First Degree Burns
By Steve Winick

Nineteen-ninety-six is the 200th anniversary of the death of Scotland's greatest poet and one of its greatest songwriters and song collectors. To mark the occasion, various artists are recording albums chock full of Burns' best songs.

The most ambitious project in this regard is certainly The Complete Songs of Robert Burns, a projected 12-CD set covering all of Burns' songs. The first volume was a gem, and Volume 2: Ye Jacobites by Name [Linn CKD 051 (1996)] continues to deliver excellent performances from truly great singers and musicians. If not every song is a masterpiece ("Would I Were on Parnassus' Hill," though given a nice treatment by Alan Reid, is at heart a melodrama, far removed from Burns' earthy best), the majority of them are magnificent. The singers are Gordeanna McCulloch, Ian Bruce, Billy Ross, Janet Russell, Rod Paterson, Alan Reid, Tony Cuffe, Ian Benzie and Arthur Johnstone. All are highly acclaimed performers in the Scottish Folk revival, having headed up such remarkable and diverse bands as Jock Tamson's Bairns, Ossian, The Easy Club, the Battlefield Band, the Palaver Trio, Small Talk and The Laggan. They are accompanied by 13 master instrumentalists from Scotland's rich traditional music scene.

The calibre of the performers and of the material makes this disc shine. "Now Westlin' Winds" and "The Soldier's Return," the two songs by Ian Bruce that bookend the album, are the most fully realized songs and perhaps the choicest cuts, but many, many moments come close. Cuffe and Paterson's duet on "Willie Brewed a Peck o' Maut," Paterson's rousing version of "My Wife's a Wanton Wee Thing," Russell and Kydd's unaccompanied vocal medley of "Hey Ca' Thro" and "The De'il's awa' wi' th'exciseman," and Reid's "Rantin' Rovin' Robin" are all exceptional. The arrangements range from a capella singing to full blooded rants; all are at once tasteful and exciting. I'm happy to see that this CD features a few musicians who were not on Volume One; I hope they keep adding more as the series progresses, so we can hear even more of Scotland's greatest singers performing these marvelous songs.

Robert Burns' The Merry Muses [Iona IRCD 035 (1996)] is a similar, though more limited project, bringing together more of Scotland's best folk musicians to perform selections from Burns' "Merry Muses of Caledonia," a collection of bawdy songs. The singers here are Gill Bowman, Davy Steele, Robin Laing, Fiona Forbes, Scott Murray and Tich Frier, and all are accomplished performers. The arrangements are a bit less varied than on the Complete Songs; mostly guitars with occasionally a fiddle, congas and Patsy Seddon's electro-harp. Still, they are good backdrops for some dramatic singing. The only reason not to get this CD is if you're easily offended; though "ye hae lein wrang" is rather tame, few of these songs can make that claim; two of the titles, "Nine Inch Will Please a Lady," and "Nae Hair On't," are enough to make some of us blush. If words like "fuck," "prick," and "cock" (not to mention the scandalous "houghmagandie"), or situations like a cooper making a housecall to "bang her buttocks again the wa' " or a husband vexed that he has married a wife "whose cunt was out o' fashion" make you squirm, this CD is not for you. For my own part, I marvel at the bravery of these singers; I know I'd be unable to sing most of these songs. They may be (to borrow a phrase from Burns) "the smuttiest sang[s] that e'er was sung," but they are fun to listen to, and I recommend this CD to all who can take it.

Dougie MacLean is certainly one of the Scottish scene's best-known voices. His CD Tribute [Dunkeld DUNCD 020 (1995)] pays homage not only to Burns, but also to two of Burns' contemporaries, songwriter Robert Tannahill and fiddler Neil Gow. Burns' songs do make up the bulk of the disc — seven out of 11 tracks — and MacLean does a marvelous job. His voice, gently mournful and lightly craggy, manages to turn even the often jingoistic "Scots Wha' Hae" into a reflective piece full of questioning and soul-searching — some understated but Edge-like echoplex guitar by Jimmy Anderson is a nice touch. MacLean includes his heart-rending version of "The Slave's Lament," complete with weeping electric guitar and harmonica, as well as fine renditions of "Ca' the Yowes," "Banks and Braes," "Rattlin' Roarin' Willie," and "Auld Lang Syne." The only song that could have used a more forceful delivery here is "For a' That," which he performs in his usual, reflective style. As for the Tannahill songs, they include "Are You Sleepin Maggie" and "Gloomy Winter," whose melody, incidentally, was swiped to become that ubiquitous theme from The Piano. Two sets of fiddle tune from Gow round out an excellent package.

The releases I discussed above are all firmly rooted in the contemporary Scottish folk scene. The liner notes to The Complete Songs of Robert Burns suggest that Burns would have liked this, but point out another type of arrangement that Burns enjoyed: voice and harpsichord. That's the style featured on Susan Rode Morris & Phebe Craig's new CD Between Late and Early Romantic Songs of Robert Burns [Donsuemor DSM40601 (1995)]. Rode Morris is well-known as the soprano with the excellent early music group Ensemble Alcatraz, and Craig is well-known in the worlds of Bach and Baroque music. They contend that this is the way Burns heard his songs performed. Though this is only partly true (Burns rewrote more songs than he wrote from scratch; those that were traditional songs he undoubtedly heard unaccompanied) it is certainly a valid way to interpret Burns. Both performers are consistent and confident, and the selections are among Burns' finest songs. Anyone who enjoys early music will have a ball with this. I offer two small criticisms of the disc. One is that with just voice and harpsichord, there's not much variety in timbre or overall sound. The other is that the classical style of enunciation coupled with an affected burr lend an exaggerated rolling to the r's that is distracting to those of us accustomed to Scottish folk music. Still, Between Late and Early is an early music fan's best buy among the bumper crop of Burns.

Other Burns Recordings of Interest

As part of the 1996 bicentenary of the death of the great Scots poet Robert Burns, Linn Records debuts the first of a staggering 12 volume set of CDs of new recordings of Burns' 368-song catalogue. For this first volume, 23 tracks are sung and performed by many of Scotland's finest traditional singers. The performers include Ossian alumni Billy Ross and Tony Cuffe, Christine Kydd and Janet Russell, the Battlefield Band's Alan Reid, Ian F. Benzie of the Old Blind Dogs and Rod Paterson of Ceolbeg and The Easy Club. Some of Burns' most beloved songs are played, in addition to some of his more obscure pieces, recorded here for the first time.

Cuffe's earthy, reedy voice and stately guitar open the set with a heartwrenching version of "When Rosy May Comes In Wi' Flowers," backed by John McCusker's fiddle, before going on to "Sweet Afton," where he is joined by former Ossian harper William Jackson. Elsewhere, he duets with Paterson's husky, rich voice on "Wee Willie Gray." Paterson's tracks are among the best and it is sad that his stunning voice is not heard far from his native Scotland. He submits distinctive versions of "O, that I had Ne'er been Married," "O, Rattlin Roarin Willie," as well as emotionally stirring versions of love songs like "The Tea-rigg," and "Of A' the Airts the Wind Can Blaw." Reid turns in only one song, the wonderful tale of the devil and marital bliss in "Kellyburn Braes." Benzie's smooth and rich voice graces three tracks, the best being a world-weary version of "The Wintry West Extends his Blast." It's great to hear Ross singing with such passion again, on "Brose and Butter," "Lady Mary Ann," and an elegant version of "The Winter It is Past."

Kydd and Russell supply some of the recording's more unusual contributions. Their duet on "Duncan Gray" is given a "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"- styled rhythm that works unexpectedly well. Kydd duets with Paterson on "Gudeen to You Kimmer," as well as singing solo on a warm version of "The Slaves Lament." Russell gives a zestful version of "To the Weaver's Gin You Go," and a show-stopping reading of "O Wha'll Mow Me Now?"

An edifying essay by Dr. Fred Freeman and complete lyrics (to help understand the broad Scots) round out the package. - Lahri Bond (Hadley, MA)
(Linn Records - Floors Road, Waterfoot, Eaglesham, Glasgow, Scotland G76 0EP)

Jean Redpath's voice has long been one of the wonders of the folk world, and these reissues of her singing the work of Robert Burns is a most welcome one, to commemorate the bicentenary of Burns' death. The arrangements, by Serge Hovey, are uncluttered. Even at their most complex, there's a spare, pastoral feeling which sets off Redpath's clear vocals. As to the material itself, it's amazing how much is familiar "Auld Lang Syne," "Charlie He's My Darling," "A Parcel of Rogues in a Nation" (although I do prefer the Steeleye version), "Green Grow the Rushes O." Of course, there's plenty more that's not so well known, a total of 75 pieces here. - Chris Nickson (Seattle, WA)
(Philo/ One Camp Street/ Cambridge, MA 02140)

Accompanied by just his plaintive, expressive acoustic guitar and banjo, Ewan MacColl bellows, croons, and roars his way through 23 Burns classics, including "Green Grow the Rashes O," "Rattlin' Roarin' Willie," and "Ay, Waukin O." Lesser covered numbers from Burns' vast catalogue are also included, and are often times some of the album's most entertaining moments. These rare gems consist of such tunes as the almost folk punk of "I Hae a Wife O' My Kin,' the sweetly intoned "A Braw Wooer," and the lovely "Tibbie Dunbar."

MacColl is joined by his wife and longtime musical accompanist Peggy Seeger for Scottish Traditional Songs. A slightly more vigorous set than the Burns record, this recording is much more representative of the couple's live sets. Highlights include MacColl's unaccompanied clan roll call of the "Highland Muster Roll," a spectral version of "Charlie O Charlie," and moving version of "The Wars of Germany." While many of these tunes have appeared on the cornucopia of MacColl "Best of's" that appeared shortly after his death, these are considerably different versions and they hold hours of interest for both MacColl completists and the casual enthusiast, alike. - Lahri Bond (Hadley, MA) (Ossian Publications USA/ RR8, Box 374/ Loudon, NH 03301)