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 Fiddler and guitarist Johnny Hardie is the only remaining original member of Old Blind Dogs, but the process of change has been gradual, and the band have largely retained their musical philosophy. Their initial focus on material from the North-east has broadened, including tunes from Brittany and Galicia, but the fusion of traditional Scottish music with undercurrents from world music, reggae, jazz and rock remains central.
Fraser Stone’s hand percussion on the West African djembe lies at the heart of the band’s sound, and when combined with Aaron Jones’s electric bass, it provided a flexible but propulsive rhythmic momentum for Hardie’s virtuoso fiddling and the equally compelling pipe and whistle playing of Rory Campbell. The high-octane instrumental sets included the appropriately named The Wild Rumpus and a rock-out on Rory Campbell’s Soup of the Day alongside more conventional material. They alternated with songs from the Scots tradition, superbly sung by Jim Malcolm, with all but Stone chipping in on the harmony vocals that are one of this band’s trademarks.
Malcolm has settled into the role since replacing Ian Benzie as lead vocalist, and his guitar and harmonica playing added a further dimension to the band’s instrumental resources. Songs included the boisterous Tramps and Hawkers and Kincardine Lads, the dark and brooding The Ballad of Young Edward, and Burns’ A Man’s a Man for A’ That, taken at a lively clip with an insouciant rhythmic swagger that felt more Caribbean than Ayrshire in its inspiration.
- The Scotsman |
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