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Deze CD is er de oorzaak van dat ik geïnteresseerd ben geraakt in de muziek uit Schotland, daarna Ierland en toen alles wat met folkmuziek te maken heeft, tot aan Spanje toe.

Ik kocht de dubbel-LP ongeveer 28 jaar geleden in Schotland en was direct gefascineerd. Hij werd grijsgedraaid en uitgeleend. Niets meer van vernomen, je weet hoe dat gaat. Ik ontwikkelde inmiddels een belangstelling voor andere bands en vergat de LP.
Wie schetste mijn verbazing toen ik hem 2 jaar geleden in een winkeltje in Portree, Skye, tegenkwam. Hij was in 2007 op CD uitgebracht. Het werd een feest van herkenning en daarom wil ik hem jullie dan ook niet onthouden. Geniet ervan.

In de Scottish Traditional Music "Hall of Fame"  staat de volgende informatie over hem.
 
Alasdair Gillies is one of the most beautifully melodic and expressive singers in the Gaidhealtachd ( a melodic form of singing in the native language of the Western Highlands of Scotland, Gaelic), with a following that extends across the world.

Born in Glasgow on January 8, 1938, to Gaelic-speaking parents from Skye, Alasdair couldn't help but become a singer in a family where gathering round the fireside to sing was a way of life. His father was an avid song collector and wrote many songs that are now held in the School of Scottish Studies, and he would regularly regale the family and visitors with all forty verses, with detailed explanations along the way, of his latest creation.

With a veritable sea of ceilidhs taking place around Glasgow in those days, Alasdair began singing in public at the age of seven, when he had to stand on a table to be seen, and was soon taking part in music festivals and competing successfully in the Mod. He won the silver medal, aged ten, in Glasgow in 1948 and went on to win the coveted gold medal in Inverness in 1957.

By this time Alasdair had begun studying at Glasgow Dental School, on his way to becoming a house surgeon, and was attending the RSAMD as a part-time singing student. With offers coming in to play concerts throughout Scotland and as far afield as London and Brittany, he presently had to choose between a lectureship at the dental school and accommodating both dentistry and music. Changing tack to become a partner in a practice in Drumchapel, he was able to undertake regular television appearances on both the BBC and STV and engagements including a ten-week season at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh.

Alasdair made his first album in 1963, for Thistle Records in Edinburgh, and went to record for the Beltona and Decca labels and at Abbey Road studios. Never afraid to blend the new with the old, he recorded Gaelic versions of Beatles songs, including Yesterday and Michelle, and even Eurovision winner Puppet on a String alongside puirt a beul.

Now retired from dentistry, Alasdair remains in great voice and is particularly appreciative of the young Gaelic talents who are taking the language forward. As a trustee of the Gaelic Language Promotion Trust, he is dedicated to encouraging creativity among the young Gaels who represent the future of a tradition of which he is proud to be part.

Tracklist:
01. Let's Have a Ceilidh, 
02. Highway Gentleman/Inveraray Inn, 
03. Nobody Loves Like a Skyeman, 
04. Westering Home, 
05. Uist Tramping Song/Marie's Wedding, 
06. Stornoway, 
07. Loch Marie Islands, 
08. Take the Boat Over to Skye, 
09. Cluinn Thu Mi Mo Nighean Donn, 
10. Gentle Annie, 
11. Maggie, 
12. The Politician, 
13. The Centipede, 
14. Oor Ain Fireside, 
15. The High Level Hornpipe, 
16. Hebridean Medley (Morag of Dunvegan/Lovely Stornoway/Lights of Lochindaal),
17. Cailin Mo Ruinsa, 
18. Dancing in Kyle/Dashing White Sergeant, 
19. Grannies Hielan' Hame, 
20. Farewell My Love, 
21. Scotland the Brave/Will Ye No Come Back Again...

20% pars meegepost
Inclusief CUE-sheet