CHRISTINE KYDD – Shift And Change (Greentrax CDTRAX401)

Shift And ChangeI looked forward to this record, and it didn’t disappoint. The brilliant Christine Kydd has been kept busy of late, with yet another project, this time materialising as a solo album titled Shift And Change: Songs from Scotland. It is as an eclectic a collection as ever, made up of traditional pieces, original writings and takes on the work of contemporary artists.

A rendition of the late Michael Marra’s ‘Just Another Rolling Stone’ begins the album, with Fraser Spiers’ harmonica and Kydd’s vocal guiding this tremendous track. This is followed with another excellent example of Kydd’s ability to interpret contemporary songwriting, this time, it is a powerful protest number by Alistair Hullet, titled ‘Blue Murder’. Set in the Wittenoom Mines of Western Australia, Kydd herself points out (in the album’s liner notes) that “The people in this song find themselves with no choice but to work in conditions which will eventually cause an early death…blue asbestos was the cause and profit was the motive…”. The lyrics are even more to the point and ever more powerful:

Day in day out, every day they drive us harder
Day in day out, they’re getting away with blue murder”.

Even so early into the record, the eclectic flavour of the album is apparent, and from the mines of Australia, we travel to Dundee, with ‘The Back O Reres Hill’, a traditional lament, arranged by Kydd. While this album is a fantastic patchwork of interpretations of songs by Scottish writers, Kydd’s own work must not go overlooked. Firstly, ‘This Is The News’ a scathing social commentary on media bias, inaccuracy and falsehood in reporting. It is extremely applicable to the present day, and as long as there is bullshit in the press, this song will be relevant… and (somewhat unfortunately) I suspect there is a good deal of longevity in this one yet.

‘Comin’ On Strong’; “a positive wee song” as Kydd tells us, is another original about travelling and returning….with a bit of reminiscing in between. Another track worth mentioning is ‘Shift And Change’, both the final song by Kydd and the final song on the album. It is a celebration of the moment and an anthem for embracing change rather than fearing it, punctuated by Kydd’s staccato piano notes and beautiful fiddle and harmonies by Gillian Frame.

Kydd has a tremendous ability to make original, something which is already established, yet she also has the ability to breathe new life into older writings and provide new context to other work, see ‘The Wild Geese/ Norland Wind’ and ‘Halloween’, adaptations of Scottish poems circa 1914 – 1916.

From start to finish, I can’t speak highly enough of this album; its song selections, performances and musicianship are just a few of the more obvious selling points of something which I am glad to say is an absolute joy to listen to.

Christopher James Sheridan

Artist’s website: https://www.christinekydd.com/


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