Journey Home

Forget the yellow brick road - Unison Kinneil opt for a journey home with plenty of tartan postcards...

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

Unison Kinneil Band
Conductors: Andrew Duncan & Paul Drury
Soloists: Keith Johnston, David Frame, Ian Campbell, Andrew Meikle
Featuring: Nicola Loftus (bagpipes), Aileen Marley (vocal)
Music House Productions: CDMHP609
Total Playing Time: 62.36

As Judy Garland once found out in the ‘Wizard of Oz’– if you are to make a journey back home safe and sound, you’d better not step off the main road too often.

Ruby slippers

Unison Kinneil may not have had the benefit of a pair of ruby slippers to click together, but with this release they manage to negotiate an enjoyable musical journey back to their bandroom, not in Kansas, but the small Scottish mining town of Bo’ness, without too many problems on the way.

It is one that they have been making for over 150 years now, sometimes more successfully than others, but the current band is enjoying something of a renaissance under the twin batons of conductors Andy Duncan and Paul Drury.  

Skip along

Here they skip along merrily with the support, not of a tin man or lion, but a bagpiper and soprano vocalist – and not a Munchkin in sight. 

Through 13 eclectic tracks they do have the occasional moment of worry (notably a toe curling foray into the cloying forests of Welsh sentimentality with ‘Myfanwy’) but overall they display a great deal of quality and musical sensibility on a journey that never loses sight of its Scottish homestead, despite the odd detour to more exotic musical locations. 

Saltaire

That sense of a Saltaire inspired trek home is heard on a collection of well chosen ‘tartan’ postcards, composed or arranged by the two talented conductors.

The opening march ‘Kinneil Colliery’ has a cracking feel of a Glaswegian ‘Punchinello’ about it, whilst the Langfordesque ‘Hymns of St. Andrew’ could well be an updated version of those Harry Lauder selections that used to ring through the airwaves every New Year’s Eve. Both are clever bits of writing from a sharp eared composer.

Fine form

The soloists are on fine form too, with Keith Johnston all flashing smiles with ‘A Happy Day’, and piper Nicola Loftus and vocalist Aileen Marley adding a touch of classy colour with their contributions on ‘Loch Lomond’, and ‘The Water is Wide’. Meanwhile, the fun and games of David Frame’s ‘I Wanna be like You’ is perhaps more of an entertaining reminder of the atmosphere found in a local Kinneil pub at closing time after an ‘Old Firm’ football match than of the Disney cartoon characters! 

Haywire

As for the musical day trip to Wales on ‘Myfanwy’ - the less said the better, despite some fine playing from the euphonium duo of Ian Campbell and Andrew Meikle.  Think of ‘Flower of Scotland’ arranged as a Samba – the musical compass has gone haywire on this one.

Despite the Celtic confusion the other trips to distant lands away from the River Forth are much more successful, with stylish arrangements and playing on ‘Miss Otis Regrets’, and  ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’.

Lovely ensemble

Closer to home there is also a lovely bit of ensemble delivery on ‘Roses for a Princess’ and a sympathetic rendition of the ‘Romance’ from ‘Salute to Youth’. 

The title track ‘Journey Home’ itself is a neat bit of musical reflection (although the side drum accompaniment seems intrusive in places), whilst the more substantial ‘A Burrowstounness Odyssey’ which closes the release, is a well constructed and highly atmospheric suite, written to celebrate Kinneil’s 150th anniversary, and played with real sensitivity.

Music House Productions enhance the recording with excellent post production work, and with informative sleeve notes and a cracking picture of the band circa 1858 to remind everyone of their roots, the CD reaches finally reaches its doorstep after a highly enjoyable hour or so of travelling time. 

Iwan Fox

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

^back to top