Tune ID/Confirmation of inherent suspicion about 1920s/30srecording

A little query: I’ve come quite a nice recording of a couple of reels, and I’d like someone to confirm my suspicion that what is masquerading as a never-recorded, never-notated reel is in fact a primitive version of a far more well-known reel

Here’s said recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yTKuTHRenw

play video

Reel 1 is purportedly called “On the Road to the Fair”; from an old recording of the Flanagan Brothers; they put it on a few albums with their jew’s harp version. They follow it with “Miss McLeod’s Reel” as far as I can make out.

I’m just wondering if anyone else hears the similarity in Reel 1 to “My Love is in America” (https://thesession.org/tunes/77), and can confirm that it is indeed that, or point me to recordings of “My Love is in America” that have a similar simplified second part and could point to a specific regional or stylistic variation. Given it’s on jew’s harp, I can’t imagine it’s anything more than a stylistic change to accommodate a very simple instrument, but I wanted to run it by the hivemind first before concluding.

Thanks in advance!

Hmmmm. Well I hear three tunes in there. I can’t really say I hear Miss Mcleod’s anywhere. The third and last tune is the Fermoy Lasses.

First tune sounds American. With the brothers being based (mostly) in the northeast United States and considering the time period it wouldn’t unheard of for one music style to influence the other and vice versa.

I’d also say I don’t hear the similarities to ’My Love is in America".

Can’t help much more than that but On the Road to the Fair was on Wheels of the World Volume 1 many years ago.

And for my two cents - never recorded/never notated is pretty hard to say. there are thousands and thousands of notated Irish tunes out there (not including anything American) so unless you’ve gone through all of them you can’t know. Names for a tune is also not a very accurate way to decide whether something exist (or existed) as the names can change through time and through geographical regions.

The first tune sounds a lot like Miss Thornton’s, especially the B part.
The second is definitely Miss McLeod’s.

couldn’t make head nor tail of the jaw harp selection! the first of the banjo/accordion tunes sounded like a version of ‘Miss Monaghan’ - I’d agree the last one is Fermoy Lasses. I didn’t hear Miss McLeods in there either, malik

The first part of the first jew’s harp tune I’d say is “Miss Monaghan”. I’m inclined to agree with “Thady Quill” as to the 2nd part being from “Miss Thornton”.
2nd tune starts at 1.33 - I can’t hear a tune in there at all. I suppose it could be “Mrs McLeod’s”, but it could be just about anything.
The first tune with banjo sounds to me like “Farewell To Erin”*, the 2-part reel in “D”, recorded on the first “De Dannan” record, and also on Frankie Gavin’s flute album “Croch Suas E”, where he calls it “The Leitrim Thrush” [ * NB - NOT the 4-part “Farewell To Ireland”].
“Fermoy Lasses” comes in at 5 mins.

I just listened to the 2nd jews harp tune again and now I think it is Miss McLeods - its not helped by the guitar
just riffing the same chords over and over regardless of the melody [such as it is]

I see how the B part of the second tune mainly fits Miss McLeods but the end of both parts doesn’t sound right to me.

I did a search for ‘Flanagan Brothers“ and ”Miss Mcleod’s“ to see if there was a recording with a melody instrument. It throws up a Google books link to ”The Jews-Harp in Britain and Ireland“ and previews page 179 starting ”Brothers recordings of ’On the Road to the Fair‘ and “Mis McLeod’s Reel’ , with Joe Flanagan on jews-harp playing in a melodic style.” Page 178 is not previewed.

Well, listening to it now when I haven’t had 4 or 5 pints in me the second tune is indeed Miss McLeod though you really need to be looking for it and have to try to block the repetitive guitar otherwise it just sounds like random noodling.

And I meant the 4th tune is Fermoy Lasses not the 3rd.