Ready is a Northern Irish lament learned from the singing of Peta Webb. (vocal & concertina)
- Oak, Ash and Thorn - Rudyard Kipling's "A Tree Song" sets the scene for the stories and poems of Puck of Pook's Hill. Peter Bellamy set the poem to his music, and the song has since become a well-known pagan song celebrating the summer solstice. (vocal & guitar)
- I learned Bringing in the Sheaves from the pen of Englishman Jim Boyes, recorded on “All Through the Year'” (vocals, guitar & dulcimer)
- The Famous Flower of Serving Men (Child #106) is a ballad that Martin Carthy extensively reworked and made his own, using a tune from Hedy West. I have been singing this ballad for several decades now, and continue to find the story magical, powerful, and vivid in my mind. (vocal & dulcimer)
- I first heard Time Has Made a Change in Me from the Maine band The Moose Tones and I have been singing it ever since. Good philosophy.(vocals & dulcimer)
- Summer Solstice, another seasonal song from the pen of Norm Walker, is a companion piece to his song of spring The Prairie Pagans. (vocals & dulcimer)
- The Last Holdout is a solo guitar piece written in honour of those beautifully stubborn people who treasure their traditions in the pace of progress.
- Arthur Darley is sometimes simply called The Swedish Jig. I learned the tune on fiddle many years before arranging it for guitar.
- I learned the French tune Mazurka from a button accordion player in Mendocino, and play it here on anglo-concertina.
Review: Canadian Folk Music
Paddy's singing is genuine and unvarnished, and is never at odds with the spirit of the stories she sings. It has been a long 13 years since her last recording, but she has made it worth the wait.
Review: Penguin Eggs Magazine
Saskatchewan-based Paddy Tutty is a devotee of
traditional music. Ancient ballads, story songs, laments,
and seasonal songs from, or derived from, Celtic and
English music make up this CD. Overall, this is a well-researched and interesting
collection.