Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The great thing about working at Cross Rhythms is that you get to discover some extraordinarily good music. Back in 2007 a ministry called Beacon Music released a Christmas album featuring various artists from the Shetland Isles. That was when I first heard the beautiful voice of Freda Leask. I did some investigation and discovered she was one of the singers in a folk group called Shoormal and eventually I was able to track down a copy of this wonderful 2006 release on Greentrax, the label specialising in traditional, contemporary and Gaelic music. What is stunning about Shoormal is they have not one, but three top class vocalists with Joyce McDill and Donna Smith bringing some of the most delicious three-part harmonies you're ever going to hear this side of Celtic Heaven. Then there are the rest of the players. Trevor Smith and Gordon Tulloch play acoustic guitars with deft finesse while Greg Arthur adds subtle colourings on piano, accordion or organ. If that wasn't sufficient, you've also got delightful bass from Jonathan Ritch (he used to play with Fiddlers' Bid) and sensitive percussion from Archer Kemp. Their sound is subtly sinuous and whether it's the Leask-led "Full Circle" (a truly beautiful folk melody) or the Trevor Smith-penned "A Different Road", this is as good as Gaelic folk gets. Trevor is clearly, like Freda, a Christian and his songs are poetically eloquent ("Most of life's road signs are pointing in the same way/All promising the earth and an easy ride/But there's so many crashes each and every day/And so many end up lost without a guide/So I told them I'm going down a different road/A road that very few choose to take/It may be rough but I know I won't be alone/Cos you'll be there each step I make"). It's a shame that it's taken me until 2008 to hear this album because I can't really put it in Cross Rhythms' 20 Best Albums Of The Year roundup. All I can say is that this is a stone classic.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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