SIOBHAN MILLER - Strata
Songprint Recordings SPR001CD
I first met Siobhan Miller when she, with Jeana Leslie, won the Radio 2 Young Folk Award. When I asked her then if she wanted to make a career as a professional musician she replied, with certainty and determination, in the affirmative and has, in the decade since, established herself. In this, her second solo album, she explores songs, both traditional and contemporary, that she grew up with. There are some that I too grew up with and remain favourites; Banks Of Newfoundland, What You Do With What You’ve Got and One Too Many Mornings, to name just the first three.
Sometime simple, sometime complex, but never overblown instrumental and vocal accompaniments by some of the cream of Scottish musicians provide a solid support for her clear and expressive voice. Each of the songs was recorded by all the musicians in a complete take. I’m not sure if this contributes to the sense of warmth that pervades the album but there is no doubt that everyone is fully engaged in the enterprise. An individual approach to each song ensures that the album draws you in immediately and keeps you engaged until her voice singing Andy M Stewart’s The Ramblin’ Rover draws it to a close. I then reached for the replay button.
This is a dream of an album: gorgeous in itself but it also makes me nostalgic for the times when I first heard these songs and exposes that feeling of ‘hiraeth’ (there is no suitable English word) I sometimes get living so far from Scotland.
www.siobhanmiller.com
Iain Campbell
 |
Buy
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 118 of The Living Tradition magazine. |