THE OUTSIDE TRACK
Christmas Star

The Outside Track are:
Fiona Black - Accordion
Teresa Horgan - Vocals, Flute
Mairi Rankin - Fiddle, Backing Vocals
Ailie Robertson - Harp, Backing Vocals

Guest Artists:
Michael Ferrie - Guitar
Ewan Robertson - Guitar
Dave Holmes - Bass
Stephen Henderson - Drums
Cillian O'Dalaigh - Bodhran

Christmas Star' is the 6th studio album from multi-award-winning Celtic Band, The Outside Track. A mix of seasonal favourites, and lesser known Christmas songs from Scotland, Ireland and Canada it marries the band's home traditions with festive flair!

“Exceptionally good…as the album’ s dramatic arc turns, like Christmas night, more quiet and delicate towards the end, the emotional charge only grows…
a deeply moving statement of humanity at Christmas” – Celtic Britfolk

Winner of 'Best Group' in both the Live Ireland awards and the Tradition In Review awards, The Outside Track are one of the top Celtic acts in the world. They were 'Best Live Act' nominees in the MG Alba Scots Traditional Music Awards, and won the German Radio Critics Prize, for their album Flash Company. Live Ireland called them, 'Among the top bands in the world - stunning on every cut!'.

The Outside Track’s marriage of Celtic music, song and dance has been rapturously received around the world. Hailing from Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton, its five members blend fiddle, accordion, harp, guitar, flute, whistle, step-dance and vocals with breathtaking vitality

Audio

Track 1: Apples in Winter

Track 2: Joy to the World

Track 3: The Kerry Christmas Carol

Track 4: Christmas Eve

Track Listing

1. Christmas in Killarney
2. Oíche Chiúin/ Silent Night
3. Winter Jigs: Apples in Winter/ Christmas in Kinsale/ Rory Gallagher's
4. Joy to the World
5. The Kerry Christmas Carol
6. Carol of the Bells: Carol of the Bells/ Allan Dewar
7. Tàladh Chrìosda/ The Christ Child’s Lullaby
8.  Christmas Star
9. Christmas Eve Party: Maison de Glace/ Christmas Eve/ Christmas in America
10. There's Still My Joy
11. Auld Lang Syne

Watch the band on You Tube

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CDs by The Outside Track and available from www.copperplatemailorder.com
The Outside Track:  Rise Up
Ailie Robertson: First Things First

Tour Dates:

Press Reviews

On The Upbeat
So now it’s my pleasure to tell you that the ever-fabulous The Outside Track join the select few artists who, in my books, have made a Christmas album that is… dare I say exceptionally good?

As I heard about the Track doing a seasonal album, I went hhmm for a moment. They are an act brim full of energy and sparks and their live thing is a total wow – but Christmas?

Ah, should not have had doubts. The Christmas Star is mostly very intimate and up close, with a few bouncier reel moments here and there. Nothing feels forced, the playing is, as to be expected, superb, and as the album’ s dramatic arc turns, like Christmas night, more quiet and delicate towards the end, the emotional charge only grows.

Picking out individual songs is irrelevant when the album is this strong, but what the heck… I love the way Joy To The World turns into a, well, joyful reel after a low key beginning; The Kerry Christmas Carol is totally lovely; the title track and There’s Still My Joy are deeply moving statements of humanity at Christmas and the treatment given to Auld Lang Syne is just… unique.

Do I love this album? Will this be a part of my ”play this every Xmas season” library? Whaddaya think? Nothing to add, except huge thanks to the band – you guys brought something special to my December

www.folking.com website 4.12.20
Having recently reviewed (and very much enjoyed) the last in a series of CDs of largely traditional music from Hanz Araki and Kathryn Claire, I’m delighted to have received copies of the other three CDs in the series for review. I’m beginning with A Winter Solstice Celebration, not only because it’s the first in the series, but also because it’s a very appropriate choice for the first week in December. Hanz contributes vocals and flute, Kathryn contributes vocals, guitar and fiddle, and they’re ably supported by Cary Novotny (guitar), Joe Trump (percussion), Suzanne Taylor (piano) and Finn Mac Ginty (spoken word).

1. The first track is a seasonal poem read by Finn Mac Ginty: ‘I Heard a Bird Sing’ by the American writer and illustrator Oliver Herford (1863–1935). It’s a brief spark of optimism that we can all do with in this darkest of Decembers (in fact, I may borrow it myself for a couple of sets I’m doing this month). And then, on with the music.
2. ‘Jeanette Isabella’ / ‘The Sussex Carol’ is an instrumental pairing of a 17^thcentury carol from Provence – ‘Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella’ – and the (probably more familiar) carol collected in Sussex by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It’s a classically simple but effective arrangement, with fiddle, then fiddle and flute harmonizing over restrained piano.
3. The next track features fine harmony vocals from Hanz and Kathryn on ‘Seven Joys Of Mary’ in tandem with the jig ‘Copper(s) And Brass’. This lively set also benefits from some tasteful percussion.
4. Though the sleeve on the copy I have credits all the tracks (except the poems at the beginning and the end, presumably) as “ Hanz Araki and Kathryn Claire“, ‘Remember O Thou Man’ is usually credited to Thomas Ravenscroft, having been published in his Melismata, published in 1611. That said, its structure is very similar to that of many folk songs (‘Davy Lowston’, ‘Sam Hall’, ‘Tallow Candles’ et al.)
5. Hanz’s leisurely flute rendition of the reel ‘Christmas Eve’ (a.k.a. ‘Tommy Coen’s’) morphs into something altogether more up-tempo when Kathryn’s fiddle kicks in.
6. ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ / ‘Drops Of Brandy’ / ‘Three Sea Captains’: the carol ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ is very well known from Mike Oldfield’s instrumental version from 1976, but has been used many times by many composers (including Bach and Buxtehude) since the 15^thcentury, if not earlier. Here it’s taken at a statelier pace, but then the pace picks up with the slip jig ‘Drops Of Brandy’ and the jig ‘The Three Sea Captains’, normally encountered slightly slower as a set dance. But this works very nicely, too. Oddly enough, it probably has nothing to do with three ships sailing by on Christmas Day in the morning: it seems probable that it gets its name from the victory of the fleets of Britain, France, and Russia at the battle of Navarino.
7. ‘Coventry Carol’ is sung unaccompanied with multi-layered harmonies, giving extra force to the major third resolution so characteristic of the tune traditionally used with the carol.
8. ‘Pat-A-Pan’ is an English version of a carol written by Bernard de La Monnoye in Burgundian dialect and published in 1720. Kathryn takes lead vocal on this and does a fine job. Probably my favourite track.
9. Next comes a well-played pair of well-known jigs: ‘Apples In Winter’ / ‘Frost Is All Over’
10. Hanz takes the main vocal line on the ‘Wexford Carol’, and very nicely he does it too, while Kathryn’s harmony is perfectly judged.
11. ‘Ring Out, Wild Bells’ is an excerpt from Tennyson’s poem from the elegiac In Memoriamread by Finn Mac Ginty. I suspect that most of us will welcome the dying of 2020 and hope for something better from the coming year.

I’m not really a Christmassy person, to be honest, but I enjoyed A Winter Solstice Celebration very much and will probably play it a few more times before the year is over. While many or all of the songs and tunes will be familiar to many of you, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by these interpretations. They’re certainly infinitely pleasant to listen to than a certain song by Slade!  David Harley