Singers and Songs of Canada is a compilation box of three CD's offers more from the Samuel Gesser collection--Canadian folk music collected originally for Folkways Records. This collection is part of the Folksong Portrait of Canada series and is a more listenable collection than the original box set. The selections are from popular Canadian recording artists of the 50's and 60's: singers such as Alan Mills, Hélène Baillargeon, Wade Hemsworth, Jacques Labrecque, Tom Kines, Karen James and Stanley G. Triggs. Given that these recordings have long been out of print, this is an important release for anyone amassing a good Canadian folk collection that includes historical material. Highly recommended.

Singers and Songs of Canada / Canada Chanteurs et Chansons *
1996 Mercury (769 748 001-2)

CD1: She's Like the Swallow (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Mary-Anne (James, Karen); The Bride's Lament (Hemsworth, Wade); Au chant de l'alouette (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Down by the Fair River (Kines, Tom); Little Maggie (Hall, Barry); À la claire fontaine (Labrecque, Jacques); But Black is the Colour (James, Karen; Weldon, Peter); Brown Eyes (Triggs, Stanley G.); Peggy Gordon (Mills, Alan); Monday Morning (James, Karen); Pretty Polly Perkins of Paddington Green (Lamb, Derek); The Gypsy Laddie (James, Karen); Marie-Madeleine (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Aidal O'Boys (Hemsworth, Wade); Foolish Old Man (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Captain Wedderburn's Courtship (James, Karen); Lady Margaret (Hall, Barry); Citadel Hill (Mills, Alan); En revenant des noces (Labrecque, Jacques); The Ghost Lover (James, Karen); The Banks of Roses (Kines, Tom); Sur la route de Dijon (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Morning Dew (James, Karen); Mushana Fol the Day (Kines, Tom); J'entends le moulin (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Lady Isabel (Mills, Alan) 68:50

CD2: Botany Bay (Lamb, Derek); The Golden Vanity (Mills, Alan;Fleming, Gordon); Le Roy Loys (Labrecque, Jacques); Tenaouich' Tenaga, Ouich'ka (Mills, Alan); Barsted King of England (Lamb, Derek;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); Sir Stagamore (Samuels, Art;Montréal Youth Singers); Lady Gay (Hall, Barry); Sweeny Todd the Barber (Lamb, Derek;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); The Old Baby Farmer (Lamb, Derek); La prisonnière à la tour (Labrecque, Jacques); Boney Was a Warrior (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert;Shanty Men); Daniel O'Connell (Kines, Tom); Do It No More (Lamb, Derek); À Saint-Malo, beau port de mer (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Brave Wolfe (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Ryans and the Pitmans (James, Karen;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); The Chesapeake and the Shannon (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert;Shanty Men); The Battle of Queenston Heights (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Peter Emberly (Hemsworth, Wade); The Ballad of Alan Rose (James, Karen); The Jam at Gerry's Rock (Hemsworth, Wade); Santy Anna (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert;Shanty Men); It's the Same All Over (Samuels, Art;Montréal Youth Singers); Battle Hymn of the Republicans--1960 (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Maple Leaf Forever (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert) 64:43

CD3: Taking Gair in the Night (James, Karen;Weldon, Peter); Partons! La mer est belle! (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Grand Hotel (Triggs, Stanley G.); Ye Girls of Old Ontario (Hemsworth, Wade); Lots o' Fish in Bonavist' Harbour (Mills, Alan;Carignan, Jean;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Home Sick Trapper (Triggs, Stanley G.); Molly Malone (James, Karen); Monsieur le Curé (Labrecque, Jacques); Où vas-tu, mon petit garçon? (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Hole in the Elephant's Bottom (Lamb, Derek;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); Brennan on the Moor (Kines, Tom); The House of the Rising Sun (James, Karen;Weldon, Peter); Kettle Valley Line (Triggs, Stanley G.); Avoins (Labrecque, Jacques); Cod Liver Oil (Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Oh Doctor (Samuels, Art); Tim Finnegan's Wake (Kines, Tom); The Money Rolls In (Lamb, Derek;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); Wing-Tra-La (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan); Nous vid'rons la bouteille (Labrecque, Jacques); Harrah, Lie! (James, Karen;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack); The Carrion Crow (James, Karen); J'ai tant dansé! (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); The Wild Irishman (Kines, Tom); La plume qui s'envole au vent (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Road to Grand'mère (Samuels, Art;Montréal Youth Singers); Au bois du rossignolet (Labrecque, Jacques); I Went to the Market (Baillargeon, Hélène;Mills, Alan;Lacombe, Gilbert); Roll-Tiddly-Ole (Lamb, Derek;Weldon, Peter;Nissenson, Jack) 61:32