Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
celtic rock classic, 31 Jul 2001
It is hard to imagine that Runrig have been going since the late 1970's and have successfully bridged their native Scottish roots with contemporary rock. Recovery more than adequately reflects this and it is refreshingly apparent that the Celtic language which appears in so many of the tracks proves so accessible to those of us who do not identify with it. In short, the songs are beautifully crafted and the whole album is varied to a point of being magnificent. A real treasure in any collection and, for those who hear it, a window into their considerable catalogue of superb music spanning four decades.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best from an outstanding band!, 14 Jan 2007
Many fellow English music fans I meet dismiss Runrig as a 'scottish band for scottish people', with the implication that without their 'scottishness' they would have met with much less success than they have over their now 30 year plus career. To me, this album is as good as any of their back catalogue at proving without a doubt what a foolish (and clearly ignorant) notion this is. Quite simply, this is just a beautiful sounding collection of songs FULL STOP. Yes, the writers'/ performers' fondness for their homeland, and respect for their roots, comes through loud and clear, but no more so than many more contemporary acts (and this in my view should never be a negative thing anyway). However, it is the strong songwriting (and muscianship) that is the true core to Runrig's work, and this is already more than evident here (just their third mainstream album), in songs such as Recovery, Old Boys, and Nightfall on Marsco to name just three.
As with all their recordings, some of the vocal tracks are in the bands' native gaelic tongue and the way these songs resonate with a non gaelic speaker such as myself, as much as the english tracks, is a testement to the ability of the songwriters (the brothers Rory & Calum MacDonald in the main), or performers in the case of traditional songs. In fact, one of my all time favourite Runrig songs appears on this album, 'Ic Iain 'Ic Sheumais' - an interpretation of a traditional gaelic song, and to my ears this song is as haunting and atmopheric (attributable in no small part to Rory MacDonald's fragile but beautiful, feeling-drenched vocal) as any I have ever heard from any artist.
For those more familiar with Runrig's more recent work, two of the tracks featured on this album, the aforementioned 'Old Boys' along with 'An Toll Dubh' appear re-worked on the 2003 Runrig album (with Paul Mounsey) 'Proterra'.
Ultimately, if you are fairly new to Runrig, this is a must for your collection because, whilst although the bands sound (and line-up) has changed and progressed over 30 years, this album displays all the fundamental principals that still hold true with their music today.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic, 20 Jan 2007
This is a milestone in the development of Scottish Gaelic music and set the stage for the music and culture beginning a renaissance into the wider culture of Scotland as a whole. Many bands (including Capercaillie) were to follow in this modern folk explosion and the early albums of Runrig, of which this and Highland Connection together are classics, set the stage for it.
Runrig would go on to be the biggest band in Scotland, not only selling out concerts and tours but creating ever larger venues to sell out (Loch Lomond) along the way. The radio stations of the day denied them the airplay which could have seen Runrig become as commercially successful in the charts as Clannad (they certainly had the fanbase for it) but nonetheless despite their limited chart appearances, their albums more than easily stand the test of time.
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