The title tells it all on this CD, which appears to be self-produced based on the packaging more than the content or music production.

Willie McCulloch has written 12 of the 13 songs on Auld Tales & New, and he has given us an array of songs that sound as if they have been in the canon for a century. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Outer Hebrides." The lyrics, the tune, the arrangement and the performance combine to give us a classic sound that could lift this singer to great heights if a few million people could just hear it.

He draws on his Scottish heritage to give us a number of excellent short history lessons, including "The Story of Burke & Hare." The sounds and the slight accent and the superb harmony on "Wee Jimmy Lowrie" cannot help but to impress even the casual listener. Other tracks that especially caught my ear were "Skye Lullaby," "Seafield Coal" and "Broken Hearts in Ireland."

This is definitly an album to seek out and enjoy and I look forward to hearing a lot more from Willie McCulloch. Maybe that great Scottish label Greentrax could pick him up and let a wider audience enjoy a rare talent.