Scotland's Greentrax Records has for many years actively supported Scottish musicians and culture, well beyond what would be expected of a record label's promotion of its artists. This latest offering continues that tradition. Gentle Giants is a celebration of the Clydesdale horse in song. The project was undertaken in partnership with The New Makars Trust, which aims to promote song writing about life in Scottish communities. South Lanarkshire, the focus of their Songlines project, is the home of the mighty work horse breed.
Robin Laing, well known inter alia for his recordings of songs about whisky (and his extensive knowledge of the beast), coordinated the work, and contributed an exhaustive and well researched fourteen-page introduction to the album, describing the history of the breed and its changing role as the industrial revolution reshaped Scotland's agricultural and industrial structures.
Many of Scotland's top performers appear, on what is not only an extremely informative document, and a showcase for new writing, but a thoroughly entertaining CD. In that sense it is almost a sampler of current and recent past folk talent. Featured, among others, are the Battlefield Band, Robin Laing, Jack Beck, Ken Campbell, Alan Reid, Christine Kydd, Isla St Clair and Matt Armour.
Many songs in circulation celebrating the days of the heavy horses, whether English Shires or Clydesdales, approach the topic from a nostalgic point of view, taking an idealistic view of the old days, using the horses as a metaphor for a time of more humanistic values and a more relaxed pace of life, and mourning the passing of that time. Not surprisingly, several of the songs here take that approach. Examples of this are Davy Steele's classic "Last Trip Home," Robin Laing's "Heavy Horses" and Ewan McVicar's "Gone Are the Strong Ones." But in true folk song tradition, there are also celebrations of heroes, in this case legendary horses such as the Baron o'Buchlyvie, David and Goliath, Princie and Jean, Hector and Bessie, and depictions of memorable events, in particular, ploughing matches. However, in case nostalgia blinds us to some of the harsher realities of what was a very hard time for farm workers, Isla St Clair sings "The Dying Ploughboy" from Tatties and Herrin, a collection of recordings she made for the BBC about the traditions of the northeast.
Greentrax's Gentle Giants is a good example, like many of their releases, of a production which not only reflects the culture it represents, but which also helps to shape the quality and direction of contemporary Scottish music. All the lyrics to the songs can be found at the New Makars Trust Web site. Greentrax recordings can be found here.
