Prospect

Cúig | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Green Linnet
• ASIN: B00005Y1SX
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,840 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hall's Balls (Jigs)

2. The Prospect (Reels)

3. The Bachelor (Song)

4. The Pig (Song)

5. The Peacock (Slip-Jigs)

6. Bridget O'Malley (Song)

7. American Spire (Reels)

8. The Mooncoin (Jigs)

9. The American Stranger (Song)

10. Lucy Farr's (Slides)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Straight out of Northumbria come Cuig, a five-member Celtic band that does for northern England what Scandinavian folk revivalists such as Väsen are doing for Sweden. Penning new songs in a traditional vein or rearranging classic jigs and reels with whirlwind tempos, the band is just as apt to toss a curve. Witness the South African township guitar introduction and interwoven fiddle theme to the continent-straddling title cut. "The Peacock" sports a 10/8 tempo, Balkan-flavored midsection purely for sport, while the two-part "The Bachelor" courts whimsy by kicking off the trad favorite "St. Kilda's Wedding" with a funky Fender bass riff. "The Pig" sits atop a 12-bar-blues structure, and "American Spire" tears up bluegrass inventor Bill Monroe's "Wheel Hoss" as a speed reel before dousing a homegrown reel in Kentucky moonshine. Even Bill Whelan of Riverdance fame gets Cuigged via an accordion and fiddle rendering of a theme from his ambitious Seville Suite in the first slice of the triptych "The Mooncoin." Whew. Just listening to these overachievers is dizzying. --Bob Tarte

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5, really., July 16, 2004

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Prospect (Audio CD)

A lively set of inventive, modernized Celtic tunes, mixing Irish and Northumbrian styles with a slight rock-pop undercurrent. Pretty catchy overall, with a few vocal tunes, although the instrumental work is really the main attraction. Might be a little too crossover-y for some, but basically, it's pretty straightforward traddish material, with a few nice twists. Not a "keeper" from my perspective, but certainly not bad at all.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Un buen grupo de Northumbria, July 21, 2009

By 

J. Lanza Diego - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prospect (Audio CD)

Este album, así como el propio grupo Cùig, es un interesante referente de la buena música celta que también se hace en la región fronteriza de Northumbria (Norte de Inglaterra, influenciada por Escocia), en la que sin embargo apenas existen grupos o artistas de este género con la suficiente proyección y difusión internacional. Se trata de un album con predominio de los temas instrumentales, indicado para los que gustan de los sets concatenados de tonadas, con piezas de distinta procendencia (locales, escocesas, etc.) y un repertorio ampliado además con algún tema de fusión (blue-grass de raiz americana, etc). El sonido del grupo presenta un perfil análogo al de un grupo acústico irlandés o escocés, con matices característicos que recuerdan el folk inglés. Melodías ágiles y entretenidas en general, con algunas canciones netamente folk intercaladas. Un buen disco que, sin ser excepcional, resulta bastante atractivo.