Search - Tannahill Weavers :: Leaving St Kilda

One for the road!

Gwen A Orel | Millburn, New Jersey United States | 02/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let me put it this way: this album went with me to Prague. I had a year's fellowship.No way was I leaving it home!This is classic Tannahill Weavers, and if you're new to them, this is a great album to start with, though you'll want to also get either the Greatest Hits or the Tannahill Weavers IV so you can get the rousing "Johnnie Cope," which is always their encore in concert and may be one of the most exciting Celtic recordings on record, right up there with Silly Wizard's "Donald MacGillivray," and probably even exceeding that war song, since the Tannies always have a bagpiper!This album is a terrific mix of both traditional songs and tunes-- "The Rigs of Rye," "The Shearin's No' For You"-- with original songs, like lead singer Roy Gullane's "Fareweel, You Silver Darlin's," an upbeat song with pensive lyrics about the end of the shipbuilding industry in Glascow. Gullane's broad Glaswegian accent may take some getting used to but his singing has a richness that is simply inhabitable. Another special element to their songs is their close harmony, which always reminds me just a little of the Byrds. St. Kilda is a rocky island west of the Scottish mainland, and the track "St. Kilda Set" includes the air "Leaving St. Kilda," which refers to the last islanders to leave the place in 1930. (All the tracks in that set are traditional and arranged by the Tannies).Definitely, a keeper."

EXCELLENT

Ed Luhrs | Long Island, NY USA | 04/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Tannahill Weavers combine strong vocal harmony, lowland ditties, and highland flings. Leaving St. Kilda was my first. If you are interested in hearing more from this band, I recommend this album without reservation. I believe it is an even stronger showing than their more recent greatest hits compilation. There's beauty, energy, and tenderness here. The band's sense of humor shines through. The liner notes keep the listener informed about the history of the songs and the meaning of the words. Hearing the Scottish dialect in song is a treasure.I recommend Capernaum as another album well worth exploring. Leaving St. Kilda is a great place to start, though, because it offers such outstanding musicianship and such an outstanding balance of songs."