Runrig Album: “Big Wheel”

I first encountered Runrig in the late 1980s. This is their best album: not that it has their best song (I'd make a case for "Every River" on "Searchlight" for that), but it is one of those rare records which is complete - think concept album without all the 1970s prog-rock baggage.

From the opening chords of "Headlights", complete with its banjo riff and glorious skirling guitar (Malcolm Jones, what a talent) through to the fade out of "Flower of the West", there is a continuity. Every track is different - the accordion-led "Always the Winner", the rock riff of "An Cuibhle Mor", the ballad feel of "I'll keep coming home" - but each carries that sense of place, of the wide open skies and the wild Atlantic ocean, and of the people who have to leave (like the man from St Kilda in "Edge of the World") and yet who keep coming home. None of the tracks lose it: Calum and Rory MacDonald tell the story beautifully of joy, loss and paradise regained. They led up to writing the songs by reading Neil Gunn's "Highland River" - get it if you can, and you will understand the perspective even better.

The only way to listen to this is to put an hour aside and listen right the way through... and then put another hour aside and do the same again. There are not many albums of which I can say that: that's why I stand by the title claim.

This was my intro to the world of Runrig. I came back to the UK for a vacation to find that there was a lot of buzz surrounding a Scottish group that unabashedly celebrated it's Gaelic heritage. Intrigued I picked up the album "The Big Wheel" first on cassette, then later on CD. It has been one of my favorites - it is a complete work that is well paced from start to finish with plenty of anthemic songs that soar like birds over the rocky Scottish islands. Highlights for me are "Healer in your Heart", "the Big Wheel" and "The Flower of the West", though it's hard to find a weak track. They have a unique sound that creates very atmospheric soundscapes and makes for great music to travel by!

What an exellent CD! The music is enjoyable. The vocals are lush and not too understated. The Gaelic tunes are quite mesmerizing. I also like the thoughtfulness of the band to print the English translation of the title song. I never get tired of listening to this CD.

Runrig is probably Scotland's biggest Celtic rock band and here is an example why. They mix traditional Celtic tunes with a rock beat and you just want to move. Yet they can tone it down if necessary, but why would you want them to.

Thanks Amazon. You did an excellent job. CD came in and I have enjoyed it. I plan to buy more in the future.