Wherever Yet May Be

by Old Blind Dogs

Overview

Wherever Yet May Be is the tenth album by this 18-year-old Scottish band, and if they haven't traveled very far from their origins, stylistically speaking, it may be simply because the musical territory they've staked out from the beginning has been so rich with possibilities. The lineup has changed numerous times over the years, and only fiddler/guitarist Jonny Hardie remains from the original version of the group. But what has not changed is Old Blind Dogs' simultaneous dedication to celebrating and stretching Scotland's musical traditions. This album is their first with piper and whistle player Ali Hutton, who contributes several fine original tunes to a program that constantly blends the new with the old: venerable traditional songs like "Banks of the Nile" and "Lough Erne's Shore" (the latter sung in a gorgeous, reedy tenor voice by guitarist and bouzouki player Aaron Jones) rub elbows with tune sets like the whistle-centric "Portobello" (itself a mix of traditional tunes and more recent compositions) and the hair-raisingly lovely "St. Kilda." Exotic percussion is a hallmark of the Old Blind Dogs sound, and on this album its success is more mixed than it has been on previous outings: it thumps insistently enough to suggest a Detroit house groove on "Lough Erne's Shore," but is so thuddingly insistent on the "Psychopomps" set that it ends up detracting from the tunes. And on what would otherwise have been a very nice arrangement of "Banks of the Nile," it feels clattery and disorganized and prevents the song from ever settling decisively into a groove. Old Blind Dogs deserve high praise for continuing to push this particular envelope, even if (maybe especially if) their experiments are inconsistently successful. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	09/07/2010
Label:	COMPASS RECORDS
UPC:	0766397454221

Tracks

1. St. Kilda
2. Lough Erne's Shore
3. Psychopomps: Fouller's Rant/Psychopomps
4. Scotland Yet
5. Portobello: Portobello/Miss Brady's/Hugie Shortie's Reel/Kent Road
6. Copper Kettle
7. Sir Steve Huska of Bryce Canyon
8. Broken Ring
9. Room with a View: Room with a View/Trip to Moreda/Danny's Birthdays
10. Banks of the Nile
11. Where Are You?
12. Desperate Fishwives: Desperate Fishwives/Frankie Drain's/The Golden Stud

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Old Blind Dogs   Primary Artist
Nathon Jones   Guitar (Resonator),Guest Artist
Ali Hutton   Guitar (Acoustic)
Aaron Jones   Guitar,Vocals,Bouzouki
Jonny Hardie   Fiddle,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Rick Taylor   Trombone,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Fraser Stone   Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Nigel Hitchcock   Sax (Tenor),Guest Artist,Sax (Soprano)
Angus Lyon   Guest Artist,Fender Rhodes

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
Andy M. Stewart   Composer
Charlie McKerron   Composer
Davy Steele   Composer
Fraser Stone   Design,Concept
Keith Bird   Mixing,Engineer
Alasdair White   Composer
Donald Shaw   Composer
Gordon Duncan   Composer
Fred Morrison   Composer
Old Blind Dogs   Arranger,Producer
Duncan Lyall   Engineer
Ali Hutton   Mixing,Concept,Composer
Robert Hakalski   Treatments,Package Design
Jamie Smith   Composer
Archie Macfarlane   Photography
Angus Lyon   Engineer
Johnny Wilmot   Composer
Mattheu Watson   Composer