New Developments: New Attitudes
When Rounder Records of Mass. U. S. arrived on the scene in the mid-seventies they had completed their research and were knowledgeable of past efforts. Rounder realized that they could only persuade fiddlers to record by offering them something different. Rounder did not wish to repeat the approach by labels such as Decca and Columbia and especially Celtic. They recognized that they would not be able to lure those who had made the earlier recordings without some assurance that there would not be a repeat of the past. And those experiences were common knowledge among the community of fiddlers in Cape Breton. Perhaps more importantly to Rounder was their interest in certain fiddlers who had never recorded and were very much as popular as those who had.
The Beatons of Mabou
(front and back sleeve)
So, the Rounder people set out to encourage select fiddlers to record their music. Among Rounder's gems is the first recording ever of Cape Breton's "The Beatons of Mabou" (Rounder Records 7011). The recording features the music of Donald Angus Beaton and his wife Elizabeth together with their sons Joseph and Kinnon. Donald Angus was in retirement age when he recorded the LP in 1977. The liner notes by Rev. Hugh A. Macdonald provide an in-depth presentation about the music. Donald Angus Beaton's followers in Cape Breton, in other parts of Canada, in the U.S. and in Scotland were delighted with the outcome of the recording. It features, in a professional and dignified manner, one of the most prolific traditional performers and composers of the music for the wider community to add to their collection of Cape Breton fiddler music.
The intervention by Rounder came with a "back drop" of several positive experiences by the local fiddlers who were consistently invited to do recordings for CBC radio and television in the early to mid seventies. Certain practices and procedures as well as "personable" personnel at CBC helped the fiddler return to the studio and regain a level or trust and satisfaction. The material recorded by CBC was subject to strict regulations with regard to airtime. The recording sessions were more of a collaborative process and were often re-played for the fiddler for final approval before going to air; and duplication and copyright laws prevailed. These all helped to encourage the fiddler to acquire a renewed sense of trust and confidence. To help set the stage, the industry and as well as more people among the wider public were beginning to rediscover the musical genius among the Cape Breton fiddlers and their appeared a renewed interest in the fiddlers' music in the U.S, in Canada, in Scotland, and in Ireland.
How was Rounder's approach different? Rounder would introduce the "entrepreneurial spirit" with respect to recording. This philosophy would be maintained even to the present day among the fiddlers who started with Rounder and eventually discovered new and innovative ways and techniques to engage the "business" of recording their music and maintain almost complete control of the process.
Mark Wilson, a "Rounder Record" producer personally approached several fiddlers and encouraged them to record their music. Wilson's approach was simply to persuade the artists to "record" with Rounder and explained that all other details like the marketing, the distribution and even the liner notes would be co-controlled by Rounder and the artist (s). Rounder Records also allowed the artist to review the music material after the mix had been completed. This was a new feature in the process as far as the Cape Breton fiddler was concerned. The fiddlers would now be in a position to decide whether they wanted to take that final step and actually begin the pressing process leading to the production of the record. This was clearly not the practice in the earlier efforts to record the music of the Cape Breton fiddler.
The fiddlers were encouraged to submit "camera copy" information for liner notes, which would now become a feature of the recordings issued through Rounder Records. This provided the fiddlers the opportunity to publicly recognize their mentors, their family, their family genealogy, and their communities as well and the many local composers whose music was so integral to the uniqueness of the music of the Cape Breton fiddlers. These matters were extremely important to the local fiddlers. Rounder's approach also gave an opportunity to identify the many great collections of music from which the fiddlers extrapolated their tunes including those composed by Scotland's Hunter, Gow, Marshal and Skinner. Great collections like the Skye, the Atholl and the Kerr's were among the prize possessions of these fiddlers and they were eager to proclaim this fact. The names Dan R. MacDonald and Dan Hughie MacEachern two of Cape Breton's greatest composers were to become etched in the liner notes of just about every fiddle recording released since 1975. The fiddlers often turned to a friend or family member with good writing skills to prepare the liner notes. The information was to be accurate and complete. In the event that the information was prepared by a Rounder representative, it was always "returned" to the artist for "proof reading".
Joseph Cormier (front and
liner notes - full detail)
An excellent example of this feature is in Rounder's first recording of a Cape Breton fiddler. The recording by Cheticamp native Joe Cormier who's LP (Rounder Record 7001) consists of three sleeves of detailed information and photos about the music and its origins, the performers and Joe's mentors. The information introduces family and his "native" Acadian community in a very "tasteful" and informative manner. Joe Cormier's account of his music is an excellent source of information to help understand the nature and importance of the music to the Cape Breton fiddler and the wider community. The information adds to the importance and value of the recording. Joe Cormier has lived in Boston since the early 60's. He recorded his LP in Boston in 1974 but clearly Cheticamp is still home. The same format applies to the recording by John Campbell, his first in 1976, whose father Dan J. had released a 78 on the Decca label in 1936. John's LP in contrast to his father's 78's provide a treasure of information about John and his music as well as his father's music.
The corner stone feature of the Rounder Record approach was to offer the fiddler the opportunity to "purchase" the final product completely packaged for sale in units of a thousand (1000) and, subsequently, in units of five hundred (500), following the initial pressing. The result was the fiddler receiving a manageable supply according to an equally manageable budget and, by actually taking the final product to their different performance venues and local retail stores and selling the records thus, they could realize a significant share of the financial return. In most cases, the exercise involved the entire family in the merchandising process at concerts, dances, conventions and even weddings and house ceilidhs. A modest but viable industry, which had missed opportunities on an earlier occasion, was about to take off. The fiddlers were now able to realize significant control over the process and directly benefit from their efforts.
78s Re-Issued on Vinyl
But interestingly enough, among their most competitive variables were those earlier recordings, the LP's and the 78's, which were now converted to vinyl, were continually re-issued by those who controlled the old Celtic label and continue to this day. Now these same recordings were to appear in the new cassette format throughout the eighties thus opening new commercial opportunities. Still the local fiddlers featured on these recordings continue not to receive their share of the returns. The photos of Citadel Hill and Peggy's Cove and incomplete information about the artist and their music still prevail, as was the case among those earlier recordings.