A Backward Glance: What Happened to Your Early Recordings?

Amazingly, 2017 was the 30th anniversary of Crosscurrents Music, so some of you devoted fans have been loyal for over half my life. Every now and then someone tracks me down to ask where they can buy my CDs or order online. 

Back in 2015, I did a lot of prep toward reissuing my backlist for the 2017 anniversary. The Oasis upload process made me realize that in my callow youth, I recorded an embarrassing number of cover tracks without permission. My only excuses are that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, that I thought of myself back then as a heritage interpreter and not a recording artist, and that my early albums were actually issued before the 1990 invention of the WorldWide Web (!), when awareness of copyright and intellectual property was not what it is today. Fortunately, the press runs were small (500 copies), so if you still have one, they're a collector's item.

I am now committed to recording only traditional/public domain and original material, with a few exceptions for local songwriting friends who have generously given me their written permission to cover and share their excellent songs.

I have also renewed the efforts I've made over the years to track down copyright holders and pay mechanical licensing fees. I hope that any songwriters I have not reached will contact me at lynnoel@lynnoel.com to receive prompt payment.

For the 30th anniversary, I have refreshed and reissued A Woman's Way with all original and public domain material. You'll find some old favorites and some new tracks here on CDBaby. Once this first re-release sells 100 copies, I can release another! Please order online. 

A Woman's Way also has a new standalone website with deep background material on each of these no-longer-unsung heroines. 

Some of you proudly tell me that you still treasure your threadbare cassette of Crosscurrents (1987) or Going Upriver (1988), or you've worn it out or lost it and want a new one. For you, I can offer several new playlists of public domain and original songs that are currently free to stream on SoundCloud. 

Gulf of Saint Lawrence contains all the traditional material from Crosscurrents, plus some favorite new Franco releases from its companion 1987 program L'Acadie. While this is otherwise a traditional playlist, there are two original pieces. Winnebago Dream is an old favorite from Gros Morne days, when the title poem Gulf of Saint Lawrence was written. Visit the Gulf of Saint Lawrence program page to book a live performance and link to the playlist.

Going Upriver is no longer available as a recording or live performance. Two new branches support current touring programs.

C'est l'Aviron contains the voyageur songs of the fur trade from Going Upriver. This is now a companion concert to my living history roleplay of Lisette's Journey, first developed during the 1988 Going Upriver tour. Visit the standalone Lisette's Journey blog to read about the fascinating life of fur trader Lisette Laval Harmon, who crossed the continent by canoe in 1819 from British Columbia to Vermont. Visit the C'est L'Aviron program page to book a live performance and link to the playlist.

Voice of the River contains the remaining original and traditional material from Going Upriver, as well as more recent river songs suitable for Earth Day and environmental festivals and local watershed organizations. Visit the Voice of the River program page to book a live performance, or jump straight to the playlist.

I am still working on the review and upload process for releasable tracks from The Last Sheaf with Mark Fulton and Rebecca Finster, and the demo recording of Lingua Franca with Liz Lewis, the late Ed Softky, and Alan Field. When those are up on SoundCloud, I'll update this blog post and post links on Facebook.

Thanks to all of you who have supported my music for all these years. Crosscurrents Music has a new look for 2018, and I am actively booking for the 2018-2019 season. Hope you'll come check out the website or follow me on Facebook to see what's new.