The Shaw Brothers   •   Collection

• Collection
  • 1986 - Folk Era FE2041CD CD (USA)

• Track List:
  1. I'll Be Alright (Gordon Lightfoot)
  2. Farewell to Carlingford (Tommy Makem)
  3. Two Little Boys (R. & R. Shaw)
  4. Cody (John Stewart)
  5. Alfalfalfal Talk (R. & R. Shaw)
  6. Hot Crawfish (Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr & Frank Miller)
  7. Seven Daffodils (Lee Hays)
  8. Who Speak for Me? (Tom Paxton)
  9. New Hampshire Naturally (Rick Shaw)
  10. The Ballad of the Concord Coach (Rick Shaw)
  11. Lucy, Come Ride in My Wagon (Ron Shaw)
  12. Take Some Time to Smell the Roses (Rick Shaw)
  13. Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoes (Tom Paxton)
  14. Lou'siana Young (Ron Shaw)
  15. The Girls of Amsterdam (Ron Shaw)
  16. Day the Tall Ships Came (Rick Shaw)

• The Shaw Brothers
  • Rick Shaw: Vocals & 6-String Guitar
  • Ron Shaw: Vocals, 5-String Banjo & 6-String Guitar

• Credits
  • Produced by Ron & Rick Shaw for Brandywine Productions
  • Digital Mastering at Northeastern Digital Recording, Shrewsbury. MA
  • Digital Engineer: Toby Mountain
  • Graphic Design: Ron's Art Unlimited, Nashua, NH
  • Color Separations: High Tech Color Inc., Nashua, NH
  • ®1986, Brandywine Productions
  • ©1986, Folk Era Productions, Inc.

Sleeve Notes

The songs in this collection were selected for two reasons. First, they are all good songs — interesting musically and lyrically. Second, they tell a story; not only individually but collectively. It is the story of Rick and Ron Shaw whose twenty-five-year musical odyssey has taken them around the world. The Shaw Brothers have sung their songs for millions of people from New Hampshire to Hong Kong and just about every port-of-call in between.

Rick and Ron chose the songs for this collection themselves. Some are original; others were written by persons the Brothers know and admire. Terry Gilkyson — who created "Hot Crawfish" — was a source of encouragement in the late 50's when the Shaws were taking their first professional steps in the biz. Tommy Makem — who taught them his "Farewell To Carlingford" — lives just a couple of miles down the road from Rick in New Hampshire. Tom Paxton, Gordon Lightfoot and John Stewart have contributed some fine material to the Brothers as well. As for their own compositions:

Ron: "Lucy, Come Ride In My Wagon" frames the picture painted by Rick's "The Ballad Of The Concord Coach". It's a true love story and the two songs compliment each other. "Lou'siana Young" is the tip of the hat to country music. "The Girls Of Amsterdam" pretty much speaks for itself. Anyone who has walked the cobble-stone streets in that magic city on a soft and sensuous spring night knows all there is to know about this song.

Rick: "New Hampshire Naturally" comes from the heart. Over the years people have asked us 'Why don't you write a song about your home state?' I finally got around to it. "Take Some Time To Smell The Roses" is about as straight-ahead as you could want. It was our father's philosophy and he instilled it in us. "The Day The Tall Ships Came" recalls the visit of the great ships to the ports of New York, Newport and Boston, in 1976, for our country's bicentennial. I was so moved I had to try to capture that moment as best I could.

So there you have it. We believe you will enjoy listening to The Shaw Brothers Collection. Here is variety, spice and life. All songs except "Hand Me Down My Jogging Shoes", "Lou'siana Young" and the fully-orchestrated cuts were recorded in New Hampshire. The latter were done in New York and London, England.

But no matter where these songs were recorded, they all have one thing in common, the moving sensitivity and talent of The Shaw Brothers.