Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

This is a reissue of the 2000 release from American singer/songwriter Ric Blair and his band which sees an overhaul of the album's playing order and six instrumental tracks being added to the original release. Blair is a veteran Celtic artist who, although being born and brought up in America, is heavily influenced by the Irish and Scottish roots of his ancestors - shown clearly in his decision to alternate instrumental fiddle and pipe tunes with more commercial self-penned songs throughout this release. Thankfully, Blair's music is authentic and avoids being a second rate and superficial imitation of the Celtic style. This is largely due to the fact that Blair has employed an array of talented musicians (including his wife Yun Kim on Irish tin whistle, renowned CCM artist Phil Keaggy on bass and Lovely Previn - daughter of conductor Andre Previn - on fiddle, amongst many others.) Despite kicking off with some unsure pitching on the traditional Irish fiddle tune "Fields Of Glentown", this is a pleasing piece of work with Blair and his crew breathing new life into other traditional numbers such as "Taimse Im' Chodloch" and "O'Keefe's Slide". Whilst the original release leant more towards Ireland with the inclusion of the aforementioned tunes and instruments such as tin whistles and Uillean pipes, Blair has introduced a distinctly Scottish feel this time around by including the highland pipes of Skip Cleavinger in songs like "Caber Feidh", "Highland Wedding" and "Amazing Grace". Tracks such as the song of revival "Scotland Ablaze", the title track and "The Baptism" all clearly point towards God and, whilst they could benefit from being developed to a higher standard in a lyrical sense, full marks must be given for the sheer passion and instrumental skill that is contained within each performance. This new version of 'Break The Walls' should appeal to the casual Celtic listener as well as those who like their folk music pure.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.