Open Air Asylum (ARC MUSIC EUCD 2499, 2014)
If you are of Scots extraction, you will enjoy Saor Patrol. No question. As a Scot, I recommend the expense of any and all Saor Patrol CDs to other Scots. Readers who know the stereotype know that this is a strong statement.
Let me address non-Scots and other readers now. I have played their records for friends and heard most frequently as initial reaction, “A heavy metal band with bagpipes!” Well, “I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,” as Robert Burns put it, with any argument to that. I would, instead, agree. Heavy metal is supposed to incite. Nothing incites like the pipes.
In music as in other societal areas, the middle class is fading. There are $3-$6 cover charge bar bands and then there are the huge arena shows costing up to $1,000/ticket. The latter cost that much because the big boys cart around hundreds of tons of stage lights, props and gimmickry. Here’s an exciting band that needs some big speakers … and bagpipes.
It isn’t just bagpipes. The percussion is a smooth blend of big-stage rock and military march, abetting the pipes as if one is the carburetor and the other the pistons of an engine fueled by adrenalin, and the rest of the band gets it.
This Saor Patrol release happens to be live, and that helps to pump up any listener, but any of their CDs have the same strengths. Thank you, ARC Music, for making Saor Patrol’s music available to us all.
Buy Open Air Asylum in North America
Buy Open Air Asylum in Europe
Author: Arthur Shuey
Arthur has been reviewing music for publications since 1976 and began focusing almost exclusively on world music in 2012.
His musical background includes past presidencies of the Cape Fear Musicians Association and Blues Society of the Lower Cape Fear, founding membership in nine other blues societies, service on 17 music festival planning committees, two decades of teaching harmonica to individuals and groups, operating a small recording studio and performing solo and in combos for 30 years.
Arthur has written professionally since 1975, pieces ranging from short fiction to travel articles, humor to poetry, mainly for local and regional entertainment media. His blog,” Shuey’s World,” is featured at www.accesswilmington.com.
Absolutely addictive music..I discovered them almost two years ago and I simply can’t get enough of these fellas…This is not some pretty-boy pop ban….These guys are authentic, wild and original…Open Air Asylum is one if the best live albums ever done..you can practically feel the electricity in the crowd….and Outlander, their newest album … takes them to a whole new level on the world stage of music….If your soul doesn’t want to be Scottish after listening to Outlander….then you just don’t have one….