Customer Reviews

The Best of Battlefield Band / Temple Records: A 25 Year Legacy

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This two-CD set only contains one real Battlefield Band CD - which contains one number for each of the 19 albums recorded by the Battlefield Band during their 25 year career - not including their latest, Time and Tide. (The other CD contains an overview of traditional Scottish recordings by Temple Records, including various current and past members of Battlefield Band). So this is way too short to cover their output. Still, everyone who likes the group will have favorites on this CD. Although there are differences depending on the particular lineup of the group at the time, it is still surprising that the group could manage such consistent quality throughout all their changes.

The Battlefield Band is one of the finest, and perhaps most authentic of the Scottish folk groups that is recording today.

Perhaps the initial reveiwer of this work, X-Man, does not understand that Battlefield Band is NOT an Irish group, and there is a vast, vast difference between Irish folk music and Scottish folk music. Not only are they from two different cultures, but the instruments and playing styles are completely different. To compare Battlefield Band to the Chieftans is like comparing a Porche Carerra and a Boxter - there maybe a superficial resemblance, but under the hood, the engines are completely different.

This collection is weak in a number of areas- favoring the instrumental pieces over the songs, and is missing some of my personal favorites, such as "The Snows of France & Holland," "I Am the Common Man," the haunting cover version of Sting's "We Work the Black Seam," as well as the anthem to Scottish liberty - "Montrose".

All in all, though - a good introduction to the group, but not worth buying if you've already got most of the discography - which can be said for any long-range retrospective album.

A good compilation, but a better one would have been 2 CDs long (at least). Another flaw is the accompanying notes, in which the solo singers and instrumentalists for each track are not identified.

An excellent introduction to the Battlefield Band, one of if not the premier Scottish folk groups. You can't go wrong here. And for those Irish folk music fans out there who might be put off by a previous reviewers claim that there is a vast difference between the two folk traditions, please give this album a try. You'll find much that you will like. To begin with, the various incarnations of the Battlefield Band have included Irish players and singers (Pat Kilbride comes to mind), and have included many Irish tunes and songs. Scottish and Irish music, owing to deep geographical, cultural, and historical ties, have always cross pollinated each other. There is an enormous body of song and melody, usually under variant titles, that both cultures hold in common. There are certainly distinct regional and national differences, which keeps the music interesting and vibrant, but even these do not produce any kind of hard and fast musical paradigm. The fiddle playing style of Donegal, for instance, is heavily influenced by the Scottish musical tradition, and embraces such manifestly Scottish musical forms as the strathspey and reel. Give Altan a listen to hear what I mean. Modern Scottish and Irish folk groups has done nothing if not accelerate this appreciation and assimilation of each others music. Try to find an album by any Celtic band you can think of that does not include at least some of both countries music. You'll discover that it is a difficult task. The place to start, of course, is with this album. Pick out the differences and similarities for yourself. It will be a rewarding process.

For those who know Battlefield Band, this is a wonderful compilation
of some of their best music. For those who do not know the band, this
is a fabulous introduction, not only to Battlefield Band themselves
but to Scottish traditional and traditional-style music. Battlefield
Band were pioneers in the use of the great highland bagpipe in
ensemble play and this compilation showcases the great pipers that
have played with the band over the years.

Traditional Irish folk music gets spazmolagized again.

I long for the days of the 1970's and 80's when De Dannan, Planxty, The Bothy Band, The Furey Brothers (aka The Buskers), Boys of the Lough, Wolfe Tones, Davy Arthur, Danny Doyle, Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers, The Dubliners, etc. blessed the world with the most beautiful of traditional Irish folk music in its purest form.

Anyone loony enough to have the unmitigated gall to refer to this pile of bandicoot barf and epileptic caterwauling as Irish music - much less even liking it - would have to be a freaking retard with an IQ of somewhere below -74 with a bib around their neck to catch the drool.