Customer Reviews

Cape Breton By Request

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Cape Breton...that island in the stream...known around the world for its songs and people. Wouldn't it be nice to have some of the best-known songs on one CD? Stephen MacDonald must have been reading music fans' minds as his company has just released "Cape Breton By Request."

This 14-track collection is going to be a treasured CD of mine for years to come. Some of the island's greatest writers/composers compositions appear on this CD. These include Kenzie MacNeil, Buddy MacDonald, Allister MacGillivray, Jimmy Rankin, Rita MacNeil, Dan R. MacDonald, Howie MacDonald, Bob Quinn, R. J. MacEachern and Leon Dubinsky. The songs speak of the island, the people, the culture.

"Working Man" sung by Men of the Deeps talks about the miners in the coal industry. "Song for the Mira" sung by Matt Minglewood is about the well-known Mira River which runs along the east side of the island, a great place for fishing and swimming. The Barra MacNeils bring "The Island" to life, spotlighting Cape Breton & the common occurrence of residents having to leave to find work. Raylene Rankin's version of "Rise Again" has become almost the unofficial anthem for Cape Breton, about having faith in the children and hope for the future. And every time she hits the high-note at the end, chills run down your spine!

And what's a Cape Breton album without some fiddle tunes...Buddy MacMaster & Howie MacDonald provide some high-energy tunes to get you up and dancing! And Howie's tune "Scotch Music" will have you laughing as well...just listen to the lyrics!

All of the songs on this CD are featured on the individual artists CD's except for one..."Fare Thee Well Love." True, it does appear on a CD, that of the original writers/performers, The Rankin Family. Being as the Rankins are one of my favourite artists, if someone redid one of their songs it would have to be done pretty near perfect. And this is one of those cases!

11-year-old Fiona MacGillivray was approached to do the only remake on the CD, a very high honour indeed. This tells you something about the singer from the start. And she wasn't even born when this song was first released! Fiona & her 13-year-old brother Ciaran (who accompanies her on background vocals) are going to be part of the next generation of talent to come out of Cape Breton. Considering their background (father Allistair is one of Cape Breton's best known songwriters, with a couple of his compositions appearing on this CD), it's no surprise his children are in the music spotlight!

Like Sounds of Nova Scotia Volume 3, not much information is given on the artists, so you'll have to visit the artists websites to find out more!

If you or someone you know is from or loves Cape Breton, get them this CD as a present. They'll thank you for it!

Thought I would give a review to counter the person who gave it a one star without even buying it just because rita macneil is not on it! She cant be on everything and there are many other great artists and musicians on the island. Fiona Macgillivray for instance is not 18 and an amazing singer. I just heard her last week at the Celtic Colours music festival in Cape Breton. So give a try - worth it for Rise Again alone.

These weren't as good as I thougth, I think I was looking for more fiddle music.

I was about to order the CD's and thought I had better check out which artists were performing on the CD's - and much to my surprise the most famous Nova Scotian - Rita MacNeil is not on the CD's - what happened. I love Cape Breton Music, celtic music etc but can't believe that Rita MacNeil does not appear on the CD's.