The McCalmans
No Strings Attached
1971 — RCA International INTS 1340 LP
Side One
The Women Are A' Gone Wud
The Weaving Song
A Carrion Crow
A Kangaroo
Rise and Follow Charlie
The Chief's return From War
Side Two
Windmills
The Tailor
Busk, Busk Far Fairer She
The Execution of Montrose
Veronica
Credits
Derek Moffat: vocals, guitar
Ian McCalman: vocals, guitar
Hamish Bayne: vocals, mandolin, whistle, concertina, organ
with Rick Nickerson: bass guitar
Recorded Edinburgh. August, 1971
Producer: Pete Kerr
Cover Picture: Ian McCalman
Sleeve Notes
Most of the extreme superlatives are found on the backs of album covers. I don't want to fall into the superlatives trap, but I'd like to suggest that this, our fourth and best L.P., is on the right side of mediocre.
The Group: Derek Moffat (middle cover and right stereo) sings and plays guitar a bit.
Ian McCalman (left cover and left stereo) sings and plays guitar a bit.
Hamish Bayne (right cover and centre stereo) plays mandolin, whistle, concertina and organ…and sings a bit.
Material: It's 90% Scottish Traditional, gleaned from unsuspecting
libraries and "second-hand" bookshops.
Thanks are due to Sarah Grey for supplying the words to "A Kangaroo" which is the Ontario version of "A Carrion Crow". Thanks too to Alan Bell of "The Blackpool Taverners" for allowing us to attempt his song, "Windmills".
Session Men: As this is an "all our own work" album, we have only one extra musician to thank. This one "extra" came in the incredible shape of Rick Nickerson of "Rankin File", who played a sympathetic bass guitar on most of the songs. Just try to spot his deliberate mistake on the song that has more than three chords!
Survivors: The list of survivors includes: —
1. Pete Kerr, by whom we were produced.
He must be a very proud man?!
2. Robert Sibbald, the knobs man.
Well knobbed, Rob.
3. Me.
That just about concludes the notes, so to borrow loosely from the best "superlative" sleeve notes, — light up a cigarette, roll back the carpet, turn the lights down low, open a bottle of wine, rest your feet on the ceiling, take your teeth out…and fall asleep. But have the common sense to keep the volume high, because your neighbours may like us better than you do.
Ian McCalman.
Alternate releases
No Strings Attached: 1977 — RCA PL 25086 LP