Customer Reviews

Fully Rigged

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

 

 

I first saw Aly Bain at the 1975 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where he was playing solo fiddle, and sitting in with a Cajun band .... His virtuoso playing has joined with many other players and styles over the years, while he is most known for his playing of Shetland, Scottish and Irish tunes with The Boys of the Lough. On this album he plays with Ale Moller, from the Swedish group Nordan, and they range over the North Atlantic, playing mostly tunes from the Shetlands and Sweden, but also from the U.S., Canada, and Scotland. This is a natural pairing, because, while fiddling from the Shetlands is normally seen as an off-shoot of Scottish and Celtic music, there was sometimes something a little melodically and harmonically different (listen to "Christmas Day I'da Morning" on the Boys' first album). That difference is the influence of Norwegian and Swedish music, which makes sense, as the Shetlands are between Scotland and Norway in the North Sea.
In addition to the traditional tunes there are several good original tunes from Ale, who plays mandola and several traditional wind instruments. Aly provides another arrangement of the American tune "Bonaparte's Retreat" as good as the one on his solo album "Lonely Bird". Good liner notes explain the provenance of each song.

Lovely traditional fiddle music featuring Aly Bain (of Boys Of The Lough) along with Swedish mandola whiz, Ale Moller, of the band Frifot. The two are obviously very much in synch with other, and this is a very dreamy, pleasant album. Interesting blend of the Celtic lilt and the Nordic lurch... Like nearly all the records on the Northside label, this is unusual and challenging, and highly recommended.

Excellent music -- ranging from mysterious to exciting, and entertaining every step of the way. The title led me to expect sea chanteys, which is not quite the case. Performed very simply and directly(the way I like it). The fiddle and mandorla are a good combination; the wind instruments are understated and very effective. If you're a collector of "Celtic" music, and expecting Scottish style, you may be surprised by the strong Norse flavor. I'm keeping one for myself, and sending another to my daughter in Edinburgh.

i first heard cuts from fully rigged on npr and knew i had to try and track it down. i was so pleased with earthy, evocative quality of the music, i purchased a second cd for my son and daughter in law. i'm now looking into buying other cd's.