Laughter and Laments
Rhodri James
(casette tape)
SIDE A
- Helva's Lament (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Phillip Allcock, Rhodri James
- The Three Fans (Words: Rhodri James, Music: Trad) - Pat Brown, Valerie Housden, Rhodri James
- O Wally Wally (Words: Rhodri James. Music: Trad) - Phillip Allcock, Rhodri James
- Cwmryn Mawr (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Rhodri James
- Monty Who? (Words: Rhodri James & Mike Whitaker, Music: Trad) - Rhodri James
- Red Tape & Sealing Wax (Words & Music: Chris Bell) - Rhodri James
- Guten Tag (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Rhodri James, Mike Whitaker
- Spiral (Words & Music: Rhodri James & Mike Whitaker) - Rhodri James, Mike Whitaker
SIDE B
- Sins of Our Fathers (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Rhodri James, Mike Whitaker
- Music has a Strong Magic (Words: Gytha North Music: Trad) - Rhodri James
- Hymn for Tomorrow (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Phillip Allcock, Pat Brown, Colin Fine, Rhodri James, Mike Whitaker
- To Boldly Go... (Words: Rhodri James. Music: Mike Whitaker) - Rhodri James
- Tiger! Tiger! (Words: William Blake, Music: Rhodri James) - Rhodri James
- The Mystery Tree (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Colin Fine, Rhodri James
- Requiescat (Words: Rhodri James. Music: Phillip Allcock) - Phillip Allcock, Pat Brown, Colin Fine, Rhodri James, Mike Whitaker
- The Horn has Sounded (Words: Janet Waite Music: Jonathan Waite) - Colin Fine, Rhodri James
- Dawn (Words & Music: Rhodri James) - Rhodri James
Performers
- Phil Allcock: Guitar, Radio Traffic, Vocals
- Pat Brown: Recorders, Vocals
- Colin Fine: Accordion, Harp, Vocals
- Valerie Housden: Vocals
- Rhodri James: 6- and 12-string Guitars, Synthesiser, Vocals, Recorders
- Mike Whitaker: Drum Synth, Electric Guitar, 6- and 12-string Guitars, Synthesiser, Vocals
Thanks are due to everyone who helped me get this show on the road, especially Zander, Anne, Pat and Valerie for their suggestions, Colin and Pam for their support, Ben for putting up with the odd noises and strange people, Gytha for her advice, encouragement, business sense and crash space, Kari for exploding, and Mike for organising me, for the many patient hours of co-writing and correcting and for the loan of "Princess" and "Rhiannon". Also for being fun!
Dedicated to my father, David Harold James. Requiescat in pace.
Insert Notes: "Helva's Lament" is taken from The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey, as if you needed to be told. "The Three Fans" and "O Wally Wally" are the result of listening to The Three Ravens and O Waly Waly. "Cwmryn Mawr" is a piece of ancient history from my D&D campaign that the players don't know about yet. Count yourselves privileged. "Welsh History 101B (failed)" came from the reaction of a Welsh historian to Heather Rose Jones' "Welsh History 101 B" ("Arrgghh! It's all wrong!"). "Monty Who" is related to a well known FRP system. "Red Tape and Sealing Wax" is about the fire elementals in the world of "Redfox" and "Guten Tag" and "Spiral" are more comic book stuff, this time from the X-men. Phew, that's side A done! On side B, "Sins of Our Fathers" was written in the style of Leslie Fish as the flip side of her "Hello". "Music has a Strong Magic" is Gytha's Dorsai filk which she lets me sing from time to time (!). "Hymn for Tomorrow" is a Christian filk (hey, if they can do pagan filks...). "To Boldly Go..." is a farewell to the Voyager probes, but mostly an excuse to go over the top with a piano. "Tiger! Tiger!" and "The Mystery Tree" both happened on trains, the former on a poster on the Tube, the latter on my way home one weekend. "Requiescat" is for Darien from Guy Gavriel Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry. "The Horn has Sounded" is ... strange, and "Dawn" is the tail end of Mike Whitaker's "Before the Dawn" cycle.
Engineered By: Rampant Engineering
Producer: Gytha North
Cover Art: Mike Venman
Typesetting: Mike Whitaker
All songs (c) the authors, all arrangements (c) Rhodri James
This recording (c) & (P) VLB Recordings, 18, Glynde Road, Brighton, ENGLAND Unauthorised public performance, broadcasting or copying prohibited. Printed by PIP, 30b, Bridge Street, Cambridge, ENGLAND