Silent Recordings
Unpredictable Music for
Unreliable Times

Artists:

CODA
Prop
Telemetry Orchestra
Tracky Dax

Compilations:

Around The Block
Nocturnal Emissions
Silent Soundtracks
Sounds of Silent
This Show Is About People

Rouseabout Records
Keeping it Real

Artists:

Bondi Cigars
Cathie O'Sullivan
Colin Dryden
Creedence Clearwater Revisited
The Celebrated Knackers & Knockers Band
Donna Fisk and Michael Cristian
Eric Bogle
Fiddlers Feast
Gary Shearston
Gordon Lightfoot
Herb Superb
Johnny Wade
Jim Low
John Munro
Julie Wilson
Koori Classic
Kym Pitman
Marcus Holden
Mic Conway's National Junk Band
Ngarukuruwala
Nyalgodi Scotty Martin
Robyn Archer
Roger Knox
Russell Morris
The Newtown Rugby League Football Club Song
Warren Fahey & Luke Webb
Warren Fahey & Max Cullen (DEAD MEN TALKING)

Compilations:

Before the Boomerang Came Back
Down By The Billabong
The World Turned Upside-Down
Forte – Golden Fiddlers
Stand Up & Shout

Yesterday's Australia:

Barbara James
Bob Dyer
Bobby Limb
Buddy Williams
Dame Nellie Melba
Florence Austral
Frank Coughlan
John Brownlee
Johnny Ashcroft
Keith Branch & His South Sea Islanders

Percy Grainger
Reg Lindsay
Shirley Thoms
Smoky Dawson
Strella Wilson
Tex Morton
Tex Morton and Sister Dorrie
Warren Fahey's Diggers

Yesterday's Australia Compilations:

Australian Radio Serials
Australian Hillbilly Radio Hits
Australian Stars of the International Music Hall Voume 1
Australian Stars of the International Music Hall Voume 2
Band in a Waistcoat Pocket
Mastertouch Pianola
Strike up the Band
Stars of Australian Stage & Radio Vol 1
Stars of Australian Stage & Radio Vol 2

Yep! Records
Music Without Compromise

Artists:

Antenna
Jenny Morris
Michal Nicholas
The Lovetones
Saints of India
Screw the Pooch
sounditout
Southend
Spaceniks

The World Turned Upside-Down
Songs From The Australian Gold Rush Era
Warren Fahey & Luke Webb with Marcus Holden & Garry Steel

Australia has been blessed with minerals. It has been our saving grace and curse for centuries. The gold-rush of the mid-19th century changed Australia forever adding well-over a million people in just two decades. It was also important socially as the gold diggers forged an independent working spirit that became a major part of who we are as a people.

Today’s Australia is still mineral rich and, thankfully, it has helped us ride through the so-called Global Economic Crisis. We still battle with side issues of workplace relations, environmental sustainability, increasing reliance on partnerships with relatively new partners like China and India, and that age-old balance of who actually owns mineral wealth. It is important we know our mining history so we can properly establish where we are today, and where we should be headed.
There is no doubt that the discovery of gold at Ophir, near Bathurst, in 1851, set the entire colony of New South Wales into a tumble of excitement. Rich copper steams had already been discovered in South Australia and prospectors had been scratching and scraping all over the colonies and reporting traces of gold but here was the evidence that Australia had real golden valleys. Three years earlier the discovery of gold had radically changed California and now it was Australia’s turn to shine.

In 2013 cultural historian, Warren Fahey, published an ebook under the title of The World Turned Upside-Down and in this companion album wanted to show the influence of American minstrel music and parodies on our gold songs and folksong tradition. Minstrel music was extremely popular in Australia from the late 1840s and became particularly popular in the 1850s and 60s when several major American minstrel troupes, mostly blackface, toured extensively. Parody, including parodies based on minstrel songs like ‘Oh Susanna’, had wide circulation and were, understandably, an easy way to get a song to travel. You will also find some good honest doggerel but remember these sometimes awkward rhymes delighted many a lonely miner as he sat by the campfire at night.

Warren Fahey's Website

Warren Fahey &
Luke Webb with
Marcus Holden & Garry Steel

'The World Turned Upside-Down'
Catalogue Number RRR63

Buy     

 

Most of the songs in the collection come to us from anonymous writers however there are two exceptional contributors - Charles Thatcher, better known as ‘The Colonial Minstrel’and Joe Small, another well-known colonial singer and music publisher who used the non-de-plume of ‘George Chanson’.

The role of these ‘popular’ songwriters and music publishers cannot be underestimated for their songs definitely travelled far and wide. We are also fortunate that both identified the tunes to their songs. Other songs came from newspapers, magazine and the oral tradition - many have never been recorded before, especially the songs about the early New South Wales gold rush.

The music features Luke Webb, a young Sydney-based musician with an interest in American old-timey and bluegrass music. His singing, banjo, guitar and singing on this album helped to illustrate the American minstrel influences. Marcus Holden is a multi instrumentalist playing fiddle, mandolin, cello, guitar and keyboard. Garry Steel is an accordion virtuoso and pianist. His colourful playing of the upright piano  injected a sound that helped recreate the music of the goldfield hotels. Elsen Price is a highly talented, young bass player who happened to be passing by the studio one day and was roped into a session. Warren Fahey sings and plays concertina.

  • Gold is a major part of the Australian education syllabus in all states.
  • Companion album to the book of the same title which is already recommended reading for schools.
  • Warren Fahey is a regular on ABC Radio
  • Over 70 minutes of music
  • Comprehensive booklet notes.

Album Track Listing

  1. Our Fathers Came In Search For Gold
  2. Off To The Diggings
  3. The World Is Now Turned Upside Down
  4. The Rush To Glanmire
  5. Going To The Diggings
  6. With My Swag All On My Shoulder
  7. Jolly Puddlers
  8. Where's Your Licence?
  9. Coming Down The Flat
  10. The Nugget Family
  11. Fine Fat Saucy Chinaman
  12. Look Out Below
  13. The Maryborough Miner
  14. Dunn, Gilbert and Ben Hall
  15. The Bail Up At Eugowra Rocks
  16. Frank Gardiner He Is Caught At Last
  17. Mines of Australia
  18. Shipping Agents
  19. Pint Pot And Billy
  20. Sam Holt
  21. The Golden Gullies Of The Palmer
  22. A Thousand Miles Away
  23. The New Chum Chinaman
  24. The Miner
Artist Image Gallery
Click to use image viewer...

Press images are available for download
at the bottom of this page.

Press
What the Media have to Say...


Warren Fahey should be no stranger to Capital News readers for his informative writings and re-issues of some of our country music pioneers over the years. This CD will appeal to anyone who is deeply interested in where our brand of country music may have sprung from – who and what inspired the stories and the tunes that eventually formed rugged folk songs to bush ballads and even contemporary flavours. Focused around the many stories and songs that the Australian gold rushes inspired, presented in pretty close to the form that musos of the day would have played thanks to Luke Webb, Marcus Holden Garry Steel and Warren himself on the squeezebox. Many of these songs were essentially parodies based on American minstrelsy and as such many a familiar tune will be heard. Given these basics, it stands as an entity in its own right and as such should be required listening.

(Jon Wolfe, Capital News Dec 2014)

Capital News Review (PDF Format)


The discovery of gold in Australia made a significant impact on our history. It also generated a strong musical response. And it's from this creative lucky-dip of songs and poems that Warren Fahey has enthusiastically prized out a truly entertaining and informative representation for his latest CD release.

Included are some fine re-wordings of favourites like The Maryborough Miner, Jolly Puddlers and A Thousand Miles Away. Also highlighted are some gold songs relating to New South Wales (Off To The Diggings, The Rush To Glanmire, Going To The Diggings) and those songs very much influenced by American musical traditions (The World Is Now Turned Upside-Down, Shipping Agents).

To handle especially some of the latter, Warren has called on the very capable talents of Luke Webb who, along with his fine instrumental contributions, shares the vocals with Warren and Marcus Holden. Luke's voice works really well with Warren's comfortable, easy-going vocal style. The top quality, musical talents of Marcus Holden and Garry Steel again make valuable contributions to the very appropriate and appealing musical arrangements and overall sound.

Any educational institution worth its salt should not overlook the value of this CD as a great teaching resource. This attractively presented CD also comes with an informative set of notes about each song.

A fine, entertaining collection of Australian gold rush songs, The World Turned Upside-Down is well worth a listen and more.

(Jim Low, Simply Australia)


A very impressive collection on songs! It certainly appears a great deal of work has gone into this release.

(Raymond Phillips, Country Harvest)


Damned good!

(Tony Bates, 3MDR)


Thank you for sending me this latest CD of Warren Fahey’s. It’s his usual standard and has some great music.

(Bob Cady, Highland FM 107.1)


What a great album, will definitely get airplay on my shows.

(Tim Kingston, Hobart FM)


I love how this album has been put together. It’s a pleasure to lay back & listen to the stories within the songs.

(Tony Slinga’ Slingsby, 5GTR)


On first glance I admit I was wondering whether I'd be disappointed, because "Man Of The Earth" set the bar pretty high all those years ago for this general subject matter.  No such worries, thankfully.  This is a worthy grandchild of "MOTE" and deserves serious attention in its own right. A most impressive choice of material and a fine group of musicians in attendance as expected for one of Warren Fahey’s albums.  Luke Webb is certainly one to watch - lovely voice.  Marcus Holden must have been on a drip-feed of chamomile tea - he's almost subdued, by his standards.  How obscenely talented that man is, playing all those instruments, recording and engineering.  And he's a blonde!  It was nice to see Andy Busuttil involved with the mastering. 

I hope the days are gone when the Australian folk mafia would scowl and complain that 'popular' songs, minstrel songs and music hall material have no legitimate place in the sacred world of Australian Traditional Music. 

'The World Turned Upside-Down' is a fascinating album and I'll be happy to start playing tracks on my program.

(Bruce Cameron, Come All Ye, 2MCE)


If you are interested in Australian music from this era, this is an essential purchase.

(Chris Spencer, Trad&Now, July 2014)

Trad & Now Review (PDF Format)


WITH our sunburnt land currently being mined extensively, resurrection and collation of songs from Australia's gold rush era could be deemed timely. Songs informed by the diggings were a surprising omission from Warren Fahey's 2009 box set Australia: Folk Songs and Bush Verse. This album features the formidable multi-instrumental skills of Marcus Holden (fiddle, mandolin, cello, guitar and keyboard) and other of the Sydneysider's regular side players - most notably pianist Garry Steel, whose playing evokes the period beautifully. Vocalist Luke Webb's familiarity with old-time US music helps illustrate the influence of American minstrel ditties on Aussie gold rush songs. Tunes associated with Oh Susannah, Marching Through Georgia and Campdown Races, such as The Golden Gullies of the Palmer and Shipping Agents, are embellished with Webb's dulcet tones and banjo playing. Fahey's singing excels in the company of accordion in a brace of bushranger odes relating to Frank Gardiner. A quartet of wordy and sarcastic songs authored by self-styled "colonial minstrel" Charles Thatcher, are also highlights.

(Tony Hillier, The Weekend Australian, August 2014)

Weekend Australian Review (PDF Format)


Warren Fahey has done it again! Some time ago he released a CD of dances that delighted the nation’s early settlers, and now he has returned with a collection of folk songs from the days of the Australian goldrush, of the mid 1800s. These were incredibly hard days, with the more fortunate of them having horse drawn wagons to get them from one set of diggings to another, whilst the vast majority relied on, “shanks pony”, as their only means of transport, with their swag, and mining gear thrown across their backs, with their only reward the promise of the bright yellow stuff at the end of the rainbow. It’s hard to imagine any incentive to sing in these very harsh conditions, but sing they did, and it is some of these dittys that Warren Fahey has gathered together for this album. Twenty four tracks on board, some tracks like, “Our Fathers Came In Search Of Gold”, “Off To The Diggings”, “Going To The Diggings”, “The Miner”, and “The mines Of Australia” that point to what life was all about way back then. Songs like , “New Chum Chinaman”, and, “Fat Saucy Chinaman”, remind us of the oppression suffered by the Chinese miners in the days when racial discrimination was just a part of life, and also a couple of bushranger songs to illustrate that there were those who sought to make their fortune without working for it. There are others that are there purely because of the joy it gave the miners to sing them. The music on the CD is courtesy of Luke Webb who plays banjo, guitar, and also provides vocals, while Mark Holden plays fiddle, Cello, Mandolin, guitar and keyboard, Gary Steele chimes in with, accordion  and piano, with Elsen Price supplying the bass work.  Warren Fahey is also well to the fore, playing concertina, and also doing vocals. The melody lines are mostly original, although there are one or two that rely on Stephen Foster for more than inspiration. The title of the CD is, “The World Turned Upside Down” and runs for over 70 minutes, and takes us back to a time that we have only read of in history books. The mind boggles at the amount of time that must have been spent in researching these songs. There have been countless albums of popular Australian folk songs released over the years, but to my mind this is the first of songs from the goldrush era, and I think Warren Fahey deserves a special vote of thanks for keeping this music alive.

(Burt Everett, Country Pickin’s)


The discovery of gold in Australia made a significant impact on our history. It also generated a strong musical response. And it's from this creative lucky-dip of songs and poems that Warren Fahey has enthusiastically prized out a truly entertaining and informative representation for his latest CD release.
Any educational institution worth its salt should not overlook the value of this CD as a great teaching resource.
A fine, entertaining collection of Australian gold rush songs, The World Turned Upside-Down is well worth a listen and more.

(Jim Low, Simply Australia)

Check out the full review


The album arrived and I am still buried in it. I have always enjoyed Warren’s work – he is our Australian musical historian.

(Wally Sparrow, Radio Adelaide)