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CANONGATE CADJERS CEILIDH BAND - Open With Care

CANONGATE CADJERS CEILIDH BAND - Open With Care
Brechin All Records CDBAR021

This is the band’s third release and their first on Sandy Brechin’s label. The Cadjers have an international reputation as a ceilidh band of the highest standing, yet this CD is not just sets of tunes put together to allow listeners a few birls about the floor. This is as much a “listening to” as a “dancing to” album – although it would be easy enough to dance to all the tracks if you had the stamina!

The band is led by founder member Alex Ross on accordion, with Adam Young, second accordion; Richard Thomson, fiddle; Billy Craib, bass; Duncan Black, piano; Kenneth Ross, drums; and Paul Reynolds, mandolin. Together they produce a very polished sound, with a very laid-back feel for a dance band. You can hear the interplay of the instrumentation very clearly, all getting their full place in the mix, so thanks to the dextrous recording team for keeping it superbly balanced.

The playing itself is as tight as an Aberdonian’s purse strings (no cheap stereotyping there, then!) with the strict tempo discipline of the dance band being applied in such a subtle way that the tunes stand out in their own right. A fair selection of tunes, too, with just over one hour’s worth played here, with traditional numbers being interspersed with Alex’s own arrangements and original compositions, as well as samples of a good number of contemporary composers.

The album is fittingly dedicated to the memory of their original fiddler, Ian King and stands as a fine example of its genre.

Gordon Potter


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This album was reviewed in Issue 98 of The Living Tradition magazine.