REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

LINDA BANDELIER, DAVID CAMPBELL & FRIENDS - Ae Fond Kiss
Private Label AFK01

Originally from the Rocky Mountains of Montana, singer songwriter Linda has lived and worked in Scotland since 1987. She is proud to call Scotland her home and works with the Storytelling Centre. She enjoys working with audiences of every age and is highly regarded for her ability to entertain and inspire. David is a writer and storyteller with a healthy commitment to his native Scotland. He has carried his love of traditional tales worldwide from the Arctic Circle to the Antipodes and was once described by a Times journalist as “the only man brave enough to ride a motorbike whilst wearing his kilt.”

This CD celebrates Robert Burns – it is a warm distillation of story, music and song that tells the life of Scotland’s most famed and internationally popular bard. The result of this beguiling blend is a captivating evocation of the bard whose beauty of song and poetry of humanity reaches out across the world. Many of the favourite Burns songs are here – There Was A Lad, Westlin Winds, Green Grow The Rashes, Ae Fond Kiss, and of course Auld Lang Syne. All the songs have been heart touchingly sung – you can hear the love of the songs in the voice.

The stories include A Stormy Birth, First Love, The King Of Puddings, Tam And The Devil, and two particular favourites, A Daisy And A Mouse and The Rose And The Thorn. Eloquent, masterful and witty storytelling.

Joining the duo are piper Hamish Moore, fiddler and singer Mairi Campbell, and harpist Katie Harrigan. Together this five-piece have produced an album that is beautiful and entertaining to listen to. The added instruments have blended to create an authentic sound that honours Burns and stays true to the mammoth legacy he left behind, a legacy that hugely influences Scottish music to this day.

David and Linda created this album to celebrate 21 years of delighting audiences around the world – long may they continue to do so.

Kathy & Bob Drage