Various - My heart's in the Highlands - Inverness Courier

Culled from Dr Fred Freeman's ambitious "Complete Songs of Burns" project, this distils the muscle-and wallet-straining 12 CD and 360 song collection into a more manageable 20 song album. There are songs here which should be familiar to any Scot. Ae fond kiss, A man's a man for a' that, Auld lang syne, but there are less familiar works too and whether obscure or national treasures, the songs are sung and played by a breathtaking array of Scots talent - the late Davy Steele, Ronnie Browne, Jim Reid, Jim Malcolm and Ian Bruce leading the boys, rising star Karine Polwart, Aimee Leonard and Wendy Weatherby among the ladies. The supporting musical case is equally impressive, boasting members of Ossian, Battlefield Band, the Whistlebinkies and Deaf Shepherd. Neither too sentimental or too reverent, this is the ideal accompaniment to next week's Burns Supper.