Link to Living Tradition Homepage

REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

 


 

 

 
THE WHISTLEBINKIES - Albannach

THE WHISTLEBINKIES
Albannach
Greentrax CDTRAX288

In the face of pan-celtic homogenisation, the Whistlebinkies have steered a proud and true course. Based around a core of traditional Scottish instruments: pipes, flute, fiddle and clarsach they have much in common with their Irish counterparts The Chieftains. As soon as you hear their first notes they sound instantly Scottish - in the same way that the Chieftains for many are the epitome of the Irish sound. Like them, they use no instrumental gimmicks - no electronics, no guitars driving the rhythm section - and rely on both the quality of the music and their own superb musicianship to produce the desired results.

There is a chamber music feel to much of this album, underlined by the "classical" acoustic - a large room with a fair bit of "bloom" around the instruments, especially the flute. There is some great music here - many fine tunes, both rescued from ancient books of music and written by contemporary components and all are given an appropriate setting. The quick tunes fly - the pipes especially generating some excitement. Many though are more contemplative with washes of clarsach as a foundation for the solo instruments: others are more fun, cheekier - but all of them feel controlled: there's never any real sense of the musicians letting their hair down. There's only one disadvantage for me: the song. The singer has a reasonably wide and consistent vibrato allied to very correct pronunciation - so whilst the song is sung well, it reminds me more of the White Heather Club than I should like. A small blot on a distinguished issue.

Paul Burgess

Secure On-line mailorder service
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 68 of The Living Tradition magazine.