The Johnstons   •   Give A Damn & Bitter Green

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  • Give A Damn & Bitter Green
    • 1997 - Castle Essential ESM CD 525 CD (UK)
  • Tracklist
    1. Give a Damn (Bob Dorough, Stuart Scharf)
    2. You Keep Going Your Way (Dave Cousins)
    3. Urge for Going (Joni Mitchell)
    4. Port of Amsterdam (Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman)
    5. Funny in a Sad, Sad Way (Shay Healy)
    6. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye (Leonard Cohen)
    7. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
    8. Julia (Jon Ledingham)
    9. Sweet Thames Flow Softly (Ewan MacColl)
    10. I Loved (Eric Blau, Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest, François Rauber, Mort Shuman)
    11. I Don't Mind the Rain on Monday (Bowen, Caroll)
    12. Walking Out on Foggy Mornings (Jon Ledingham)
    13. Jesus Was a Carpenter (Ewan MacColl)
    14. The Gypsy (Gordon Lightfoot)
    15. Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender (Trad. Arr. Johnston, Moloney, Brady)
    16. Fiddler's Green (Johnny Connolly)
    17. The Story of Isaac (Leonard Cohen)
    18. Bitter Green (Gordon Lightfoot)
    19. The Penny Wager (Trad. Arr. Johnston, Moloney, Brady)
    20. Marcie (Joni Mitchell)
    21. The Spanish Lady (Trad. Arr. Johnston, Moloney, Brady)
    22. The Streets of London (Ralph McTell)
  • The Johnstons
    • Adrienne Johnston: Vocals
    • Luci Johnston: Vocals [1-12]
    • Mick Moloney: Guitars, Tenor Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals
    • Paul Brady: Guitars, Dulcimer, Harmonica, Vocals
  • Musicians
    • Daryl Runswick: Bass
    • Clement Alford: Sitar [13]
    • Keith Bleasby: Percussion [13 & 17]
    • Paddy McEvoy: Whistle [19]
  • Credits
    • Producer: Nathan Joseph [1-21]
    • Recorded at Sound Technique Studios, August-November 1968 [1-21]
    • Engineer: John R. Wood [1-21]
    • Arranged by David G Palmer [1, 5, 10, 20] & Barry Booth [3, 7, 8, 11]
    • Producer: Richard Gottehrer [22]
  • Track Sources
    • Tracks: 1-12 are from Give A Damn (1968)
    • Tracks: 13-21 are from Bitter Green (1968)
      • Tracks omitted: 'The Kilfenora Jig' & 'Reels: The Fair-Haired Boy,Kiss The Maid Behind The Barrel, The Dawn'
    • Track: 22 is from (the single) Streets Of London & The Spanish Lady (1970)

Sleeve Notes

Give A Damn was The Johnstons' second album for Transatlantic and was released in 1968 just before The Barleycorn. Recorded by the original line-up of Luci and Adrienne Johnston, Mick Moloney and Paul Brady, the album features songs by leading writers of the day, including Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' and 'Urge For Going', Dave Cousins' 'You Keep Going Your Way', Jacques Brel and Mort Shuman's 'Port Of Amsterdam' and Leonard Cohen's 'Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye'. The songs are given orchestral arrangements by Barry Booth and David Palmer.

Bitter Green was released by Transatlantic in 1969 after Luci had left the group. The album features smaller scale arrangements of more contemporary material including two songs by Gordon Lightfoot (of which one, 'Bitter Green', lent the LP its title), Leonard Cohen's 'Story Of Isaac' and Joni Mitchell's 'Marcie', also arranged by David Palmer. Nine of the eleven songs on the original LP are included in this CD re-issue, which also includes a bonus track: The Johnstons' version of Ralph McTell's 'Streets Of London'.

This is the first time these two albums have been re-issued on CD.

Laurence Aston

Jesus Was A Carpenter — Also known as The Ballad Of Christ The Worker; Ewan MacColl's striking, vision of a Marxist Messiah. Mick takes the vocal lead.

The Gypsy — A whimsical glance at a fortune teller seen through the eyes of Gordon Lightfoot.

Lord Thomas And Fair Ellender — One of the greatest of all American tragic ballads, Paul was drawn to it through the singing of Mike and Peggy Seeger.

Fiddler's Green — An old sailor's dream of the after-life, written by John Connolly of Grimsby.

The Story Of Isaac — A far cry from some of the effete hackneyed anti-war standards. Leonard Cohen at his very best.

Bitter Green — A young woman emigrates from France to Canada and waits for her true love to join her. He arrives, alas, too late. Written by Gordon Lightfoot and based on actual occurrence.

The Penny Wager — Two con-men swindled by a "tidy young fella". The last verse would seem to indicate that his nocturnal activities weren't entirely confined to gambling!

Marcie — Joni Mitchell writes with delicate sensitivity of the life of a lonely girl.

The Spanish Lady — Lost love and lost youth. I suppose in everybody's life there's a Spanish lady. Add a rollicking chorus and you get this captivating Dublin street song.