CD REVIEWS FOR SEPTEMBER 2007
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
OLD BLIND DOGS
Four On The Floor
Fifteen years is a long time in the life of any band and most who reach that milestone are content to rest on the tried and true formulas that have worked in the past. Not so for Scotland's Old Blind Dogs, whose newly released Four On The Floor takes them bravely in new directions.
It's a few years ago now that I saw the Old Blind Dogs when they performed at the WISE Hall in Vancouver for the Rogue Folk Club. Since then there have been some line-up changes to the extent that the only original member still with the band is Johnny Hardie, (fiddle, guitar and vocals).
But the Dogs' popularity has never dimmed. And the new foursome of Hardie; Aaron Jones (bass, bouzouki, guitar and vocals); Rory Campbell Border (reel pipes, whistles and vocals); and Fraser Stone (drums and percussion) have proved more than capable of carrying-on the tradition of the band.
Four On The Floor (their tenth release and the first as a quartet) their energetic mix of soaring fiddle music and stirring pipes, punctuated with the pulse of djembe and congo, has audiences dancing in the aisles.
The Dogs tour the globe from intimate clubs to international festivals, including performances before England's Prince Charles, a confirmed fan.
Recorded on the Compass Label there are 12 tracks on Four On The Floor, including; Terror Time; Harris Dance; Star O' The Bar; Breton; Gaelic Song; Jigs; Braw Sailin; Goats; Cairn O'Mount; Bedlam Boys; Branle and Bonnie Earl.
ATLANTIC STANDARDS: 2
You just know that with artists like, The Rankin Family, The Barra MacNeils, The Irish Descendants, Lennie Gallant, Anne Murray, and Ron Hynes that this will be a cracker of an album...and it is.
There is no doubt that Atlantic Canada has the talent and their own distinctive style and accent, that sets them apart. But one thing that you can always be sure of, is that you will be thoroughly entertained with some of the best Celtic music around.
Atlantic Standards 2, has 15 tracks, which is fantastic value, when it includes all the favourites of some of the Maritimes best known and loved artists.
Tracks include: The Rankins - Fare Thee Well Love; J.P.Cormier - The French Connection; The Barra MacNeils - Darling Be Home Soon; Banshee - Mr. McGuire; Lennie Gallant - Pieces Of You; Slainte Mhath - The Scrutch Blanket Set; The Irish Descendants - Peter Street; Jimmy Rankin - Morning Bound Train ; 1755 - Hallo Joe; The Fables - Down East Day; Rawlins Cross - The Wedding Gift; Anne Murray - Song For The Mira; McGinty - Farewell To Nova Scotia ; Dave Gunning - Here She Comes A Running; and Ron Hynes - Godspeed.
LAU
Lightweights & Gentlemen
Lau has been described as a "formidable union of three of the finest and most innovative exponents of modern traditional music in Scotland today." Kris Drever is an Orcadian multi-instrumentalist, from singing and guitar playing to banjo and double bass.
He has been in great demand since moving to Edinburgh in 1995. He has worked as a session musician for a variety of artists including, The Battlefield Band, John McCusker, Kathie Ryan, Harem Scarem, and with his father, folk singer and quitarist Ivan Drever.
Martin Green grew up in the south of England, playing English and Irish traditional music. Martin plays the piano accordion and his playing has been described, as taking you to places your ears can only dream of visiting.
Aidan O'Rourke is a fiddle player and composer from Oban on the West Coast of Scotland. He has made his name as one of Scotland's most expressive and dynamic musician, having performed on over 60 albums ranging from Runrig to Michael McGoldrick and Karen Mathieson.
Recently nominated as Instrumentalist of the Year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards, and recent commissions have included a piece entitled Mantra Alba, which welcomed the Dalai Lama to Scotland in June last year.
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