Track Listing

1. The Twister (Glenn Graham and Rodney MacDonald)
2. Clumsy Lover Set (The Barra MacNeils)
3. O'er The Moor Among The Heather (Natalie MacMaster)
4. Maggie Brown's (Stephanie Wills)
5. Boo Baby's Lullaby (Jerry Holland)
6. Gord's Jigs (Gordie Sampson)
7. The Iron Man (Brenda Stubbert)
8. Stepdance Medley (Buddy MacMaster)
9. Brucie and the Troopers (Slainte Mhath)
10. Kilts On Fire (Howie MacDonald)
11. The Mathematician/Sleepy Maggie (J.P. Cormier)
12. Cape Breton Set (Jamie MacInnis and Paul MacNeil)
13. The Boys Of The Town (Wendy MacIsaac)
14. Gaelectric Blues (Dave MacIsaac)
15. Malts On The Optics (Tracey Dares)
16. The Breton Batherson Dancers (Jennifer Roland)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #246220 in Music
• Released on: 1998-01-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
The cream of the crop of Cape Breton Celtic musicians.

Angus Og: Every Celtic Thing On The Web; March, 1998
A stunning compilation of instrumental tunes featuring Cape Breton's foremost Celtic musicians. Compiled with liner notes by Gordie Sampson.

Jim Scarff: New and Noteworthy Celtic Albums; April, 1998
This is a collection of 16 instrumental tracks, including four previously unrecorded tracks. The fiddlers represented include many great current ones: Natalie MacMaster, Buddy MacMaster*, Jerry Holland*, Brenda Stubbert, Howie MacDonald*, Jennifer Roland, Glen Graham and Rodney MacDonald, Stephanie Wills, and Wendy MacIsaac. (Previously unrecorded tunes are marked by a *, and Buddy's "Stepdance Medley" is a beauty.) Interspersed between the fiddlers is some great piping by Jamie MacInnis and Paul MacNeil, plus the guitar work of Dave MacIsaac and the CD's producer Gordie Sampson*, the fiery banjo work of J.P. Cormier, the amazing piano playing of Tracy Dares, and samples of two groups - the more traditional Barra MacNeils and the more modern Slainte Mhath*.

Customer Reviews

Good introduction to Cape Breton music
Cape Breton must be in the lead for the "musical talent per capita" award, as this album amply illustrates. It's a good introduction to the wide range of styles found under the general heading of Cape Breton traditional music, from the traditional stylings of Buddy MacMaster to the contemporary energy of Slainte Mhaith. In between are the amazingly versatile Barra MacNeils (this album features an instrumental, but they are equally strong on vocals), the incredibly talented J.P. Cormier (equally virtuostic on fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, and bass and a great singer and songwriter to boot), and the unique piano stylings of Tracy Dares. As with all samplers, not every cut is equally strong - Stephanie Wills' intonation is painfully bad and Graham and MacDonald's isn't much better. You'll want to buy a number of the albums sampled here, but will be frustrated by their unavailability (unless you're lucky enough to be Canadian).

Gaelic Fiddling: A Musical Feast
I knew I would love the music on this CD from the cover alone, a close-up view of a violin (fiddle)! The back cover photo was just as inviting, rolling hills, with a field of wild flowers, and a small farm building. The music is fresh, lively, and full of expression just as the Gaelic language itself! Most of the tunes are jigs, reels, airs, and strathspeys, many are accompanied on Uillean pipes or bagpipes, one is played on the guitar and another has a piano accompaniment. The titles to each sets speak volumes: "O'er the Moor Among the Heather", "Clumsy Lover Set", "The Iron Man", "Brucie and the Troopers", "Kilts in the Fire", " Gaelectric Blues" ... each has 3 - 6 different pieces played in succession, while difficult at times to tell when one begins and the other starts, it is absolulely thrilling to have about 45 - 47 *different* musical tunes on one CD. This is dance music at its BEST! The liner notes give a brief bio on each fiddler (there are about 15, only one of which I recognize, Natalie McMaster). It describes some family background about musical origins and connections, describes the musician's rise to recognition in the Cape Breton community, some have come national attention and others to international, as well. It really makes you feel proud of their achievements, as if *you* were a friend & neighbor, wishing them success on their rise to fame and fortune! Word descriptions of this music: hypnotic, mesmerizing tunes, musical frenzy, spiralling ecstasy, rousing, passionate and magical playing (some of the violins have been passed down from generation to generation)!!! If you love the violin when it is called a "fiddle", this CD is for you! Erika Borsos (erikab93)