DEAN OWENS - Southern Wind

We’ll kick off the CD reviews this time around, with our own home grown talents.
DEAN OWENS is one of Scotland’s most established Country/Americana singer songwriters. He was part of the iconic group, The Felsons, before breaking out in his own career. Although his focus has primarily been on his own material, he has paid his dues having released albums inspired by both Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.
His latest album, “Southern Wind” (At The Helm Records) was recorded in Nashville, featuring fellow Americana singer songwriter Will Kimbrough, amongst others, in the line up.
The title track is a trademark Owens ballad, with some impressive harmonies from The Worry Sisters and Kira Small. “Louisville Lip”, is Dean’s song for his sporting hero Muhammed Ali. It’s a very delicate song, and a wonderful tribute.
I quite liked “When The Whisky’s Not Enough”, a simple ballad that worked really well, as does “Anything Helps”, and “Famous Last Words”.
But there are a number of upbeat numbers too. The catchy “The Last Song”, which, quite inappropriately opens the album, is just one of a number of co-writes with Kimbrough, and is inspired by Ronnie Lane and The Waterboys. Dean calls it his “pub rock song for the end of the night!”
Another upbeat number is “No Way Around It”, which has quite a soulful feel to it. Again Kira Small’s big voice adds to the harmonies. Then there’s almost a reggae feel to “Mother”.
Stand out track for me has to be “Elvis Was My Brother”, inspired by a friend, who felt more in tune with an old Elvis tape than the rest of his family.
Dean covers a lot of ground on this album, but every track is very much his own. He is labelled “celtic spirit, Country soul”.  It’s a sound that serves him well.

DAVID LEASK - Six in 6/8

The same tagline could also be applied to DAVID LEASK. David was born right here in Scotland, but has made Toronto home for many years now. Through five previous albums, he has encompassed the influences of his homeland with the fresh possibilities of his adopted home. He continues that unique blend of folk,Country, roots rock, celtic and soul on his new CD, “Six in 6/8”.
The CD opens with a mid tempo number, “Indescribable Love”, about the struggle to define love. He does a good job of that here.
He extends the celtic/folk feel on “Red Balloon”, the focus track from the release. It features some lovely flute and whistles, courtesy of Loretto Reid, as well as accordion from Doug Romanov, and dobro from Rob Ikes.
“Caught In The Tide” is more of a Country soul number, with a really catchy chorus line.
“When You Think No One Loves You” is a strong emotional ballad, supported by Jonathan Goldsmith’s well placed piano. That’s followed by “Cant Make It Back Home”, a powerful song which tells of the effects of PTSD on service men and women.
“Between Him & Me”, which closes the CD, is a song which was a long time in the making. Written with his wife, over a 12 year period, the song deals with religious intolerance in world events. A song well delivered.
The CD is quite an album of numbers- just 6 tracks, recorded in 11 different studios, with 10 engineers, with a cast of 19 musicians. Three of the songs are currently semi finalists in the International Songwriting competition.
David is another great talent Scotland has lost to the world outside. At least we can appreciate his music on this CD.
www.davidleask.com

RAGING TWILIGHT - Raging Twilight

Another home grown group is RAGING TWILIGHT, consisting of Jack Law, Dougie Harrison, JC Danti, Duncan Sloan and Colin Robertson. Law’s musical pedigree stretches back to the folk/rock outfit Greenmantle in the 1970’s.
Recorded in Glasgow, the 12 track album, an all self penned by Law collection, is one of these albums that you just cannot label.
There are tracks which are pop/rock influenced, whilst others lean more to the blues. But there’s also quite a few points of interest to Country music fans.
The addition of mandolin and harmonica add to the catchy “Old Glass Jar”, which has quite a folk/country feel.
“Hope Sails The River” and “The Slip”, both slower numbers, have a real Country influence within them, as does “You Cant Get To Heaven”, after the strange sounding intro.
It’s an interesting sound. You probably wont see Raging Twilight in your local Country music club, but they may be worth catching at other venues around Glasgow.

JAMES'n'WOOD - Volume 2

More homegrown Country music, this time from Country club and festival favourites JAMES N WOOD. They have a wealth of musical experience between them, going back many years, and since they combined their talents, they have really become a major part of the Scottish, and UK Country circuit.
Their CD is simply titled “Volume 2”, the follow up to Volume 1, and already Volume 3 is in the works.
This album is a collection of 13 songs, which should appeal to Country fans, whether they are listeners or dancers.
The songs range from classics like The Eagles’ “Take It Easy”, and Willie’s “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” and John Denver’s “Somedays Are Diamonds”, to more semi recent hits like “Neon Moon”, “Vertical Expression” and “More Of You”.
There are also a few lesser known numbers, like “Champagne Promises”, a song previously done by David Nail, or “Lonely Drum”, from a Canadian singer called Aaron Goodvin. They even cover the Derek Ryan/Eleanor McEvoy song “Old & Grey”.
I have to say that their version of “Fox On The Run” was particularly appealing, with some neat fiddle standing out. And the closing instrumental of “Ghostriders” is superb.
A good selection of material, all well produced from one of the local scene’s favourite duo’s.

LIZ CLARKE - The Vanishing Breed

Regular readers will be aware of a show coming off at Glasgow’s Grand Ole Opry this month, featuring LIZ CLARKE & Stetsons‘n’Heels. Liz, who also performs under the name of ELIZABETH MACFARLANE, has been a busy part of the Scottish social club circuit for some years, but thanks to exposure on Keep It Country’s Janey Kirk TV show, and her recordings appearing on Soundcloud, people started to take notice of her, most notably in Nashville where T.Jae Christian spotted her potential.
That led to a couple of duets, which appear on her CD, “The Vanishing Breed”.
The title track is one of the duets. It’s a stone Country ballad, which puts the mark on the album. The other duet is “This Feeling So Strong”, which is another ballad, this time sounding a little bit more soulful. There’s also a great version of “Blue Skies Over Georgia”, written by Nashville producer Mark Moseley.
The other tracks are covers ranging from Martina McBride’s “Independence Day”, and Mary Chapin’s “Down at The Twist & Shout” to Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and Tammy’s “Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad”.
It’s a good mix of material, and a perfect sampler of Liz’s music. Make sure you catch her at The Opry on the 8th April.

THE RED PINE TIMBER COMPANY - Sorry For The Good Times

THE RED PINE TIMBER COMPANY are an interesting 8 piece outfit, who hail from Perthshire. The line up is led by Gavin JD Munro and Katie Whittaker on vocals, with instrumental support from Michael McNab, David MacFarlane, Chris Small, Neil J Ewen, Thom Bubb and Ivan Sveda.
They grew up around The Southern Fried Festival, but have spread their wings across the Country since then, appearing from c2c in London, to Skye.
Their second album, “Sorry For The Good Times” was released at the end of January on Goldrush Records.
This is the big band’s follow up to their 2014 debut, “Different Lonesone”, and they’ve come up with a full sound. They have created a sound that stands out, thanks mainly to the impressive horn section- not something that would automatically give them a Country feel, but it works for them here. It really gives them a really original sound.
The opening number is perfect example of this. “If You Want Me To” starts off with some rocky sounding guitars, then the horns, before Gavin’s vocals bring in a good upbeat song that is really catchy.
“Look At The Moonlight” is another upbeat number led by Gavin, “Get It Right With You” is a bit more of a fun number, which the horn section takes the lead.
Slower numbers, including “Hollow Tree”, “After You”, “Dry Your Eyes” and “Bar Stool” really showcase the harmonies between Gavin and Katie. “For The Angels”, is an upbeat number, which show great harmonies too.
Katie also excels at the softer ballads, some with the help of steel guitar guest Stuart Nisbett. Good examples of this would be on the haunting “Tracks In The Snow” and “Put Down The Bottle”
But the stand out track is the fast driving “Cutting You Loose”, which is led vocally by Katie. It’s really catchy, and reminded me of something like Emmylou’s “Luxury Liner”. Indeed, Gavin & Katie do have a certain Gram & Emmylou influence.
The vocal duties are shared throughout the album, which was recorded in Perth, and all the songs are band originals.
It’s a big production number, without leaving the homeplace.
It’s well written, well sung, well produced. A superb album. Made right here in Scotland.

JAMES EDWYN & THE BORROWED BAND - High Fences

We’ve a couple of homegrown releases this time. The first comes from Glasgow based JAMES EDWYN & THE BORROWED BAND. “High Fences” (Dead Records Collective) is the follow up to the highly acclaimed “The Tower” album, released in 2014.
As well as Edwyn, the Borrowed Band features Emma Joyce, Scott Keenan, Ronnie Gilmour, Ross McLaughlin and Neil McDonald. Together, they have created a sound, which blends rock and folk influences with a Country edge.
The opening track, and lead single, is “Passing San Ysidro”, the most upbeat track on the album.
That’s followed by “Try Not To Think Of Now”, and “Get Back Up”, which both have quite a commercial, soft rock sound, which is likely to get some good radio airplay.
“Starlet” has quite a likeable Country rock feel to it, whilst “Never in A While” is a simple ballad, featuring just James and his guitar. “Pushing Statues” is another of the stand out tracks. It’s a bit more mid tempo, and works really well.
All 10 tracks are originals, written by James and the band, and recorded in Lanarkshire, with the help of The National Lottery and Creative Scotland.

LISA McHUGH - Who I Am

Glasgow born and raised LISA McHUGH continues to one of the most popular of the young artists on the Irish scene, and it’s great to see her spread that popularity back into her homeland, selling out new venues for her, on her recent Scottish tour.
Her latest CD, “Who I Am” continues the formula which has gained Lisa such popularity. It features up beat fun numbers which appeal to the Irish dancing fans, as well as slower ballads for the sit and listen-ers, and some Classic Country, just for good measure.
It all kicks off with the upbeat “Country Girl”, which was written by Lisa and Daniel Martin, and is her latest single. Other upbeat numbers include her last single, “Girl With A Fishing Rod”.
The title track is a song I’ve always loved. It’s also the theme to the TV series “Sue Thomas F.B.Eye”, which started a rerun on the Drama TV channel the same week as Lisa’s album came out. OK, It’s Jessica Andrews doing the TV theme, but still a rather timely coincidence. Lisa gives it a polished, powerful, performance.
There are a few interesting modern covers, including C2C headliners’ Kasey Musgraves’ “Follow Your Arrow”, a catchy number which Lisa does really well, The Shires’ “Daddy’s Little Girl”, and Lori McKenna’s “Happy People”.
But I have to say the two songs which were written by recent Glasgow visitor Brandy Clark, really stand out. “Out Of Heaven” and “Hold My Hand” are both quite heavy ballads, and Lisa delivers!
I also really liked “Dream Of Me”. With quite a down home arrangement, it’s a song which really suits Lisa’s voice.
And for Classic Country, there’s no Dolly this time around, but she does a crackin’ version of Merle’s “Mama Tried”.
It’s another winner from Lisa !

ASHTON LANE - Nashville Heart

ASHTON LANE are a Glasgow based husband and wife duo of Esther and Tim O’Connor, who have had a great year. They appeared at Country On The Clyde, and The Millport Country Music Festival, stepping up to fill the headlining role when Mark Chesnutt was left stormbound in Texas.
Then a few weeks back their single “Breathe You In” was released and went straight to No.1 in ITunes UK Country chart. The single is a hauntingly beautiful mid tempo number, which is certainly on par with much of the music coming out of Nashville.
There is also a brand new festive single from the couple. “Winter Star” is a haunting ballad which is, perhaps, a shade more pop/contemporary, but a nice listen none the less. I’m sure you’ll hear it on the radio in the next few weeks.
They are very much in the Lady Antebellum style, which really seems to appeal these days.
Not that Ashton Lane are new on the scene. They already have 5 albums to their credit, and have over 1.6 million views to their “Kitchen Sessions” online.
A different version of “Breathe You In” is featured on their most recent album, “Nashville Heart”, which we haven’t reviewed here, so will correct right now.
“Nashville Heart” was recorded not in Music City, but in Motherwell, at The Foundry Music Lab. But the studio can capture the heart and soul of the musician wherever that is. In Ashton Lane’s case, the Tennessee capitol certainly got to their hearts, and it shows here.
The title track starts as a slow a smouldering ballad, which shows some nice harmonies.
“Seventeen”, which opens the album, alongside “One In A Million” and “One Night In California”  stand out for their more Country arrangements, helped by Seoniad Aitken on fiddle.
“Legacy” also has quite a down home feel to it, whilst “Coastline” has quite a haunting , folksy feel to it.
“The Light That You Are”, “Moonlight Drifter” and “When We Were Young” are softer ballads, which appealed to me.
They certainly have a Lady A influence running through the album. But within that Ashton Lane have created their own sound, and it’s all original home grown Country music.
www.ashtonlaneofficial.com

BRIAN HUGHES - Angel Room Baby

BRIAN HUGHES is one of the most respected singer songwriters on the Scottish scene. “Angel Room Baby” is his 5th album to date, featuring no less than 12 self penned original songs.
He has captured a good mix of upbeat modern Country numbers, as well as some gentle ballads, which may just be a surprise for Brian’s fans.
The album kicks off with “This Time”, a upbeat modern Country number, which he wrote alongside “Nineteen”, the song he wrote for Raintown, and is followed by “Hillbilly Heaven”, a tongue in cheek dig at the “BroCountry” scene. Other upbeat numbers include the Cajun flavoured “Revival Tent”, “Real Bad Good To Go”, and “A Hundred Thousand Kisses”, a song for Amy.
As I say, there’s a few softer ballads too.
“Coming Home”, also known as “Already Gone”, was inspired by the tragic death of Ben Ford, the youngest British soldier, at the time, to be killed in Afghanistan.
“A Fool I Know” is a gentle ballad which I really liked.
The sound of a steel guitar can make a record for me, and that’s certainly the case on “The Hardest Time”. It’s a beautiful, traditional sounding Country song, with the added bonus of Davie Holland on steel.
The album closes with a gentle ballad, “Another Place” which is another highlight of the album.
With the exception of Davie Holland, and piano players Alan Scobie and Alan Ryden, the whole project is Brian’s. He recorded it at home, with all his own material, yet he has captured a sound that is certainly full studio quality.
One to be proud it.
www.brianhughesmusic.com

ROBYN TAYLOR - The Way I Wanna Be

Another homegrown talent is ROBYN TAYLOR, who hails from Cambuslang. Robyn has been performing for the past thirty years, on the cabaret scene here, and in Spain. Her first recording was back in 2005, but fans have encouraged her to sing more Country songs, so another couple of albums followed, leading to competing in the 2013 Euro Country Masters (the Country version of the Eurovision Song Contest).
Her latest album “The Way I Wanna Be” is described by Robyn as her “life in song – The high’s, the lows, and everything in between”. The album was recorded in Glasgow with Greg Friel at the helm.
There’s certainly quite a variety on the album.
It all kicks off with a rather pop sounding “The Last Real Gentleman”, which was written by Robyn. Indeed, all but one of the 11 songs were written by Robyn, mostly with producer Greg Friel.  The exception is a cover of The Judds’ “Turn It Loose”, which she gives a good raunchy performance on.
The title track has quite an upbeat, Raintown type, sound to it. There’s also an alternative “disco mix” (showing my age there!) of the song to close off the CD.
There are some other upbeat numbers, notably “Stop My Heart”, which has quite a jolly feel to it, and really stood out for me. There’s also an acoustic version as a bonus track on the CD. “Better Days” also has quite a bright and breezy feel to it.
But I do have to say that I liked the ballads, especially “In The Arms Of Love”, which was a finalist in the UK Songwriters Contest last year. It is a lovely ballad, which would easily crossover between Country and mainsteam pop. Others ballads include “Memories In The Sky” “You Can’t Love A Memory”, and “Leave Me Behind”, which is the most simple arrangement on the album. It’s a nice slow ballad which works really well.
Most singers that have worked the cabaret and club scene are content singing covers, so it’s really good to hear Robyn developing her own songwriting, and having the belief to put her own songs out there.  I’d describe her style as modern crossover Country, and the new breed of Country fans who go out of their way to support the current crop of American acts, would do well to check out talents like Robyn, much closer to home!
www.robyntaylorofficial.com

PAULA McASKILL - Kind Of Country

Fort William’s PAULA MacASKILL is one of the country’s busiest performers. Just looking at her venues list for October alone, she was out 23 nights, mainly in residences locally, but also travelling to Elgin, Dundee and Fife.
Her latest album, “Kind Of Country” features 16 tracks of Country covers, which are actually reissues of music from Paula’s previous albums, which are no longer available.
The titles range from Haggard’s “Back In Love By Monday” to Isla Grant’s “A Dream Come True”,  and from Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All” to Pam Tillis “Mi Vida Loca”, and Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow Never Comes”.
She does a lovely take on “Here, There And Everywhere”, a Lennon/ McCartney song, covered by Emmylou Harris, and also takes on the Connie Smith “Once A Day”.
Paula stretches the boundaries a bit with The Mama & Pappa’s “It’s Getting Better” and The Seekers’ “I’ll Never Find Another You”.
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable listen, with a set of songs that will never date. They sound as good today as when Paula originally recorded them.
www.paulamacaskill.co.uk

RUBY RENDALL - Once upon a Time

Back around the 80’s and 90’s, Orcadian RUBY RENDALL was the Sweetheart of the Scottish Country music scene, touring all over the country, appearing on The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and even presenting two weekly Country music programmes for the BBC.
Since those days, Ruby has been busy encouraging new talent with her own music school in Aberdeenshire.
But now she’s back with a long awaited new album, “Once Upon A Time” (Roadside Records), which finds Ruby sounding as good as ever. The album is produced by her son Robbie, and is as much his project, as he plays guitars, bass and drums throughout the album. Original band members from way back, Gordie Gunn and Phil Anderson are back in the fold, Gordie playing fiddle & mandolin, and Phil using his Nashville (where he’s now based) contacts to get Steve Hinson to add his steel guitar into the mix.
There are four brand new songs, including the title track and the opening number, “Mr High And Mighty”, co-written by Ruby and Robbie. They have also paired up together on “Waiting For The Love I Have Lost”, a beautiful ballad which just has a slight folksy feel to it. It’s certainly one of the stand out tracks on the album.
Another “new” song, is one that has been hidden away for a while. It’s a co-write with old Orkney pal Elaine Grieve on “Sunday Morning”. It’s a catchy “leaving” song, that works really well.
There are four of Ruby’s previously recorded tracks, including her signature “Ruby Red Wine”, which is hauntingly unplugged here, and “Time Goes By”, a song I’ve always loved since it was on her “Captured” album back in 1991. The version here is slightly faster.
One upbeat track which really stands out is “Bright City Lights”, which has quite an Irish Country influence.
To complete the album, Ruby has picked four covers, from Sara Evans, Kellie Pickler, Rosanne Cash and Patty Loveless, so you can get a feel for just who her influences are.
With the young Robbie’s influence, there is a slightly rocky style on a couple of tracks, especially “Never Like This Before”, “Red High Heels” and “Rosie Strikes Back”.  But it’s a style that Ruby’s vocals suit.
It’s great to have Ruby back with this new release, which is available from Grooves Records in Kirkwall, or via Chalmers Mackay Music School. Email chalmac@btconnect.com for details on payment methods. It's also available thru iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.