Ceolbeg
Album: Ceolbeg Collected
Label: Greentrax
Tracks: 16
Website: http://greentrax.com/music/product/ceolbeg-collected

If you want pure Scottish celtic music then this really is the band for you. An older band which was mostly active in the late 1900s before they ended up splitting in 2002. We get with this band a blend of Celtic styles working to present a full platter of a Celtic experience.

The opening track of the collection is 'March, Strathsprey and Reel' and this gives us a flavour of different pure Scottish samples lead by a whistle and guitar that takes us through traditional samples of the song title. This first choice of set is actually interesting as Ceol Beag is the Gaelic for 'small music' and usually alludes to a march or a reel, which is exactly what we are presented in this first selection.

The collection is not focused purely on this kind jig, quickly spreading into slow tunes such as 'Cairn Water' and 'Cantabrain Jog' and vocal tunes backed by a variety of different instruments which all help to show a full range of abilities from the band.

Ceolbeg sounds to be a band of experience, working to give good music without setting themselves firm boundaries as some bands going for particular styles may do. Instead Ceolbeg embraces different ways of presenting Scottish music. 'Here's a Health to the Sauters' in particular breaks the mould of most of the other tunes but still gives us this strong and undeniable Scottish tone through the vocalised lyrics.

The instruments used in the collection really do vary through most kinds of strings, whistles and pipes. What I did find with the music is even if you could list each instrument used, every set uses them in such different ways.

It seems through this music, despite the time it was produced, has a very modern element to it that we are seeing in most modern bands, so it seems that Ceolbeg have literally been and gone before their time, which is always great to see. 'Johnnie Cope' takes a traditional tune and adds a new wave of excitement to it with the powerful vocals through the song and then the lovely bagpipe solo half way through just to give that little extra spice to a lovely track.

Nothing is left out, so much to my delight there were bagpipe tracks. 'Zito the Bubbleman' and 'The Sleeping Tune' were short but fantastic bagpipe tunes to just help brighten this collection and give us plenty to enjoy.

This collection is fantastic and is a great tribute to the band, gathering their best work all into one place.

Paul Rawcliffe