Hamish Imlach   •   Scottish Sabbath (1976)

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  • Scottish Sabbath
    • 1976 - Autogram ALLP 209 LP (DEU)
  • Side One
    1. Scottish Sabbath (Jim McLean)
    2. Downtrodden Landlord (T. Wolfe)
    3. Kelty Clippie (John Watt)
    4. Better in the Dark (Gordon McCulloch)
    5. The Gaudie (John Imlah)
    6. The Kerry Recruit (Trad. Arr. Imlach)
    7. Whisky and Women (Shel Silverstein)
  • Side Two
    1. Men of Knoydart (Hamish Henderson)
    2. The General (Trad.)
    3. Pretty Little Horses (Trad. Arr. Imlach)
    4. If It Wasn't for the Unions (Matt McGinn)
    5. The Oyster Girl (Trad. Arr. Imlach)
    6. The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda (Eric Bogle)
    7. Goodbye Booze (Trad. Arr. Imlach)

  • Musicians
    • Hamish Imlach: Vocals & Guitar
    • Iain MacKintosh: Concertina, Backing Vocals (Tracks: 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12)

SCOTTISH SABBATH — In Scotland, pubs are closed on Sundays. The Presbyterian lobby continues to do that today. When a few years ago a car ferry wanted to go to the Isle of Skye on Sundays too, Pastor Smith lay down on the street to prevent the cars from sinfully traveling on the Sabbath. But sex is probably allowed on Sunday, provided you don't have fun with it …

DOWNTROODEN LANDLORD — Intercession for the landlords who are all alone and cry over their money because nobody loves them.

KELTIE CLIPPIE — A romantic travel song from beautiful County Fife in Scotland, famous for its folk singers, mines, pig breeding and golf courses.

BETTER IN THE DARK — Probably the first of the 'make love not war' songs. The reason was a power failure during the 1960s, which left New York and large parts of the east coast of the USA without television and lights for up to 3 days and nights. Nine months later it was found that in some areas the birth rate had risen sharply.

THE GAUDIE (The Salmon) — The melody of this song comes from Hessen. Hessian mercenaries in the British Army had brought them with them. In Scotland it became a well-known bagpipe and violin tune. My great-grandfather, the Reverend John Imlach wrote a text about it. (Yes, I have an ancestral Presbyterian pastor!).

KERRY RECRUIT — I have this version of Joe Heany from Ireland, arguably the best singer in the Connemara Gaelic landscape. In Victorian times, poverty forced many young Irish people to join the British Army (it still exists today!). More than 40% of the soldiers were Irish at the time. This song comes from the Crimean War in the 19th century, when the French and British fought for Turkey against Russia.

WHISKEY AND WOMEN — Because of Calvinism, many Scots feel guilty about sex. To suppress this, they then drink whiskey. It works so well that they forget why they are drinking it. So Scotland's population remains small.

MEN OF KNOYDART — For about 150 years the landowners have chased their small tenants out of the Highlands to make room for sheep breeding because that brought more profit. Then the rich people stopped breeding sheep and went around the country for a few weeks to hunt deer and other things. to use. The seven men of Knoydard then return to the Highlands. Eventually they start to recultivate the good soil. This is the beginning of a three year legal battle with the landowner. Of course the seven men lose.

THE GENERAL — A song from WW1. Allegedly the poet Robert Graves wrote it in 1917. I got my version from an old man in a pub in Motherwell, where I live. Mackintosh also plays the bass concertina here.

PRETTY LITTLE HORSES — A lullaby from the USA: a black nanny sings it to a child of rich people. The poor little lambie are the black children.

IF IT WASN'T FOR THE UNIONS — The newspapers often blame the unions for trouble. This song recalls the achievements of the trade unions.

OYSTER GIRL — It is well known that oysters are as good as rhinoceros horn — I mean.

THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA — This is the best anti-war song I know. It is about the Australians who fought the Turks in Gallipoli in 1916. The author is Eric Bogle, a Scotsman from Peebles who lives in Australia. So it's a new song by a younger songwriter.

GOODBYE BOOZE — I always promise to quit drinking, smoking, dieting, etc. Oh, let's end the record with good intentions.

About the authors not yet named: The Scot Jim McLean made his way through Europe as a traveling singer for 5 years and now lives as a record producer in London. The American Wolfe was a union activist in the 1930s and 1940s. Shel Silverstein is not only a cartoonist for "Playboy" magazine but also a songwriter (best known for "A Boy Named Sue"). John Watt has been an amateur folk singer since the first days of the Scottish folk revival and has been a printer by profession. Gordon McCulloch, also a veteran folk singer, became known as a member of the "Exiles". Hamish Henderson, folklorist at Edinburgh University, has long been a name as a poet and songwriter. Matt McGinn from Glasgow is a mostly socially critical songwriter and singer.

The recordings with the concertina player Iain Mackintosh (A1, A3, A5, B2, B4, B5) were made on April 28, 1976. Three days later, "Whiskey & Women "was the first piece of the solo session on the day of work". Then a fingernail broke, which made Imlach's playing on the (six-string) guitar easier. After some Imlach LPs that were a little over-produced in recent years, we thought a sparingly orchestrated LP with Hamish was advisable. Because AUTOGRAM produces without the commercial constraint of mass sales. On the other hand, Imlach is an unmistakable, expressive folk singer and not just the joker on duty, as the unstoppable music business often quickly labels him. Imlach always shows depth. Almost everything is taken care of with a wink, even the selection of the repertoire for this LP. Much of the melodies are based on Scottish dances.

His old LPs were on the market for up to 10 years, which speaks for the longevity of his artistry. Since these LPs are getting more and more difficult to obtain, there are also some old, well-known Imlach numbers on this LP. However, their musical arrangement is fundamentally different, so that even the die-hard Imlach collectors hold a completely new Imlach LP in their hands.