The Living Tradition
PO Box 1026
KILMARNOCK
KA2 0LG

Tel 01563 571220

Our Reviewers
Top Selections

_________________

SOURCE

Scottish
Irish
English
Welsh
Gaelic
Cape-Breton
Australian
America
Canada
Galician

CONTENT

Song - Solo
Song - Group
Instrumental
Instr'l Groups
Music & Song
Dance
Pipe Bands
Archive
New Writing
Compilations

INSTRUMENTS

Pipes
Fiddle
Accordion
Flute
Whistle
Guitar
Mandolin
Banjo
Harp
_________________

Newletter
Feedback
About Us
Advertise
Writer's Guidelines
Links
Site Map

Email Us

This site is Copyright (C) The Living Tradition Ltd. No part of this site may be used without the permission of The Living Tradition.

Old Blind Dogs - Play Live
Green Linnet GLCD1231

Long on quantity and long on quality, Scotland 's favourite live act of 2004 runs through an impressive set from their last three studio albums. There's a nod to the early days of Iain Benzie and Davy Cattenach with ‘The Battle of Harlaw’, but after this opening big ballad it's non-stop newer material fronted by Jim Malcolm and Rory Campbell. The Dogs settle quickly into their customary gutsy groove somewhere between blues and birl, and they stay there pretty much for the next hour. You could winge about the lack of variety, the same 5-piece sound track after track, the reliance on fancy percussion to lift the tunes, or even the slightly cheesy choice of chunes, but that would be to ignore the fact that this CD contains an hour of solid, engaging music whose warm and intimate delivery is easy to appreciate.

There's a bit of everything here. Breton and Galician tunes played on a variety of pipes and flutes, Scottish piping classics such as ‘Lochanside’ and ‘A Man's A Man’, new songs from Jim and old songs from the tradition, new tunes from Gavin Marwick and other young composers, and old favourites like ‘The Battle of Waterloo’ or ‘Kincardine Lads’ which will delight OBD's loyal followers. It's hard not to be touched by the powerful vocals of ‘The Wisest Fool’ or the musical brilliance of ‘ Sky City ’. Even the packaging is appealing, chaotic images over a careful listing of tunes and full lyrics for all tracks. No surprises, but no disappointments either: it does exactly what it says on the box.

Alex Monaghan