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We're dealing here with a thematic album of material both traditional and from the very able pen of Battlefield Band's, Scottish Trad Award Nominee, Alan Reid who plays alongside the familiar keyboards and vocals, guitar and accordion as well as producing this masterpiece. Rob van Sante makes important contributions throughout the album, on vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, and various percussion bits and pieces. Next to being the co-producer of this album, Van Sante took care of all the technical aspects, i.e. recording, editing, mixing and mastering and even the sleeve design (clever chap), which results in a tastefully recorded and well produced recording featuring a wealth of Scottish talent in the form of Wendy Weatherby on vocals and cello, Maeve MacKinnon on vocals, Susan Miller on flute and whistles, Ian Fairbairn on fiddle and last but not least, Battlefield Band's own Alasdair White on fiddle and Mike Kats on various whistles and small pipes.
The album handles the often romanticised history of the young dashing Prince Charles Edward Stuart who landed in Scotland as a 21 year old, in the year 1745, in an attempt to wrest the British throne back to the Stuarts from the Hanoverians only to be defeated on Culloden Moor on April 16th 1746.
The album contains 14 tracks in chronological order, starting with the harrowing cry of 'Sound The Pibroch', working its way through the various stages of the Jacobite Uprising and ending with the beautiful traditional song 'Will Ye No' Come Back Again'. There are two tracks on the album sung by, Scottish Trad. Award Winner '07 and Nominee '08, Maeve MacKinnon which are beautifully renditioned in Gaelic. Reid has written 4 tracks for the album which showcases his mastery of songwriting and his obvious love for Scottish History and music.
The great thing about this album is that 'Bonny Prince Charlie' is not just portrayed as a romantic young character but also that in later life he was a bitter old man, hiding behind alcohol and who regularly became violent. This record is an absolute masterpiece in terms of production, material choice, performance and presentation and is a 'must-have' if you love everything Scottish.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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