Reviews
Artist: Battlefield Band
Album:The Road Of Tears
Label:Temple Records
Tracks: 17
Rating: ****
Website: www.templerecords.co.uk
One of the things I like about the Celts is they know how to hold a grudge. Events and people are
immortalised in song so that they can be condemed or remembered, not just in their lifetime, but for as long
as the song continues to be sung or provide inspiration for the next generation of music.
The title track "The Road Of Tears", an Alan Reid composition sets the scene for the rest of the album. It moves
from the Hghland clearances, through to the Irish migrations and includes the displacement of the Native Americans
as it shows the tradgedy of history repeating it's self
The Battlefield Band, Alan Reid, Mike Katz, Sean O'Donnell and Alasdair White, draw on traditional songs and self penned
ones to highlight the point that songs written two or three hundred years ago, could easily be written today and still are.
The names and places may have changed, but events remain the same. Heroes and villans are identified and placed in song or tune.
One man that may fulfill both catagories, depending on your view point is George Galloway. Love him or hate him there are few
that weren't impressed by his performance in the US Senate. An event paid tribute to by Mike Katz, "Mr Galloway Goes To Washington"
Despite all of the albums the band have behind them, you never feel the band are just doing it by numbers. They are
passionate about what they do and by giving most of their albums themes they can get below the subject. There are songs about
impacts on people, people who left the country of their birth in search of a better life only to find hatred and mistrust where
they arrive. A life lived as a pawn hundreds of miles away from their home. Is the grass greener or not. It's a story that's
as relevent now as it ever was. Even in Europe people still travel hundreds of miles for dreams of better lives in the hope
they can make things better for those they've left behind.
"The Road Of Tears" encapsulates that very well, without ever becoming a dreary album. There are songs of hope and the blending
of songs and tunes keeps it fresh and varied. The Battlefield band have always included a lot of social and political content in
their work, but never lost sight of the need to entertain. "The Road Of Tears" maintains that strong tradition.