Best of the Tannahill Weavers

Album Review

1979 found Scotland's the Tannahill Weavers road weary and back in the studio for their third release. The award-winning Tannahill Weavers solidified the group as the ambassadors of traditional Scottish folk, and went on to win numerous accolades including the coveted "Scotstar" award for album of the year. Beginning with "Geese in the Bag/The Jig of Slurs," which, 20 years later still opens each and every show, the now cemented lineup tears through reels, hornpipes, and jigs like the seasoned pros they've become, stopping only to build rich vocal harmonies over singer/guitarist Roy Gullane's expressive brogue — their version of the folk classic, "Tae the Weavers Gin Ye Gang," remains the song's definitive vocal arrangement. Also included is an updated version of the audience favorite "Gypsy Laddie," anchored by Alan MacLeod's powerful piping, that trumps the bagpipe-less version on their debut. The collection also introduces audiences to the tune "Jock Stewart," a bittersweet drinking song that was later recorded for the Pogues' Rum, S****y and the Lash album under the title "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Every Day." The record's centerpiece is the epic "Farewell to Flunary/Heather Island," a reverb-drenched lament that features one of Gullane's most haunting vocal takes, and a heartbreaking air that builds like smoke from a peat-fire.