Uprooted

The Rankin Family

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B00000IWP4
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #150,427 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With Uprooted, the erstwhile Rankin Family have altered their appellation somewhat (they're now officially the Rankins) while tinkering far more with their overall approach. While the familial harmonies of brother Jimmy and sisters Cookie, Heather, and Raylene (who's since left the group) remain in the fore, the Rankins brought in veteran producer George Massenburg (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor) to refresh the soundscapes that enfold those heavenly harmonies. The new-country opener, "Movin' On," lets you know these Canadians have headed south, a journey that isn't without some pitfalls. The Gaelic undercurrents that marked striking earlier albums such as the superior North Country remain but are buried a little deeper in Nashville turf. That commercial sheen found throughout Uprooted will likely earn the Rankins new followers, but longtime fans may long for those deep northern roots. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Canadian Gaelic Sounds, August 11, 2001

By	shoutgrace "savedbyhisgrace" (Charleston, WV United States) - See all my reviews

This large family of musicians hail from the east coast of Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Inverness Co., Nova Scotia. They have topped Canadian music charts with their unique Celtic-influence sound. Their idea was to keep Celtic tradition alive in their music. What started out as a hobby The Rankin siblings decision to do more. They recorded their first album and they drove across Nova Scotia to businesses where they began to sell their self-titled debut.

The album "Uprooted" (dedicated to their mother, Kathleen who died of breast cancer in 1997) is a blend of Irish, ancestral Scottish, Celtic and contemporary songs. It has electic zest, vitality and vigor heard from any Canadian Celtic band with a gamut of human emotions combining ethereal harmonies with pop grooves. The song 'Movin' On' is a drifter kind of sound with images of life on the road. The 'Parlour Medley' is an lively Irish jig. 'Weddings, Wakes and Funerals' has funky street beats and poetic spoken word from the dance hall themes. 'Long Way to Go' is packed with jam session attitude. The 'Farewell to Lochaber' is a tribute to their ancestral Scottish roots. The Gaelic, 'An Innis Àigh' (The Happy Isle) combines versatility of the ancient language and modern folk tradition. The whole album has a gritty and an edgy invocation. There's lots of fabulous piano, organ and fiddle arrangements in this album. The album was produced by three time Grammy winner George Massenburg having worked with James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat and Earth, Wind & Fire. It was recorded in Nashville and Nova Scotia. One can't go wrong with the quality of this album.
Once you try this album you may want to try out their other fruits of labor.
"Fare Thee Well Love"
"North Country" (Canadian Release)
"North Country" (American Release)
"Grey Dusk of Eve" (Canadian Release)
"Endless Seasons"
"Collection"
"Do You Hear...Christmas with Heather, Cookie and Raylene Rankin"
"Song Dog" (Jimmy Rankin)

Unforunately The Rankins have lost a gifted family member, John Morris Rankin who was killed in a tragic car accident in January 2000. This tragedy hasn't left the group undaunted. They continue to work onward to their goals in keeping the Celtic dream alive. If you're a Celtic music fan and like a Celtic and pop blend give them a try. This group shouldn't be passed up. A closer to fine recommendation for sure!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never better, October 28, 1999

By	Karlis Streips (Riga, Latvia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Rankin Family's "Endless Seasons" is an album that I play again and again and again and again. "North Country" was a comparative disappointment, but "Uprooted" puts them back on track as far as my tastes are concerned. There's much more of a country music edge in this album, but the heavenly harmonies are still there. I hope the Rankins keep making an album at least once a year, because I will always be a fan (and, by the way, if Raylene has left the group, I sure hope they tempt her back). If you want a combo of Nashville and the Celtic mood, buy this album for sure!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

When I first heard this album I said to myself, "This band is breaking up." Different members were pulling in too many musical directions - the group identity so evident in previous albums was lost.

The main problem with this album is they're trying too hard for a hit. "Movin On" features every country-western cliche in the book, and I can go to the country section of a record store, pick up a disc at random, and find something that sounds just like "Let It Go." And "Maybe You're Right" could have been recorded 20 years ago by ABBA.

But then you hear Cookie's astounding vocal on Bruce Cockburn's "Someday I Walk", or the astonishingly original "Parlour Medley", or Heather's tribute to their late mother ("Cold Winds"), or Jimmy's ambitious but not quite successful attempt at a Celtic-rap hybrid ("Weddings, Wakes, and Funerals") and you remember what made this group so special.

I'll miss this group tremendously. But for those of you hearing them for the first time, I'd recommend you start elsewhere.