OLD BLIND DOGS - Wherever Yet May Be
Compass Records 4542
Yet another line up – and yet another fine showcase for this vintage Scottish band. Not the most prolific of combos (by my count this is eleven albums in twenty years) but always a pleasure to hear (and frighteningly good live). The new member this time is piper Ali Hutton, who replaces Rory Campbell, and is an ideal choice. There is, as usual, an approximately 50-50 mix of Trad and contemporary material – the best of the former being, for me, Lough Erne’s Shore, and the best credited composition is Scotland Yet by the late and sadly missed Davy Steele, from which the album’s title is derived (and this is a creditable attempt at a song that I thought was untouchable).
Banks of the Nile has its hero’s usual previous home of Abercrombie (nowadays known as St Monans in Fife) reinterpreted as Aberdeen – mind you there’s probably plenty of other versions placing him elsewhere (Fotheringay don’t mention an origin at all).
There’s a really nice version of Andy M Stewart’s Where Are You, although my son needed lots of convincing that Aaron Jones was singing ‘”can’t dispel” rather than “candy sperm” which admittedly is what it does seem to be more like to the untrained ear. Especially tasteful is the resonator guitar on this track, courtesy of Nathon Jones.
Four sets of tunes give the collective instrumental talents a chance to let rip in fine fashion.
Aside from the few minor foibles, this is a magnificent, well packaged continuation of the OBD theme previously visited on these pages.
Grem Devlin
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 86 of The Living Tradition magazine. |