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What do you get when you combine 2
of Cape Breton's finest fiddlers...a CD that you won't want to take out of
your player! "CapeBretonFiddleMusicNOTCalm" is the latest CD for
Ashley MacIsaac & Howie MacDonald. Playing on the dot calm idea is all
part of the marketing idea for the CD with the way technology is going and
just shows you some of the personality of the two artists.
 Don't
be fooled thinking that this CD is quite short when you notice there are
only 7 tracks on it (8 counting Ashley's intro). This CD is almost an hour
in length...with some of the tracks hitting over 10 minutes in
length...one even gets close to twenty minutes! In a time where you're
lucky to get a CD with more than half an hour worth of music on it, this
CD is a breath of fresh air!
Ashley & Howie team up with twin fiddles for this CD, with Howie also
providing piano and guitar accompaniment (Matthew Foulds helps out with
percussion). This CD was recorded live during the Fall/Winter of 2000 in
Nova Scotia and is one of the best live CD's out there, making you feel
like you're there, whooping and hollering with the rest of the crowd!
Another wonderful aspect of the CD is the layout of the cover which
features the list of the tunes that comprise each track, although you may
have to squint to see them all!
If you've got a favourite fiddle tune, then chances are it's on the
CD...amongst the 50+ tunes that are on the CD. Each track is called a
Medley of some sort, comprising of some of the following tunes: The
Hurricane, McNab's Hornpipe, Fairy Dance, Buttermilk Mary, Constitution
Breakdown, Sleepy Maggie, Tripper's Jig, Tullochgorum, Angus on the
Turnpike...just to name a few!
Be wise and take a break before you put this CD on because once you start
it, you're not going to want to leave the room or your car, although watch
your foot on the gas while driving! On second thought, perhaps this isn't
the wisest choice of CD to put on while driving :-)
As a touching tribute, the CD is dedicated in memory of John Morris
Rankin, one of Cape Breton's finest fiddlers who left the world too soon.
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