Please feel free to download any of the
images below for press/media/promotional purposes or, if you're
an Old Blind Dogs fan, as a Desktop background.
To download large scale versions of any of the images below,
simply right click on the appropriate image and choose "Save
Target As...". |
|
|
 |
Four On the Floor
New CD, new line-up, very recognisable sound...Old Blind Dogs are now Fraser Stone (percussion), Aaron Jones (bouzouki/guitar), Rory Campbell (pipes) and the only remaining founder member Jonny Hardie (fiddle). They continue their habit of many years of treating the tradition with respect...but not too much respect. So - the weel-kent and week-loved Braw Sailing on the Sea acquires a cheeky shuffle and thus a new set of clothes. Ewan McColl's chilling Terror Time loses its normal anthem/dirge delivery, but none of its drama, as it gallops along, propelled by driving guitar and percussion. New-boy vocalist Aaron Jones brings his own sound to the OBDs as well. It's more reminiscent of the intense, occasionally almost snarly Ian F. Benzie sound of yore than of the creamy, melliflous tones of Jim Malcolm, and the OBDs seem to have adjusted their choice of songs to take account of that. This is a well-balanced set of well-known songs/tunes including a second pop at The Bonnie Earl O'Moray and Bedlam Boys/Rights of Man.
The mnost memorable track for me is, however, Davie Robertson's Star O the Bar - a club/pub standard, generally bellowed by massed voices, unaccompanied (and not always entirely in tune). Here, the song finds itself with an almost string-quartetty arrangement...that works, against all odds. Perhaps that's the OBDs greatest skill - to find new facets of a song or tune, to give it a tasteful, if often improbable, new set of clothes and let us all hear it as if for the first time. Or perhaps it's their ability to change line-up and come out sounding radically different , but still the same - the Old-Blind-Dogness seems to survive line-up changes and anno domini - and that's remarkable...as is this CD.
- Alan Murray - The Living Tradition Magazine |
Play Live - Opening with 'Battle of Harlaw' the Old Blind Dogs will have your attention and they will keep it. The use of the border pipes gives a wonderful lift to the song. The mood quietens on the set of instrumentals collectively called 'Sky City', combining the contemporary title piece with a traditional Galician jig and the beautifully named 'Lovely Basket of Nice Smelling Flowers'. One of my favourite tracks on the album is 'Young Edward', a chilling ballad dating back two centuries and, like so many such songs, it is filled with blood and violence. Going to a restaurant for lunch will never be the same after you listen to the contemporary tune called 'Soup of the Day'. They return to the tradition for the next track, 'Tramps & Hawkers', to remind us of a bygone age that was far from rosey for the itinerant workers who inspired the tale. The band then takes on another challenge by combining new lyrics and a traditional tune on 'Battle of Waterloo'. I am delighted to report that the chance pays off. One of my favourite instrumental pieces is the beautiful 'Lochanside' and it is heard here combined with 'Morag Haig-Thomas'. No Scottish album is complete without something from Robert Burns, and we must admit there are many tunes to choose from. The Old Blind Dogs take 'A Man's a Man For A' That' and re-arrange it to great effect. They end this concert in your living room with a gentle start and hearty finishing 'A Wild Rumpus'. The insert gives us the background and lyrics. This is a wonderful live recording that captures the atmosphere without having long rambling chat between tracks.
- Nicky Rossiter - Rambles.net |
Play Live - Originally from Aberdeen, the quintet performs pipe tunes and uptempo dance melodies with all the skill of their predecessors, and this live recording, culled from their spring 2004 U.S. tour, manages to bottle the lightning that frequently strikes in concert. Jonny Hardie's fiddle, Rory Campbell's border pipes, and Fraser Stone's percussion make the medley called 'A Wild Rumpus' live up to its name. The Caribbean rhythm wafting through 'Kincardine Lads' lends buoyancy to this traditional song about the pleasures of illicit whiskey, and Jim Malcolm's robust lead vocal in 'Young Edward' and Robert Burns's 'A Man's a Man for A' That' injects new life into some venerable songs. Scotland's brave heart beats here. (Reprinted by permission of author.)
- Copyright (c) - Earle Hitchner |
"The...band keeps its modern grooves authentic by following Robert Burns' 200-year-old model of applying original arrangements to traditional forms...This veteran Scottish trad quintet whips up energy while making it look like it's no big deal...the sell-out crowd is dancing behind the soundboard. Malcolm brings his own variety of laconic cool, 'The Wisest Fool' has a sweet choral hook that hands off to Cambell's border pipes, backed by a funky conga groove, fiddle, bass, and even a harmonica backbeat. Much of the melodic engine is driven by Rory Campbell, an extraordinary Scots border piper and whistler. He cranks out original pipe tunes at an alarming rate, his writing infused with fire and authenticity."
- Danny Carnahan - Acoustic Guitar Magazine |
Long on quantity and long on quality, Scotland 's favourite live act of 2004 runs through an impressive set from their last three studio albums. There's a nod to the early days of Iain Benzie and Davy Cattenach with ‘The Battle of Harlaw’, but after this opening big ballad it's non-stop newer material fronted by Jim Malcolm and Rory Campbell. The Dogs settle quickly into their customary gutsy groove somewhere between blues and birl, and they stay there pretty much for the next hour. You could winge about the lack of variety, the same 5-piece sound track after track, the reliance on fancy percussion to lift the tunes, or even the slightly cheesy choice of chunes, but that would be to ignore the fact that this CD contains an hour of solid, engaging music whose warm and intimate delivery is easy to appreciate.
There's a bit of everything here. Breton and Galician tunes played on a variety of pipes and flutes, Scottish piping classics such as ‘Lochanside’ and ‘A Man's A Man’, new songs from Jim and old songs from the tradition, new tunes from Gavin Marwick and other young composers, and old favourites like ‘The Battle of Waterloo’ or ‘Kincardine Lads’ which will delight OBD's loyal followers. It's hard not to be touched by the powerful vocals of ‘The Wisest Fool’ or the musical brilliance of ‘ Sky City ’. Even the packaging is appealing, chaotic images over a careful listing of tunes and full lyrics for all tracks. No surprises, but no disappointments either: it does exactly what it says on the box.
- Alex Monaghan - The Living Tradition |
OLD Blind Dogs are captured in prime form on this live set recorded during their American tour last summer, and ahead of their taking the Best Band award at the Scots Trad Music Awards in December. The material is all familiar, mixing Jim Malcolm's expressive singing on established favourites such as The Battle of Harlaw, Kincardine Lads and Tramps and Hawkers with sparkling instrumental sets that allow the band to stretch out and show off their virtuosity, led by fiddler Jonny Hardie and piper Rory Campbell. Stirring stuff, and the quality of the live recording does them full justice. ****
- Kenny Mathieson - The Scotsman |
The band may have travelled far and wide across the planet in search of their wages but the Old Blind Dogs repertoire is set very firmly in their native Scotland. A seriously rocking crew, the ‘dogs’ helmed by Jim Malcolm’s soaring vocals (just check out his range on the opening track “Battle Of Harlaw”), the stirring pipes of Rory Campbell, Jonny Hardie’s fiddle, Aaron Jones bass/bouzouki and Fraser Stone’s percussion sees them moving into territory pioneered by the Tannahill’s and Battlefield Band - only on heat. Taking the predominantly traditional songs and knocking them into shape (50 verse ballads anyone?) by trimming them and rounding them off with a great groove has certainly proved a resounding success which is obvious from the audience response at the end of each number. The lads prove they can also be subtle when the need arises and the beautiful air “Cuilfhionn” wafts along nicely until the frantic change of pace with “The Rejected Suitor” snaps you back to reality. The group’s rhythmical beat is totally infectious and by the time “The Kincardine Lads” is introduced to the set you can just imagine the audience boogy-ing on down. The hypnotic Breton/Galician set would I’m sure be approved by Paul McKenna whilst the Gothic tale of “Young Edward” wouldn’t go amiss as a banner headline in the latest edition of The Sun. So, a little bit of something for everyone – cracking performances all round and if this is your first introduction to the dogs I’m sure you’ll be left panting for more!
- Pete Fyfe - www.folking.com |
|
