DOUGIE MACKENZIE WITH BRIAN MILLER - Along The Way
Greentrax Recordings CDTRAX403
A debut album on top label, Greentrax, from one of Scotland's finest singers of traditional songs, Dougie Mackenzie. He is well-known from appearances at many Scottish and English festivals over the years and has won many traditional singing competitions including Keith, Falkland, Kirriemuir and Aberdeen. The songs are mostly traditional and finely produced by Ian McCalman.
Hailing from the Highlands and with an early background in Gaelic, Dougie's voice has a warm quality and he shows a great understanding in the interpretation of the songs. He is joined by one of Scotland’s best folk guitarists, Brian Miller, with some wonderful arrangements and sensitive playing, also including some cittern. These arrangements greatly enhance the album, which also contains seven unaccompanied songs out of the full listing of 14.
The Rigs O’ Rye is a standout track, together with Sean Cannon (of the Dubliners’) version of The Wild Rover and the Bonny Light Horseman. Dougie’s voice works extremely well with Miller’s accompaniments and these would be favourites in a folk club setting. There are two contemporary songs and, again, these are well-arranged - Dave Goulder’s The January Man and Mike Waterson’s Jack Frost.
Mackenzie was a regular singer at Inverness Folk Club in the early 70s and learnt his trade from many influences including source singers Jeanie Robertson, Lizzie Higgins and the Stewarts of Blair. However, he lost his voice in his early twenties and this persisted for many years. It has taken until the last 20 years for him to go from strength to strength, re-establishing his place as one of Scotland’s leading singers of traditional songs. A superb album with a varied and excellent selection of songs sung in a warm and definitive style.
www.greentrax.com
John Carnie
This review appeared in Issue 129 of The Living Tradition magazine