RECORDINGS 

AVAILABLE AT CD BABY

Of Rogues and Lovers

"Of Rogues and Lovers", released in 2002,  contains nine traditional ballads and two songs by Andrew Connell.  This album was produced in two different steps.  First, i worked up the songs and got together with guitarist Tomas Salcedo (my son!).  Tomas helped work out the arrangements, and we recorded the vocals and guitar in a studio here in Virginia.  I then took this rough mix to Northern Ireland, where Chris Caldwell (bodhran), Brendan Monahan (whistle and bones) and Stevie Mulholland (fiddle, mandolin) added their accompaniment.  Click here to read a review in "The Rambles" on-line magazine.  The album is available at www.chivalry.com and at CD Baby, where you can also download individual tracks.

You can read about the songs and listen to some soundclips below:

 Glenlogie (Bonnie Jean O'Bethelnie) - This Scottish song is well over 300 years old, but the willfulness of teenaged girls hasn't changed!  I love the image of spoiled little Jeannie Gordon "trippin' doon the stair", setting her eye on the handsome (but spoken for!) Glenlogie, throwing a temper tantrum and sassing her worried father, then manipulating the hapless Glenlogie into marrying her!

The Golden Vanity - There are many versions of this ballad, in which a ship's captain promises a reward to the cabin boy in return for his help in sinking an enemy ship, then leaves him in the sea to drown when the dangerous job is done.  The captain mentioned is generally thought to be Sir Walter Raleigh.

As I Roved Out - As in most of the ballads with this theme - trooper meets maid and a seduction ensues - it turns out badly for the maid!

If I Were a Blackbird - In this song, a woman thinks of her sweetheart who has gone to sea.  I see the blackbird as the woman's soul, which she projects in her imagination to her faraway lover.

The Newry Highwayman - An Irish song done to a traditional South American style guitar arrangement - it reminds me of another famous highwayman who robbed the rich and gave to the poor - ZORRO!

The Snows They Melt the Soonest - The enigmatic words, at times taunting and defiant, at times wistful and melancholy, combined with a hauntingly beautiful melody, make this song one of my favorites

The Humours of the King of Ballyhooley - A lighthearted Irish song about a bootlegger's courtship and (hasty) wedding.

Crazy Kate (The Elf King's Reel (A.Connell) - Kate is not crazy, she is what would have been called in the old days "pixie led".  The legends warn of the dangers of human contact with supernatural beings such as elves and fairies....

Swan Song (A.Connell) - The pointless killing of a swan on Ladyton Loch in Galston, East Ayreshire, Scotland, sent waves of shock and outrage through the town.  The swan was trusting and had no fear of men.  As a commentary on senseless violence, this song is all too relevant to modern society.

The Four Marys - This dark ballad about a lady-in-waiting to Mary Queen of Scots, who was seduced, became pregnant, and in desperation killed her baby is surely one of the most troubling.  "Last night there were four Marys....tonight there'll be but three...."

Mattie Groves - This lurid (but immensely entertaining) tale of adultery and revenge has appeared throughout England, Ireland and Scotland - all the way to the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.  The story is timeless and would make prime fodder for any modern tabloid newspaper!