VARIOUS ARTISTS - The Nothumbrian Pipes (Topic TSCD 487)
Northumbrian small pipes gained mainstream interest during the eighties thanks to Kathryn Tickell, who even played the instrument on a top 40 album by Sting.
Here we have 23 tracks and more than 40 tunes of piping culled from the Topic vaults.
Timeless recordings of legendary pipers such as Billy Pigg, Tom Clough, Joe Hutton and John Hepple run shoulders with those by contemporaries The High Level Ranters and The Cut and Dry Band.
I thought this may be too rich a feast to digest in one sitting - not so. This is lyrical organic music that demonstrates the range and versatility of the instrument and rewards repeated listening.
The pipes have the capacity to sound incredibly melancholy or vibrant and up-lifting.
The material here offers a valuable insight into the characteristic styles of playing and differences in tonal quality of individual sets of pipes. Tunes range from familiar standards like Elsie Marley, Proulock's Hornpipe and Hesleyside Reel to unusual regional tunes. In fact musicians (and not just pipe players) will find a treasure trove of tunes to enrich any session.
A faultless collection (even if there isn't a recording of 'Jimmy Allan'). The drone lives on!
(Andy Hemsley)