No Change in Me

Ron Hynes and Murray McLauchlan’s classic “No Change in Me” is another song in the key of life heard on Allison Crowe’s new album, “Newfoundland Vinyl IV”:

Cultural treasure-chest GEST Songs of NFLD shares lyrics, ("This getting nowhere is getting to me, Wondering where you can go to be all you can be..."), and the original recording plus variant @ http://gestsongs.com/07/nochange.htm  And you'll find more from Allison on GEST, as well @ http://gestsongs.com/acrowe.htm

Newfoundland Vinyl IV 

https://allisoncrowe.bandcamp.com/album/newfoundland-vinyl-iv-2

The lovely isle of Newfoundland, off Canada’s Atlantic coast, is inspiration for this collection – the newest in the “Vinyl” series from Corner Brook, NL musician Allison Crowe.

Allison’s in harbour with a boatful of tunes reveling in, and revealing, the region’s rich culture and history – stirring music that nourishes heart and soul.

The album opens with "Mice March" and closes with "Russian Dance", both selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” – freshly arranged and performed “trad” style for Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s “Ed & Ed’s Newfoundland Christmas Concert”. And between these tracks is a bounty of adventuresome musical ideas – embracing songs of land and sea.

Traditional music, and modern favourites – funny, poignant, earthy and ethereal – all part of the “Newfoundland Vinyl” stage-show lovingly curated and directed by Allison Crowe each Summer at TNL’s Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

The album cover photograph by Allison shows us what she sees at home making music. And the songs themselves let us feel it all, as well. Joys and hardships be tugging on the heart-line first cast by Buddy Wasisname, and true as ever: “You might think she’s rugged and cold, but she’s home, sweet, home to me.”

Credits:

Allison Crowe: all vocals, instruments, engineering and production.
Album cover photo: Allison Crowe.
Graphics: Mind Palace Design.

Sláinte!

Newfoundland Vinyl IV

Cause why not release a new album on your own birthday?

Hahaha #newmusic  #newfoundland  #vinyl



The lovely isle of Newfoundland, off Canada’s Atlantic coast, is inspiration for this collection – the newest in the “Vinyl” series from Corner Brook, NL musician Allison Crowe.

Allison’s in harbour with a boatful of tunes reveling in, and revealing, the region’s rich culture and history – stirring music that nourishes heart and soul.

The album opens with “Mice March” and spins to a replay with “Russian Dance”, both selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” – freshly arranged and performed “trad” style for Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s “Ed & Ed’s Newfoundland Christmas Concert”. And between these tracks is a bounty of adventuresome musical ideas – embracing songs of land and sea.

Traditional music, and modern favourites – funny, poignant, earthy and ethereal – all part of the “Newfoundland Vinyl” stage-show lovingly curated and directed by Allison Crowe each Summer at TNL’s Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

The album cover photograph by Allison shows us what she sees at home making music. And the songs themselves let us feel it all, as well. Joys and hardships be tugging on the heart-line first cast by Simani, and true as ever: “You might think she’s rugged and cold, but she’s home, sweet, home to me.”

Allison Crowe: all vocals, instruments, engineering and production.

Album cover photo: Allison Crowe.

Graphics: Mind Palace Design.

Release: November 16, 2018

Lettin' Loose the "Black Velvet Band"

Sweet serenade for the donning of something green and celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this weekend: 

Allison Crowe lets loose the “Black Velvet Band” from her first “Newfoundland Vinyl” album: http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/newfoundland-vinyl

Tidings

"Tidings" music for the season and all time - and no need, even, to get up and flip the record over. Enjoy:

Enjoy all 29 songs - sacred and secular, trad to modern - now open on Allison’s Musical Advent Calendar further down this webpage and also @ http://allisoncrowe.com/MusicalAdventCalendar2016.html

Peace :)

Now I'm 64 - Day 4 on Musical Advent Calendar

Allison Crowe’s “Tidings” repertoire unites traditional tunes, carols and hymns, with sounds of rock, jazz, folk, Celtic and soul to celebrate “music for the season and all time”. On Day 4 of her Musical Advent Calendar, we join Allison and band in the parlour for “Now I’m 64”: 

Now I'm 64 - Allison Crowe and Band - Heirs + Grievances from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

It’s a song loved by generations of Newfoundlanders, fans of Ryan’s Fancy, Harry Hibbs, Bell Island’s Ray Mclean and more, and shared with the world.

The Musical Advent Calendar is proving so popular – it now has its own dedicated web-page @ http://allisoncrowe.com/MusicalAdventCalendar2016.html  and can also be found still @ http://allisoncrowe.com/news.html  Each day through Christmas a new music video link will open at both these online locations.

Now I’m 64 - Allison Crowe and Band - Heirs + Grievances

Reflecting now with home-movies of Allison Crowe and her delightful rendition of a song that’s one of the treasures of Canadiana renewed by “Newfoundland Vinyl”, Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s much-loved hit.

This year’s edition of “Vinyl” has begun rehearsals in prep for a “greatest hits” run this Summer at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, June 11 – September 2, 2016: http://www.theatrenewfoundland.com/shows/newfoundland-vinyl-the-greatest-hits-2016

“Now I’m 64” is a traditional Newfoundland parlour song – here delivered by Allison Crowe and Band on their debut release, “Heirs + Grievances”. Earlier variants include recordings by Atlantic Canada musical legends Ryan’s Fancy, Harry Hibbs and more. The invaluable lyrics and video site “GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador” has plenty to help us cherish an history that’s, joyfully, tunefully alive today: http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/01/sixtyfour.htm

Allison Crowe Hits Home with "Newfoundland Vinyl 3"

Allison Crowe (vocals, piano, guitar, fiddle, bodhran) and bandmates Billie Woods (cello, vox), Celine Greb (cello, vox), and Dave Baird bring their singular sound and spirit in concert to Vancouver's St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Ave.), Friday November 13 at 8pm.

Right now, "The Celtic Music Fan" adds warmth of home and hearth with the latest glowing response to Crowe’s newest album in the blog’s just-published review of NV3 – saying:

“Newfoundland Vinyl 3 by Allison Crowe brings the beautiful winter breeze early”

Allison’s music offers an “unique listening experience as I don’t think I have met a kind of style or recording like her’s. The styles vary from traditional to modern… Fiddlers Green, The Irish Rover will appeal to lovers of Irish music. While the rest are infused in folk, pop and blues style… Allison Crowe’s arrangements are simple and they exude an intimate air which is rare these days, in a world where music is overblown or over produced. You get the sense of organic simplicity in each track. It’s the feeling of coming home after a long hard day from work.”

  

https://celticmusicfan.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/newfoundland-vinyl-3-by-allison-crowe-brings-the-beautiful-winter-breeze-early/

And here’s more warm words for “Newfoundland Vinyl 3”:

“Further jaunts and ‘me boys’ abound with Crowe bringing a joyous appreciation to the traditional folk roots of the songwriting and authentic presentations, storytelling to the fore... This is definitely traditional fare delivered with genuine, folk-honest class” says “Some Diurnal Aural Awe”.

http://somediurnalauralawe.blogspot.ca/2015/10/allison-crowe-newfoundland-vinyl-3.html

“A fine guitarist and an absolutely stunning pianist, Ms Crowe plays and sings with a genuine passion that is completely void of vacuous histrionics. She skates the edges of soulful folk and folky soul with a commanding ease... With this release she accomplishes what few artists even attempt; she makes a very personal statement using the thoughts and words of others,” is commented @ “It’s Only Rock’n’Roll”

 

Newfoundland Vinyl 3

Raising a 'netful of music from Allison Crowe, here's "The Irish Rover", a traditional song popularized by Ryan's Fancy and others much-loved in Newfoundland and Labrador and well beyond.

This week brings the release of “Newfoundland Vinyl 3” - newest in the acclaimed series of albums refreshing folk, traditional, and popular music of Canada’s Atlantic coast. Waltzes, parlour songs, rousing tunes of land and sea emerge from Allison Crowe’s role as Musical Director with Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s hit show, “Newfoundland Vinyl”, at the annual Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

Newfoundland Vinyl 3 - album front and back covers

Newfoundland Vinyl in the MOCM

The Museum of Canadian Music is kindly featuring Allison Crowe’s “Newfoundland Vinyl” LP @
http://citizenfreak.com/titles/324683-crowe-allison-newfoundland-vinyl



The MOCM, curated and maintained by its founder Robert Williston and a core team, explains the mission of “the website is about the artists, the music, and the country of Canada that has produced such an enormous quantity of excellent off-the-radar titles that so many collectors worldwide are onto; but the general public has still not really caught onto - yet... the music on this site should satisfy the more refined connoisseur of Canadian music, especially when spinning vinyl is not so convenient for a world on the go...”

Williston’s amassed the “largest private collection of Canadian music artifacts on earth” – and is making this cultural treasure – over 90,000 individual artifacts and roughly one million Canadian songs collected – public via the MOCM site.

The museum’s domain - Citizenfreak.com – “honors a hometown Calgary band, the 49th Parallel, who recorded the cool single Citizen Freak in 1968”.

You can enjoy Allison’s music now found in the MOCM – and, this Easter weekend, hop down the rabbit-hole of Canadian music!

Black Velvet Band

“My favorite Irish song, beautifully covered for you today: Black Velvet Band ~ Allison Crowe,” declares Brian Ibbott, Mayor of Coverville on this - St. Patrick’s - Day.

(Coverville, geographically situated in Colorado, USA can be found online @ http://coverville.com )

“Black Velvet Band” is a lively song popularly recorded on both sides of the Atlantic. This recording is from Allison Crowe's "Newfoundland Vinyl" LP, her 11th album release on Rubenesque Records:

Black Velvet Band from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

Veteran folk music afficionado/reviewer, Muruch, based in West Virginia, in posting a review of this new album to the "No Depression" blog remarks on a feature in Allison's music that's always present - whether it's rock, gospel, jazz, grunge, classical, blues, folk, soul or other genres she's making: "What a voice, what a voice, what a voice!"

Of this song, Muruch notes: " 'The Black Velvet Band' " is a traditional Irish ballad about a man's chance encounter with a girl, which leads to his arrest and transport as a prisoner to Australia. The Dubliners may have recorded one of the more famous renditions of the song, but Allison's is the most stunning version I've heard and just may become the definitive version (as her cover of 'Hallelujah' - http://music.allisoncrowe.com/track/hallelujah - has) over time."

http://www.muruch.com/2013/07/allison-crowe-newfoundland-vinyl.html

As the album title suggests, it's a song collection inspired by, and arising from, Allison Crowe's ongoing role as Musical Director of the hit stage show, "Newfoundland Vinyl" - presented at Canada's Gros Morne Theatre Festival each Summer since 2012. This perennial GMTF favourite’s conceived by TNL’s Artistic Director Jeff Pitcher.

Wassail Song

Like souling and caroling, (even the more sonorous of trick-or-treating), wassailing can involve a merry band of people going door-to-door and singing from porch-steps. (Though some go a-wassailing to the orchard where they can serenade the trees.) Fortifying such merriment may be a supply of cider, punch, mulled wine, or spicy ale.

Dipping anew into the bowl of this season’s traditional music, here’s Allison Crowe’s serving of the “Wassail Song”

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

This traditional Christmas carol dates originally to 18th century England - and makes an appearance in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" almost 100 years later. In this new millenium, Allison Crowe delivers the song a cappella - on her album "Souling".

The music's visual accompaniment is an excerpt from "Peace on Earth", a 1939 Academy Award-nominated cartoon directed by Hugh Harman.

http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling

Allison Crowe’s gorgeous voice brings tidings of comfort and joy with “Souling” – her 11th full album release.

The artist, one of our greatest living musicians, singer-songwriters and performers, has always created authentic music. With this newest song set her voice is heard wholly a cappella.

The songs themselves have a purity of expression – a 21st century take on music of faith and spirit – sounds and themes aired by carollers and soulers of old.

The genesis of “Souling” is found in the bond Allison Crowe’s formed with the creative family at Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador. Founded in 1979, this professional theatre company presents a dynamic and diverse repertoire of plays and maintains, as well, a strong commitment to youth theatre in the Atlantic Canada community.

For these past three Summers TNL’s engaged Crowe as Musical Director of “Newfoundland Vinyl” - a perennial favourite at the annual Gros Morne Theatre Festival. Following another hit season at GMTF, in late August of this year TNL Artistic Associate SaraH McDonald invited the Corner Brook, NL-based musician to serve the same role with a vibrant production of “A Christmas Carol”.

The Adaptation of this classic Charles Dickens story by playwright Jeff Pitcher, TNL’s Artistic Director, excited Crowe’s musical imagination – as did the desire of McDonald, the play’s Director, to incorporate songs in the style of Victorian Era carollers.

So inspired, Allison Crowe immersed herself in curating the music for the abundantly-talented, multi-aged, choir of singers who performed in “A Christmas Carol” at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre from November 27th – 30th, 2014.

This artistic process of selection and arrangement led to her recording solo versions of those songs that will receive another distinct breath of life from the TNL vocal ensemble.

(In parallel fashion, the first season’s run of “Newfoundland Vinyl” brought forth Allison Crowe’s album of the same name – one of 2013’s top recordings. Culture blog Muruch praised it as a “lovely, vintage collection of traditional Irish and Canadian folk ballads, lively sea chanteys and drinking songs, parlour songs and country tunes” possessing “unique charm” and “the timeless beauty of a classic folk album”.)

In 2003, (and expanded in 2004), Allison Crowe released Tidings – an album of singular interpretations - “River” (Joni Mitchell), “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen), “In My Life” (The Beatles) and more from the secular canon – alongside such favourite traditional carols as “Silent Night”, “The First Noel”, and “O Holy Night”. Tidings has proven to be a modern classic – “music for the season and all time”.

This time out, as befits TNL’s telling of “A Christmas Carol”, Allison Crowe gives pure voice to the sacred songbook. “Souling” is:

Soul Cake
I Saw Three Ships
That Night in Bethlehem (Don Oíche úd i mBeithil)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Wexford Carol
The Holly and the Ivy
In the Bleak Midwinter (Cranham)
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Once in Royal David’s City
Wassail Song

“Souling” is available now via Allison Crowe’s own website @ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling as well as on iTunes @ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/souling/id933188580 plus CD Baby @ http://cdbaby.com/cd/allisoncrowe10 and all major digital music outlets worldwide.

The Wild Rover

Like Edith Piaf, John Lennon, Luke Kelly, and other such vital, visceral, music-makers, Allison Crowe rocks.

Singing and playing everything, here's Allison's take on what's said to be the most widely-performed of Irish and/or Scottish tunes, "The Wild Rover". (The original author is unknown.) This be the newest recording of a song that's sailed forward from the 12th century lapping along the foggy shores of time.


The Wild Rover from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

The song is found on "Newfoundland Vinyl II", Allison Crowe's latest album, (and her third album globally released in 2014).

http;//music.allisoncrowe.com/album/newfoundland-vinyl-ii 

As the album title suggests, is another song collection inspired by, and arising from, Allison's involvement with the hit stage show, "Newfoundland Vinyl" - presented at Canada's Gros Morne Theatre Festival, and produced by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador.

TNL's Artistic Director Jeff Pitcher conceived the musical production and Allison Crowe has served as the show's Musical Director for three Summers now at GMTF.

Souling

Allison Crowe’s gorgeous voice brings tidings of comfort and joy with “Souling” – her 11th full album release.

 

The artist, one of our greatest living musicians, singer-songwriters and performers, has always created authentic music – free from the aural air-brush that represents so much of what is sold today as pop, rock, folk et al.

 

With her newest song set, Allison's voice is heard, again without the corporate music industry’s standard processing and effects, and wholly a cappella.

 

The songs themselves have a purity of expression – a 21st century take on music of faith and spirit – sounds and themes aired by carollers and soulers of old.

 

The fuller story is coming later this All Souls Day. Here now are the songs…

 

 

                  

Soul Cake

A treat this weekend - and a musical preview of Allison Crowe's newest album - "Souling".

Here's the first track - a traditional song for souling.

Full music and details will be shared tomorrow - Sunday, November 2 - All Soul's Day.

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms - Allison Crowe Live - Jazzhaus Freiburg

Allison Crowe delivers one of her encore tunes acapella - on Mother's Day at Jazzhaus Freiburg, in Germany. (This being the latest, and, perhaps, last, in our live bootleg video series. At least until the next tour...)

This traditional aire takes its lyrics from the writings of Thomas Moore. An international hit at the beginning of the previous century for the great Irish tenor John McCormack (who recorded it in 1911 and, again, in 1935), and Australia's legendary coloratura soprano, Dame Nellie Melba (in 1909).

Allison Crowe's Celtic roots show when she performs "Believe Me If All (Those Endearing Young Charms)".

Recordings of this tune are found on Allison's "Live at Wood Hall" (http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/live-at-wood-hall) and "Tidings Concert" (http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/tidings-concert) albums.And, it's an "hidden" track closing her "Secrets" album (http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/secrets).

"Irish Music Daily" provides delightful background to this beautiful song @ http://www.irishmusicdaily.com/believe-me-if-all-those-endearing-young-charms

Believe Me If All

Traditional Irish Aire w. words by Thomas Moore
As performed by Allison Crowe

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly today,
Were to change by tomorrow,
and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,

Thou wouldst still be adored,
as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart,
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheek unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time has but made thee more dear:

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sun-flower turns to her god, when he sets,
The same look which she gave when he rose.

Tarry Trousers

Canada's Allison Crowe here performs "Tarry Trousers" - an addictively lovely version of a traditional tune with history on both sides of the Atlantic since the 1800s.

"Tarry Trousers" is one of the songs she's arranged and curated for inclusion in this Summer's Gros Morne Theatre Festival line-up - and the third incarnation of a rollicking hit show, "Newfoundland Vinyl", conceived by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's Artistic Director Jeff Pitcher.

TNL produces GMTF, an annual festival situated in a supremely gorgeous location, Cow Head, NL -- Gros Morne National Park (an UNESCO world heritage site on the isle of Newfoundland's west coast).

TNL's latest newsletter contains info on the upcoming Gros Morne Theatre Festival and TNL's Youth Theatre productions. Here, it describes the show musically directed by Allison Crowe and brought to life by the fabulous and fun cast that performs in 2014:

"Newfoundland Vinyl" is back! And this time it's "The 'C' Side". Allison Crowe has made this show into a perennial Festival favourite. The vinyl Newfoundland hits of the 1960's, 70's and 80's by Newfoundland's biggest recording stars are never - ending. From Harry Hibbs' "The Wild Rover" to Eddy Coffey's "Area Code 709" to Cory & Trina's "Northern Lights of Labrador" Allison manages to lay bare the simple and beautiful melodies and lyrics of our most talented artists, featuring the wonderful talents of Stephanie Payne, Amelia Manuel, Claire Hewlett, Colin Furlong, Marquita Walsh, Craig Haley and Keelan Purchase.

And, of course, Ed!

http://www.theatrenewfoundland.com

http://www.theatrenewfoundland.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/newsletter-winter-2014.pdf

Allison Crowe’s variant of a centuries-old tune, “Tarry Trousers”, shines like a diamond bright – and is now added to the cultural treasure chest that is “GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador”: http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/02/tarry.htm

Gery Deugaw, GEST’s Owner/Archivist writes: “Allison gives traditional songs new life with her beautiful voice and harmonies. The earliest known lyrics to this love ballad were found in the 1848 journal of the whaling vessel Nauticon out of Nantucket, Massachusetts by the captain's wife, Susan Veeder, and is archived at the Nantucket Historical Association Research Library.”

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

March 17 nears...

There cannae be too much celebrating in life. Here's to a Happy St. Patrick's Day... Sláinte!!

Joy!

Rockin’ around the Christmas tree has deep roots – as we hear in this carol first shared in the 1800s. Here’s a joyous performance from Allison captured by Alex Postowoi and crew at the merry and bright Turtle Recording studios in White Rock, Canada:

“Newfoundland Vinyl” LP Readies to Set Sail

Artwork and the track listing for “Newfoundland Vinyl”, Allison Crowe’s 11th release on Rubenesque Records Ltd., is ready. The album’s music sets sail worldwide next month.

As Musical Director for Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s production of “Newfoundland Vinyl: The Flip Side” at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, Crowe’s active now curating and arranging songs for this Summer’s cast.

It’s a rich and varied collection harvested from the island region’s popular music and oral traditions – and from which she’s culled a selection for her vinyl LP. The album’s 10 tracks traverse parlour songs to country tunes and folk favourites, songs of land and sea that share the strength and the struggles, the heartbreaks and the humour, of a people.

Recognized as one of the great modern interpreters of song, Allison Crowe’s singular performances deliver familiar and much-loved songs afresh and with renewed joy.

Coming next month, then, is Allison Crowe’s take on these songs that, over 200 years, come from, and out of, Newfoundland and Labrador – with ageless melodies and meaning:

Black Velvet Band – lively traditional song recorded on both sides of the Atlantic, including a version by the legendary Harry Hibbs

Easy – penned by Terry Skinner and made a classic radio hit by country star Eddie Eastman

Men Who Die for a Living – Gary O’Driscoll, award-winning songwriter and producer from St. Lawrence and the South coast, wrote this potent elegy “for the miners here and gone”

Cliffs of Baccalieu – Jack Withers' sea-faring song has previously been sailed by such distinct voices as Anita Best and Stan Rogers

Skipper Billy’s Wake – songwriter Ellis Coles’ jaunty mix of moonshine, Screech and more was well popularized by Dick Nolan

Sonny’s Dream – Newfoundland’s “Man of 1000 Songs”, Ron Hynes, created this anthem of the heart and home

Tiny Red Light – a traditional Newfoundland song revitalized in the vinyl era by The Dorymen (popular east-coast combo founded by John Drake and Tom Rose - a pair of lads out of Fortune Bay communities Belleoram and Bay du Nord)

The Mobile Goat Song – composed by St. John’s Tom Cahill, frequent collaborator with “Newfoundland’s First Lady of Song”, Joan Morrissey, who released this fun romp on her 1973 LP “Home Brew”

Seven Old Ladies – a bawdy song which musically plumbs a 1700s nursery rhyme, ("Johnny's So Long at the Fair") – and a tune also recorded by the great Joan Morrissey

Sweet Forget Me Not - first published in 1877, this tender tune by Bobby Newcomb was the first single, and a vinyl hit on the mainland as well, for Cape Shore’s Eddie Coffey

Allison Crowe’s “Newfoundland Vinyl” album launches June 25, 2013.