HOME SERVICE - "Alright Jack" Making Waves Ltd. SPIN 119 (1986)
(Released on cd)

Last year John Tams released his solo album "Unity" and was topping polls everywhere with best folk artist and best folk album of the year. So now you may ask who the hell is he?! Let's try to focus on some of his past. For a period in the late seventies, he was the vocalist in Albion Band and can be heard on "Prospect Before Us", "Rise Up Like The Sun" and "Lark Rise To Candleford". When he quit Albion Band he founded Home Service and they released three albums before they became history. "Alright Jack" was the last and best release. The title-track "Alright Jack" opens the album, a wonderful song where Steve King plays organ behind John Tams good voice, singing in typical folk tradition. Relaxed and emotional. Greame Taylor, once in Gryphon, plays intense guitar here, not that far from the expression of Richard Thompson. In other words, just great! And when the horns comes creeping in after awhile, we're talking chicken skin music here. "Rose Of Allendale" follows, a true beauty as well. It got a more acoustic feel to it with Steve King playing the accordion, but with an electric guitar solo. "Radstock Jig" is an instrumental with a definitively inspiration from medieval music. Very heavy on the horns here, beautifully taken care of by Howard Evans, Roger Williams and Andy Findon. Those two first mentioned names were also members of Brass Monkey at the time together with Martin Carthy, playing folk music with a heavy brass section. "Sorrow/Babylon" is a track where the first part is written by John Tams and the second part is a well known traditional. Especially the latter part got a very powerful treatment here with horns and slide guitar. Good! "Scarecrow" starts up with only flute and flugelhorn, before a distant synthesizer and acoustic guitar comes in with John's voice. A beautiful ballad and another outstanding track. But the pearl on the album here is "A Lincolnshire Posy", a long epos with lots of counterpoints and thrilling horn arrangements. Just brilliant! So if you're looking for folk-rock with a twist, this album should really do the trick for you. You got both originals and traditional tunes here done with inspiration from both medieval and jazz music. Exciting and different.

LA BOTTINE SOURIANTE - "La Mistrine" Musicor MPCD-2038 (1994)

La Bottine Souriante comes from the French speaking part of Canada, in the area of Quebec I think. This release from 1994 is rated as one of their finest and is a perfect place to start if you want to get familiar with this incredible band. They've been rated as the best band in the world by some critics! Besides being incredible instrumentalists, they're extremely good singers as well! Their timing are out of this world, their arrangements so precise and tight making your jaw drop to the chest. What makes this band so special among many others is their combination of standard folk-instruments like fiddle, accordion and mandolin together with plenty horns. Very few bands, to my knowledge, uses this combination. So how does this sound? So good it's completely insane! A short fast instrumental tune opens the cd, so good and lively that makes you grin from ear to ear. The fiddle and the accordion leads the way with almost brutally powerful horns, kicking it from here to a warmer place where Mr. Lucifer reigns. As usual when bands/artists sings in a language other than English or Scandinavian, I haven't got a fucking clue what they're singing about. But it doesn't matter, believe me. On "Ici-bas Sur Terre" the vocal-arrangement makes me think of the call-response technique which origins comes from gospel-music. But the expression here is far from any gospel-music. A fast playful tune it is. "Martin De La Chasse-Galerie" is the only track with regular drums used to keep the rhythm steady. And the man behind the drums is a hired hand, because La Bottine Souriante has no drummer in their ranks! They keep the rhythm steady by using foot stomping and bodhran. And believe me, you won't miss the drums either. This album is loaded with up tempo lively tunes making it a perfect party platter. The only slow track here is the beautiful "La Complainte Du Folkloriste" lead by the accordion, with the horns lifting it up. So if you like your folk-music with tempo and a smile, La Bottine Souriante is the band for you. By now they got at least nine albums out, so it's for you just to start collecting.

SHELAGH McDONALD - "Stargazer" Mooncrest Records CRESTCD 040 (1999)
Originally released: ???? 1971

Thanx to the excellent Soundhouse mail-order company (see Links) I got aware of this rather unknown release from the early seventies. She released two albums and then disappeared. To be judged by this album here, it's a shame that she didn't become a star. She got it all. First of all a wonderful voice, she played good guitar and piano, and she write all songs herself with one exception. And she did look very good too! So what went wrong? Well, it's hard to figure out, but the word justice is totally absent in the ugly world of music business. To compare her voice with others may be a little difficult, but she belongs in the league with Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), June Tabor, Jaqui McShee (Pentangle), Linda Thompson, Shirley Collins and Sandy Denny. And maybe most similar to the latter. On four of the albums fifteen tracks , she is solo. Only guitar or piano and voice which sometimes is multitracked to harmonize with herself. And you hear at once that she's an accomplished player and singer. You get a proof already of that on the opening-track "Rod's Song". A warm double-bass accompanies her on the wonderful "City's Cry" together with a few seconds of deep strings, probably a cello. "Dowie Dens of Yarrow" is the only track not written by Shelagh herself. It's a traditional, which gets full band treatment her with a wonderful Hammond-organ and turns out to be one of the killer tracks here. Who's responsible for the Hammond-playing and the other instruments I know nothing about, the cover lacks information about that subject. On "Baby Go Slow" an electric guitar are at present reminding me of Richard Thompson or Jerry Donahue. Maybe, who knows...it might as well be one of them. The albums title-track "Stargazer" is a true beauty with piano, voice and strings and a choir appearing towards the end giving me goose-bumps. True chicken-skin music!! Well, a lot more could be said about this excellent, but relatively unknown classic. But I'll finish off here by saying, do yourself a favor and get a copy before it's too late......... By the way , where are you now Shelagh ?

Just in from the mail-box with the new catalogue from Soundhouse, where Shelagh's other album now are available on cd, guess who's gonna buy it??!!

This album is a kind of homage to Orosay, which is a small island very close to where Mairi MacInnes was born. She was able to get there by walking on a machair, a narrow path with grass and flowers which is the connection physically with the island of South Uist where she lived. Here she sang and thought of the ocean as her audience. And I guess that she must have been there a lot. Because what you get here is an incredible voice, both technically and emotionally, very expressive. The lyrics here are in the Gaelic language with the exception of the title-track and "Carry Me".
"Uibhist Nam Neann Arda" opens beautifully with only Mairi's voice before the piano of Calum Malcolm comes quietly sneaking in. A viola soon joins and spices up the sound a bit and strengthen the feel of longing. A far more rhythmic tune we get in "Orra Bhonna Bhonnagan" where James MacKintosh does a great job on drums and percussion. And Ewen Vernal gives it depht and weight with his deep bass. He also opens "Nighean Chruinn Donn" together with James MacKintosh on percussion. Catherine-Ann MacPhee and Penny MacInnes contribute with very strong backing vocals, nearly like a choir, and with an almost hypnotic effect. Outstanding! On "An Aisling" Tony MacManus shows us what an incredible guitarist he is. We're talking the same league as Arty McGlynn here! A beautiful ballad with a nice whistle solo.
Mairi MacInnes was only seven years old when the opening of "An Gaidheal's A Leanann (Orain Luaidh)/An Fhleasgaich Ur Leannain Thu" was recorded by her mother, a very vocal-based track with sparse instrumentation. "Orosay" is sung in English and is accompanied with the great guitar of Tony MacManus and Billy Jackson's whistle and harp. Goodie! More harp on "Laoidh An Iasgair", a beautiful hymn with strong backing vocals. Chicken skin music! Mairi shows us more of her stunning vocal-technique on "Puirt-A-Beul", backed by step dancing from Mats Melin and the fiddle of Mairi Campbell. The tempo and the power increases towards the end making this a winner. A ballad of the strongest kind comes in "Fagail Bhornais", another of this album's winners. Mairi has chosen "Carry Me" to end this beautiful album of mostly traditional material, but this track she has written by herself together with Steve Evans.
Mairi MacInnes is an extremely gifted singer and a great interpreter of traditional material, but she also shows promising songwriter talents here! So if your bag is full of records with Clannad, Capercaillie and Mary Black, try this one, you won't be disappointed.

SHINE DIÓN - "Killandra" The Holly HCD 01 (1998)

Finally in '98 we saw the full-length cd of Shine Dión hit the streets. After a promising three track mini-cd titled "Berkana" a few years back, yours truly have been waiting for this release. Shine Dión are a duo which plays and sings music deeply rooted in folk and Celtic music tradition. Per Selör plays all the guitars and writes all the music while Janne Hansen sings and are responsible for all the lyrics. And to achieve a richer sound they have hired some musicians her to play on the record. One of the more well-known musicians here are Trond Villa, once in Folque, the best folk-rock band form Norway from the seventies. He's contributing on fiddle here. And on mandolin and mellotron we got Jørn Andersen, once a record-mogul of the now defunct Colours label. Norway's specialist-label on progressive rock (R.I.P.). The album opens rather jolly with "Flow" but the general feel on the album are leaning more towards the melancholy side. We already got a taste of that from the mini-cd "Berkana", so there was no surprise that they have continued in that direction. Two of the tracks from "Berkana" are recorded again here, with slightly different arrangement. And there's been an improvement in Janne's voice and diction since the debut. She seems more matured now and more secure in her way of express herself. She's got a good voice, clear with a light vibrato that suits the music fine. It's difficult to compare her voice to others, but somewhere around Maire Brennan (Clannad) and Karen Matheson (Capercaillie) might give you a clue. When you take a look at the pictures on the cover you'll understand where they find inspiration in both music and lyrics. Words that springs to mind here are The Middle Ages, forests, folklore, legends and fairytales. Per's guitar-work are for the most part acoustic, but some electric do appear as well and spices up the sound. There's no regular drums here, but some percussion are delivered by Tore Solheim. Glenn Henriksen plays some accordion and keyboards together with Guttorm Guttormsen on sax and wonderful flute throughout the album. So if Clannad, Capercaillie, Pentangle, Trees and Mellow Candle are your cup of tea, try "Killandra", it's a goodie!

SHINE DIÓN - "Wyn" The Holly HCD 02 (2002)

The follow-up to the great “Killandra” was released in spring this year, and as expected, it’s another goodie from the band.
Shine Dión is still Janne Hansen on vocals and she responsible for the lyrics as usual. Per Selör still plays all the guitars on the album and he’s the man behind the music. He also plays mandolin, jew’s harp and some bass.
The difference between this release and their previous, is most notably in the extended use of drums and percussion. But have no fear, the overall feeling on the album lays close up to the last one.
The drummer and percussionist on the album is Stian L. Kristoffersen, together with bassist Steinar Krokmo, which plays on one track, are the backbone of the prog-metal band Pagan’s Mind. Strange combination you might think, but it works well!
On “Flowering”, it’s Stian’s deep percussion which opens the track together with the moody, vibrant cello of hired hand Helene Waage, before Janne’s excellent voice comes creeping up in. With the Hardanger fiddle in the bridge, played by Trond Villa, and the jew’s harp lays hypnotizing in the background makes this a fine album opener. You get the feeling of lots of space in “Myst-e-ry”, thinking of seagulls flying high over washing shores. A slow tune with beautiful piano, mellotron (played by Jørn Andersen) and a sad lonely accordion (played by Åse Vrålstad Aas). Acoustic guitar starts up “Moonlit Voice” before the vocals and flute (played by Guttorm Guttormsen as on previous album) together with drums making it gradually more muscular. And with some electric guitar and fiddle added for good measure. On “Watershade”, there’s full band from the start, and with it’s more uptempo beat, this one could sure have been a hit on the radio. Great singalong qualities! “Waves Of Green” sounds a bit stationary, but is saved by a beautiful fiddle towards the end. “The Land” is more uptempo again with full band and with great hit potential! It’s short, snappy and very memorable. “Mirror Lake” is rather relaxed, with no percussion, but with cello, fiddle and some fine acoustic guitar picking.
Shine Dión has left the album’s best track “The Valley’s Song” at the end of the album. It’s a true beauty clocking in for 7 minutes. It’s a stunning tune with powerful electric guitar and great flute arrangements, which leads my thoughts to Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson. But the fiddle plays an important part as well for the overall feeling. Janne’s vocals is limited to some singing towards the end using her voice more like an instrument than expressing words. Great track!
If I should compare this release to the previous, I must say that this one has slightly more power to it, much due to the percussive expression on some tracks, even though it’s not that much. This album contains all the qualities of their first album, and it’s hard to pick one to favour, so why don’t get them both!
If you liked their first album, you’ll sure gonna love this one as well!

In 1986, music-lover and policeman Ian D. Green quit his job and started the Greentrax record company. You got to have balls to do something like that! And since that happened, the world have been graced with loads of both unknown and well-known Scottish as well as international artists/bands on record. To celebrate their fifteenth anniversary, they have released this 20 track compilation taken from the last five years of recording. And there's a lot of goodies here.
Mac Umba set the standards here with a tune called "Gale Warning". It rolls away fast and is impossible to sit still to. Great piping and lively percussion are the keywords here. From the album "Bruhuhaho".
Malinky delivers a fast one too, but here is the great vocals of Karine Polwart in focus together with Steve Byrne. Fiddle and acoustic guitar makes the melody together with some neat flute playing. Great! From the album "Last Leaves".
Natalie MacMaster is a well-known master fiddler and delivers here one of this album's best tracks in a driving set of jigs. This one makes you wanna dance and makes you happy too. Speedy and great fun! From the album "My Roots Are Showing".
Dick Gaughan has been out there for years now and recorded many great albums earlier. And judged by the track here, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Great vocals and a great song written by Brian McNeill. Together with careful keyboards behind his acoustic guitar makes this a great one. From the album "Redwood Cathedral".
Kevin MacLeod shows us his skills on stringed instruments like mandolin and guitar here in a set of reels. Fresh and amazing, and backed up by fiddle and bouzouki this sounds everything but boring! From the album "Springwell".
Jack Evans is a great guitarist and mandolin player who runs through the traditional "Tarbolton" here with speed and grace. With electric bass and drums behind him he's given the power to just lay on top and PLAY! Well done! From the album "Once Upon A time In The North".
Aileen Carr is a singer with a lot of experience which is clearly shown here in this traditional tune called "Mormond Braes". Good voice with a short vibrato backed with flute, acoustic guitar, fiddle and backing vocals makes this a strong one. From the album "Green Yarrow".
Ossian has been a group for more or less twenty years now. They are well skilled both in the instrumental and vocal department, but here they deliver a set of more quiet instrumentals. Beautiful harp, guitar and fiddle creating a wonderful mood. From the album "The Carrying Stream".
Margaret Stewart & Allan MacDonald have both beautiful voices which comes to the fore here in this a capella song. From the album "Fhuair Mi Pog".
Gordon Gunn Band plays a fiddle-led air backed by piano and strings here, creating a wonderful nearly sad mood. Another winner on this album! From the album "Shoreside".
Billy Ross is, besides being a member of earlier mentioned Ossian, a singer with a career on his own. And he has a good voice and he knows how to use it. A ballad which is nothing but "chicken skin music"! From the album "Gloomy Winter".
Jennifer & Hazel Wrigley plays fiddle and piano on this hornpipe and reel knitted together. It brings my thoughts to old-time Norwegian dance music, maybe there's a connection here somewhere between the Orkney isles where these twins come from and Norway? They have chosen to call their album "Huldreland", which is the Norwegian word for "Woodnymphland"!
macAlias is Karine Polwart (also a member of Malinky) and Gill Bowman which delivers a fast tune here with excellent vocals and musical skills. Backed by lap steel, harmonica, bass, drums and fiddle makes them sound more like an American country-rock band, but don't let that scare you, this is good! From the album "All The Way Back Home".
Rod Paul plays a wide range instruments himself on this speedy reel. A mighty bass and drums gives the track an incredible power. From the album "Birlinn".
Jock Tamson's Bairns starts up with some deep heavy percussion here with the fiddle jumping in after awhile combined with great lead vocals and excellent harmonizing! A true killer! From the album "May You Never Lack A Scone".
Rob MacKillop is a master lute player and shows us his skills here on a tune from the 17th century. From the album "Flowers Of The Forest".
Fiddler's Bid plays a lively set of reels, led by fiddles (four of them!) and backed by electric bass, acoustic guitar and piano. Very powerful indeed! From the album "Hamnating".
The John Wright Band plays a quiet ballad with the fine voice of John Wright upfront. Simple strummed acoustic guitar with fiddle and piano backs him up with good backing vocals towards the end. From the album "Language Of The Heart".
Iain MacInnes is a first class piper and leads us through a set of reels here backed by acoustic guitar and percussion. From the album "Tryst".
Salsa Celtica mixes the instrumentation of traditional Scottish folk music with lively horns and percussion from Latino and African origin. Just great! You just can't get unaffected by this !! Fun, frisky and rhythmic as hell. From the album "The Great Scottish Latin Adventure".
Well, for those of you who are curious about what's happening on the Scottish folk scene at the moment, run and buy! It doesn't get any better than this....! Of course, a smart move here would be to pick up the first volume of "The Best Of Scottish Music", which is a double-cd, as well when you already are in the shop, otherwise buy both online here.