Graeme E. Pearson
& the Mutineers,
Half Alive in Edinburgh
(Mutiny Records, 1999)

Sometimes when you stroll into your local pub, you'll find a marvelous group of musicians on stage, strumming and singing and delivering good tunes to add to the mirth and merriment.

Well, if you could put that onto a CD, it might be something like Half Alive in Edinburgh by Graeme E. Pearson and the Mutineers. Recorded at both Grassmarket and Polwarth Gardens, both in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the end of '99, Graeme and the Mutineers spin out a contemporary mix of both traditional and modern Celtic music.

Among the traditional favorites, such as "Loch Lomond" and "The Bonnie Ship the Diamond," you'll also find the original hits by Graeme, including "Big Screen Telly," the story about a man, his pub, and the new TV, and "Skittery Dug" ("You're a skittery dug, and you don't scare me").

If old bar songs and traditional tunes are for you, then this would be a good album to add to your collection. Thirteen tunes over forty-six minutes will capture your ears, and you can't help but hum along.

[ by Charlie Gebetsberger ]