Third Time Around - Bill Staines

Third Time Around
by Bill Staines
Catfish Records
1973

If "A Bag of Rainbows" is the Holy Grail of Bill Staines albums, this one is the Life of Brian, if you will. It's been a long time looking for "Third Time Around." The condition is not bad, and overall this one and "Somebody Blue" sound pretty good, considering my turntable is on its last legs and is not long for the world.

This is not his third album. It's his fourth. The one (the only one) I'm missing is "Bill Staines," his self-titled album on Evolution Records from 1971. Here, two years later, Staines has matured into the sound that we are most familiar with. His voice occupies that fine mid-range, and his guitar work and songwriting seem more confident and in-step with his subsequent body of work.

There are some great tracks on this record. I particuarly enjoy "Sunshine Islands" and the ultra-rare "Staines Trumpet Concerto in E," the latter of which he wasn't terribly pleased with, and subsequently has never appeared again anywhere. It's a mouth trumpet concerto, you see. The final track "Ballad of the Maples" is also a good one, in that it showcases his considerable yodeling tallent. The guy wasn't a champion yodeler for nothing, although you don't here him doing it much these days. I think it's probably his only yodel showcase on any of his albums.

Tracks
1. Sunshine Islands
2. That's the Way it Happens All the Time
3. This Song is For the Birds
4. Whipporwill
5. Staines' Trumpet Concerto in E
6. I can Feel the Sweet Wind Blowin'
7. Railroad Blues
8. Loving You is All I know That's Real
9. Just for Love (a Race Horse)
10. Ballad of the Maples

Download Album Here

Somebody Blue - Bill Staines

Somebody Blue
by Bill Staines
Champlain Records
1967

Bill's second album, recorded in Massachusetts not long after "A Bag of Rainbows." You can see his solo technique developing and already he has his trademark gift for simple engaging melody. There's more info about this album in his memoir but I don't have my copy with me. Will update in a few months when I have it again, to fill in the whole story of how the record came to be.

I particuarly enjoy "Country Boy" and "That's the Way it Happens All the Time," which also appears on his fourth album.

Tracks
1. Happiness Is
2. Highway North
3. Prairie Winds
4. Country Boy
5. Somebody Blue
6. Campbell Street
7. That's the Way it Happens All the Time
8. Once in a While
9. Magnificent Morning
10. Liliana
11. Blue Eyed Mountain Maid

Download Here

a bag of rainbows - Bill Staines 1966

a bag of rainbows
Heritage Records 1966
John Synnott
Bill & Renee

In the world of folk music, there are few as legendary as Bill Staines. Perhaps the last and greatest of America's true troubadours, he ceaselessly tours the country, driving thousands of miles a year. He's written and recorded a massive body of work, including modern classics such as "The Roseville Fair," "A Place In the Choir," "River," and "Hauling In the Wood."

Staines got his start with this record - a private release, purported to only be 200 copies total. He came out of the folk revival of Cambridge, MA, where he grew to be a local legend by playing at venues such as The Sword in the Stone and Club 47, which later became Club Passim. At some point early on, he paired up with Renee, and recorded this album as the duo "Bill and Renee" along with John Synnott. It's a rare glimpse at the early career of a master songwriter. The work on the album is divided in roughly three equal parts, with the songwriting falling more heavily to Synnott. Staines has only two originals on this album, but you can already see his lyrical gifts coming into play. The cadence, the rural imagery, the gentle irony, are all Staines trademarks.

This album is ridiculously rare, probably the hardest to find in the Staines discography. That alone makes it a coveted collector's item. I don't want to overemphasize his role, however. He is only a third of this record - the rest belong to the mysterious John Synnott and Renee Goodwin. I've never come across anything else by Synnott, and his name produces no hits in google that can trace back to other albums or songs. I've heard that he now lives in Cape Cod with his wife, dealing Eskimo art. Renee is still around, playing mostly in Maine where I assume she probably lives. She and her performing partner released an album last year. One of the songs, "Midway" is credited to another performer of this era, a man named Paul MacNeil. Paul was an active member of the Cambridge folk scene, who released one album called "If it Rains." I haven't heard it myself, but he seems to have been a very respected songwriter, and was covered by Bill Staines more than once, and also by Chris Smither. On this record, he is credited as "Paul McNeil," but this is a typo. It should be MacNeil. Apparently he now lives in the Philippines and still makes music. He is NOT the same guy as "Paul McNeill," who was a British folksinger, early friend of Paul Simon, and at one time was in a duo with Linda Thompson. I was somewhat confused who was who by the spelling error on the Bag of Rainbows credits. Stay tuned for a post with Paul MCNeill's final album, "Children of the Storm."

I wonder at the story of this album - how they came together, if these three ever stayed in touch, what caused them to drift apart? It seems like such a fragile moment in time, and yet they each played an important part. The songs are good, but not revolutionary. In a way, it's better that way. It's the perfect glimpse at a turning point in folk music history, the moment where traditional songs of the past met the new urban songwriter, and began to apply those warm aesthetics to contemporary issues and stories. It is the moment where folk music had to decide whether to always look back, or look forward to create a new body of work that spoke to a generation's awakening. Some of the people who took part in this community decided to only look back, and became the traditionalists. Others chose to abandon the past and became the modern singer-songwriters. The best learned the lessons from both paths.

The link below is to a zip file containing the digitized album, with photos of the front and back, and a rough transcription of the liner notes by Linda Kalver, the credits, and lyrics to the songs. All work is (C) the respective authors and no infringement is intended. This is only on here because it is an important album to listen to, and there is no doubt that it will never be made available commercially again. Please support the artists. Folk musicians do not make a lot of royalties, and survive only through our direct support.

Tracks

1. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
2. That's the Way It Happens All the Time
3. Midway
4. Manuel
5. Spanish is a Loving Tongue
6. Wreck of the Old 97
7. It Don't Matter Now
8. Railroad Boy
9. Ten Rivers
10. Empty Blues
11. The Words You Had to Say
12. Rainbow Child

Download A Bag of Rainbows here

Renee Goodwin's Web Site

Bill Staines Official Site