New York, USA – Grace & Pride (Survival Records/Valley entertainment,
2005) celebrates the 20th anniversary of Britain’s leading Celtic band,
Capercaillie (pronounced cap-er-cay-lee). The double CD anthology contains 38
tracks taken from each of the band’s 15 albums, including previously unreleased,
ultra-rare and long deleted tracks. Throughout their career Capercaillie have drawn on two great strengths to
inspire them. The first of these is the astonishing musical dexterity of the
various fiddle, whistle, flute and pipe players who have performed with them
over the years, led by the accordion and keyboards of band founder Donald Shaw.
The other foundation of the band has been the peerless voice of co-founder
Karen Matheson, described by Sean Connery as having “a throat that is surely
touched by God“. Universally recognized as one of the finest Gaelic singers
alive today, Karen’s exquisite voice has been at the centre of the band’s music,
whether breathing new life into 400-year old Gaelic songs or bringing her
luscious vocals to the band’s contemporary compositions.
There have been many milestones for a band who have sold over a million
albums world wide. These include three silver and one gold album in the UK, the
first Gaelic Top 40 single, writing the music for, and appearing in the
Hollywood movie Rob Roy, and performing in over thirty countries including Iraq,
Macedonia and the Sudan.
Capercaillie have been credited with being the major force in bringing Celtic
music to the world stage, and their unique fusion of Gaelic culture and
contemporary sound has always stretched boundaries in their quest to keep the
music evolving. On Grace and Pride the track listing follows the band
back in time from last year’s
Choice Language to their debut release in
1984 Cascade, taking in every album they have released along the way.
Grace and Pride: Anthology 2004-1984 is a fascinating journey through the
creative evolution of one of Scotland’s and roots music’s most enduring and
successful bands.
[Buy
Grace & Pride: Anthology 2004 – 1984].
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
