Do bagpipes frighten you? Well, we here at the Daily Vault in
\nour continued mission to widen your musical horizons want to
\n-help-, really we do. Bagpipes don’t have to be scary. Bagpipes can
\nbe a heck of a lot of fun, especially when they’re used by the
\nScottish rock band Wolfstone. Wolfstone is neither a rock band
\ntinged with Celtic rhythms or a Celtic new age mishmosh with a
\nslight rock beat; they’re a straight-ahead rock band, unabashed,
\nproud, and loud, who just happen to use bagpipes, fiddle, and tin
\nwhistle, and they’re more fun than a Rangers-Celtic match after
\nfour shots of Cardhu. With a remarkably permanent lineup (from 1991
\nto 1997, they never lost a core member) centered on fiddler Duncan
\nChisholm and guitarist Stuart Eaglesham, Wolfstone is astonishingly
\nconsistent in sound, feel, and quality.<\/p>\n
\nPick of the Litter<\/i> is their 1997 greatest hits CD, available
\nfrom Green Linnet Records. Green Linnet has done a good deal for
\nCeltic music in this country, and should be commended; most of
\ntheir acts, however, are more traditional than Wolfstone, so when I
\npicked this up, I was surprised that this album does have that much
\nof a kick. From the openings chords of “Battle”, a rock
\ninstrumental laced with the stinging bite of bagpipes, the sense of
\npower and depth never leaves you. The mating of pipes, fiddle, and
\nelectric guitar can occasionally sound forced (say, on the Corrs’
\nTalk On Corners<\/i>, one of the worst sophomore slumps in music
\nhistory) but to Wolfstone it comes naturally and easily. A good
\ndeal of the reason behind it is the powerful drum lines lacing the
\nrecordings, for which both John Henderson and Mop Youngson should
\nget considerable credit. Wolfstone also knows when not to overdo
\nit; the instrumental “The Howl” is only drums and keyboards for a
\nminute and a half of intro, so when Chisholm’s nimble fiddle cuts
\nin you
\nnotice<\/b> it.<\/p>\n
Wolfstone may, on the whole, be the single best balanced band
\nI’ve ever heard. Standout tracks include “Tall Ships”, the band’s
\ntribute to the vanished Glasgow shipbuilding industry; “Heart And
\nSoul”; “Brave Foot Soldiers”; “Sleepy Toon”, one of the most
\ndemonically catchy melodies I’ve ever heard; and “Holy Ground”, an
\noddly bitter look at religion in Scotland. “Glenglass” is one of
\nthe sweetest instrumental fiddle and guitar duets I’ve ever heard,
\nand the almost flamenco opening to “The L10 Float” raises that same
\ninstrumental combination into the transcendant for a moment or
\ntwo.<\/p>\n
If Wolfstone has a weakness, it’s that in some ways they’re
\n-too- smooth; I’ve owned this CD for a year now, and I still had to
\ncheck the track names. The songs have a tendency to blend together.
\nAdding some punch may be the final ingredient this musical haggis
\nneeds for true genius; unfortunately, 1998’s “This Strange Place”
\nlacked both punch and fire, and it remains to be seen what the
\nupcoming “Seven” release will be like.<\/p>\n
A minor complaint, though.
\nPick Of The Litter<\/i> is a fine overview of Wolfstone’s sound
\nand career, and worth checking into if the heady blend of rock and
\nScottish traditional sound appeals to you. Join the fight against
\nwimpy neo-Celtic music, and get yourself the
\nPick Of The Litter<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":25057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6126],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-36262","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-wolfstone","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36262"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36262"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}