Customer Reviews

Scottish Drinking And Pipe Songs

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This CD is a reissue of 2 great Tradition Records LPs, "Heather and Glen", and just part of "Classic Scots Ballads". These traditional songs were crafted hundreds of years ago in the highly poetic culture of Scotland.

"Heather and Glen" holds field recording made by Alan Lomax, Calum McLean, and Hamish Henderson in 1950-51. The short notes that accompany the CD are a hack job, skimmed from Lomax's LP notes, with addded misleading references pubs and whiskey. The first side of the original LP has Scots Lowlands songs, including the magnificent Aberdeen singer Jeanie Robertson (v. The Queen Among the Heather: The Alan Lomax Portait Series ). The second side of the LP has Gaelic songs from the Hebrides: waulking songs (to thicken newly-woven wool), a wonderful milking song, and passionate lyrical songs. I feel that these early recording by Flora MacNeil (Lament for William Chisholm & Sister's Lament) are perhaps more direcly impassioned than her later CDs such "Craobh Nan Ubhal". I see that the waulking songs are part of the recently-issued "Gaelic Songs of Scotland: Women at Work in the Western Isles". I can only hope that the group working on the Alan Lomax collection will continue by issuing CDs for Flora MacNeil and Alan MacDonald.

Tracks 20-25 are from "Classic Scots Ballads", an early collaboration by Ewan McColl & Peggy Seeger, who did much to build the British folk song revival. The full LP was reissued in 1997, with extensive liner notes.

The reason that I mention the CD's pitiful liner notes, is because the notes should help us understand the depth and cultural background of the songs. For example, we should know that "Lament for William Chisholm" was composed (probably by his widow) after the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746. The Gaelic words weave together love, and pride and a great sense of personal loss for her fair young husband:

"O young Charles Stuart, it is your cause that left me desolate.
You took from me everything I had, in the war for your sake.
I do not mourn for my sheep or cattle, but for my husband.
Since that day, I was left a widow with nothing in the world but my shirt.
O my fair young love."
...

Alan Lomax collected these tunes right from the source. He took his tape recorder to the pubs, to the islands and highlands, to the farmhouses and to the ceilidh halls. The result is some of the finest, most authentic piping, fiddling and singing that you will ever hear.

The recordings are not hi-tech, but they are of outstanding quality. The majority of the songs are single instrument. The singers are unaccompanied. There is a nice blend of men's songs and women's songs, as well as a blend of English and Gaelic tunes. The singers are not musicians by profession, but each voice is clear and powerful.

As a nod to the authenticity of the recordings, there is a woman who believes that her cow will produce more milk if she sings to it. The recording of her song, "Gentle Lady" is made while she milks the cow and you can hear the milk hitting the bucket to keep time. A fine collection of waulking songs is made while the women waulk the tweed.

I have the LP. When I first listened to it, I was surprised by the ancient sound of the waulking songs; music quite different than the traditional things one hears from Scotland. Quite interesting to listen to. Too bad one cannot sample them before purchasing CD.

These folk are truely enjoying themselves. They keep me tapping my foot and grinning and even singing along! (Only when there is no one about to hear me!) This is an album I pull out and listen to at least once a week!

If you like real folks songs sung by real folks and real music you will love this album. The singers may not have the most beautiful voices but if you close your eyes you can easily imagine yourself in a quaint Scottish pub filled with good drink and great friends! A definite favorite of mine!

Love this CD, but the index on the back lists the songs out of order. Strangely Amazon lists them in order.

Who would ever think that Scottish Drinking And Pipe Songs would be something you would listen to? I didn't think it would be really good - but I was most certainly wrong. There are some songs on this album that or boring, annoying, or just not interesting, but the majority are wonderful. The best ones are:
The Elfin Knight, which is like a Scarborough Fair song; in this version, the man tells the woman to sew him a sack with no needlework, wash it in the well with no water - etcetera - but then she asks him to plow an acre of land between the salt sea and the sea strand, sow it with one sickle of leather and so on, and then he can have his shirt. I thought it was funny.
The Maid Gaed To The Mill is a fast, fun song, very light
The Gairdener Chyld [a version is also sung by June Tabor and] is about a gardener courting a lady, but she is very rude to him (at least that is what I have gathered).
Aikendrum is a fast, fun song, though in a 'sad' melody.
The False Lover Won Back is just what it sounds like - he leaves her, and she follows and is very persistant that he love her and stay with her. In the end she gets him back.
Johnny Lad is a good song, with good music (though I really haven't listened to the lyrics).
Jack MacGraw is a very funny song with a good melody as well.
The majority of the songs are sung by Ewan MacColl