Ian Bruce - Alloway Tales - Inverness Courier

Best known for singing his own songs, Bruce turns entirely to the bard for this solo album and the songs are particularly suited to his strong tuneful voice and controversial delivery. The recording's natural quality makes Bruce sound like he's in the room. All the tracks are taken from his contributions to Linn's ongoing series of Burns' albums and Bruce is accompanied by Tony McManus on guitar, Billy Jackson on clarsach, Marc Duff on whistles and John Martin on fiddle. The arrangements are neat and fresh, particularly the driving percussive Ye Jacobites by name and the lyrical Westlin Winds. Not sure about the reggae version of A Man's a Man, though.