THE LONG RUNNERS – On The Run (WildGoose Records WGS447CD)

On The RunAt the turn of the 20th century, in the fashionable salons of New York and Boston, fashionable things were happening. Meanwhile the working folks of the southern states were getting their rocks off to a different kind of music – an amalgam of everything that had gone before and would eventually arrive at skiffle. That’s where On The Run comes in. The Long Runners is a new name but its constituent parts are well known. Led by Dave Arthur of Rattle On The Stovepipe who co-opted Dan Stewart from the same band and Eddie Armer from The Lonnigans – three vocalist/multi-instrumentalists – joined by John Armer and, on the final track, Derek Mason.

They begin with ‘Black Bottom Blues’, a song with more antecedents than are strictly necessary and packed with floaters that you’ve heard many times before. It sets the scene perfectly – not always serious but treated seriously and respectfully. They follow that with the Appalachian tune ‘Cluck Old Hen’ – essentially a dance tune with minimal lyrics – and ‘Josie-O’, a tribute to the southern string bands.

Between them, The Long Runners can muster three guitars, two banjos, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, tea-chest bass (why not?), brass and assorted percussion so the first two tracks feature banjo and mouth-harp while ‘Josie-O’ is given a denser soundscape with fiddle and harp sharing the top line. ‘Walk On Boy’ comes from Doc Watson although it was written by Mel Tillis and Wayne Walker with a reference to ‘John Henry’ and is one of the few songs here that can pin down its authorship with any certainty. The Memphis Jug Band first recorded ‘K.C.Moan’ in 1930 and the chaps thought better of messing around with it and quite right too – it rolls along beautifully.

‘Go Down Old Hannah’ was assembled by Dave Arthur from prison farm verses; ‘Black Dog Blues’ comes from Bayless Rose while ‘Long Lost John’ is the story of a prison escapee. Dear Companion’, sometimes called ‘Go And Leave Me If You Wish To’ was a popular song on both sides of the Atlantic and ‘The Coo-Coo’ crossed the pond and stayed there. ‘Peg Leg Sam, The Medicine Show Man’ incorporates actual recordings of Sam and the Medicine Show man, Chief Thundercloud (possibly not his real name). It’s about as real as you can get.

‘John Hardy’ needs no introduction and ‘Black Eye Blues’ is from Ma Rainey. Finally, On The Run closes with a live madcap burst through ‘Goodnight Irene’. Forget the standard languid ¾ version that can become a dirge, The Long Runners’ crank up the speed and get through it in a minute.

On The Run is a whole heap of fun and if you’ll go to your grave with a Mississippi Sheiks album clutched to your breast this is for you.

Dai Jeffries

 Label website: www.wildgoose.co.uk

The chaps’ other band, Rattle On The Stovepipe, play ‘Black Bottom Blues’ live. It’s as close as we can get:

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