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REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

 


 

 

 
ERIC FALCONER - The Road To Yair 

ERIC FALCONER - The Road To Yair 
Brigside Music BS159 

This CD is a product of the Scottish Borders, from the musicians to the recording and the inspirations for the naming of most of the tracks. For example, the title track refers to a road running past the farm where Eric Falconer’s grandfather worked as a shepherd.

Eric is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, and here we hear him on fiddle, guitar, bouzouki, bass, bodhrán, percussion and piano. His guests are Sally Caunt, cello; Aidan Falconer, fiddle and piano; Brian Holton, guitar, dulcimer and whistle; Ian King, fiddle; Liz Marroni, guitar; Martin Marroni, flute; Tom Roseburgh, piano; and Matt Seattle, border pipes. This brings together again a version of the Clarty Cloot Ceilidh Band, in which Eric, Ian, Liz and Martin played for some 20 years. The album was recorded sporadically over a four-year period, which wasn’t helped by the studio burning down at one point, and there is an overall feel of an extended informal session, with different combinations of instruments, albeit mostly with the fiddles predominating. There’s a good range of variation in tempo and pace, although the faster numbers probably have the edge.

Nearly all the tunes are Eric’s own compositions, and there are useful notes telling their background. One track, the Egan’s Polka set, was played by Eric’s son, Aidan, when he was only eight, and he wrote one of the tunes at the same age, so the tradition is certainly being passed down the family! A fine local effort.

https://ericfalconer.scot

Gordon Potter

 

This review appeared in Issue 131 of The Living Tradition magazine