Eddi Reader Sings The Songs Of Robert Burns CD

Eddi Reader has proven her worth as a sublime singer of pop and folk material (and beyond), but this returns her full-bore to her Scottish roots. Born from the concerts she did at the 2002 Celtic Connections festival, it's a decidedly lush performance that hauls in several well-known Celtic names like Phil Cunningham, John McCusker, and Ian Carr to help her along. But it's Reader's rendition of Robert Burns' classics that's the key here. She picked familiar material, songs that have become part of the folk continuum that can be both a blessing and a curse. But she reinvents something like "My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose," investing it with rich emotion. She positively flies on the more romantic songs, such as "Ae Fond Kiss," but she brings a surprising depth to "Charlie Is My Darling" and the chestnut "Auld Lang Syne," and "Ye Jacobites" sizzles with tension. The arrangements go for the cinematic rather than the intimate, putting them on the dangerous edge of new age. But such is the quality of everyone involved that there's no danger of teetering over and it becomes a tour de force. It is one of the highlights of Reader's splendid career, and even "Wild Mountainside," decidedly not a Burns song, fits in perfectly. ~ Chris Nickson

Live Recording

Recorded at CaVa Studios, Glasgow, Scotland.

Personnel: Eddie Reader (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ian Carr (acoustic guitar, piano); Colin Reid, Boo Hewerdine (acoustic guitar); John McCuscker (cittern, violin, whistles); Christine Hanson (cello); Phil Cunningham (whistles, accordion, piano); Ewen Vernal (double bass); Roy Dodds (percussion).

Q (Magazine) (p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Reader's rich voice breathes new life into Burn's words."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Her ventures are immaculately supported by John McCusker, Boo Hewerdine and Kate Rusby plus the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, beneficiaries of Kevin McCrae's eloquent string arrangements."