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The UK folk scene continues its current renaissance with this latest pearl from the Isle of Lewis based singer Ályth McCormack, who has been attracting a lot of interest of late among connoisseurs of the human voice.
A former classical singing student at the RSAMD in Glasgow, McCormack has already graced our speakers with her all-Gaelic 2001 debut An Iomall/The Edge. After several years of guest appearances and cultivating an acting career, she has returned on the ever-reliable Navigator label with her second solo album.
The most obvious difference between People Like Me and An Iomall is the inclusion of English language material, courtesy of esteemed songwriters such as Suzanne Vega and Boo Hewerdine.
The album gets off to a stately opening with the Gaelic sung Nuair Bha Mi Og, and the listener is immediately gripped by the purity of McCormack's phrasing. Some rather desultory soft rock saxophone raises the spectre of Baker Street, but McCormack's performance is strong enough to overcome such diversions.
The album moves into sublime territory with a pitch-perfect reading of Vega's The Queen And The Soldier. The music is much more appropriate here, with Brian McAlpine (piano) and Jonny Hardie (fiddle) providing discreet accompaniment perfectly in keeping with the reflective nature of the song.
McCormack's breathtaking vocal dexterity on The Vices Set (Puirt Set) locks into the rousing musical backing to provide an early highlight. In stark contrast, a virtually a cappella cover of David McDade's The Beautiful Lie stands tall alongside Dolly Parton's original by virtue of its stunning simplicity.
It quickly becomes apparent that what is so great about this album is the way McCormack and her collaborators can lift material from such diverse sources without appearing eclectic for the sake of it. So, the traditional Dh'fhag E Gun Chadal Am Dhusgadh Mi acts as a natural follow-up to The Beautiful Lie; both songs sound like they could have been written in the same year.
The album's occasional lapse into MOR territory is the only cause for concern, with the middling Neptune breaking the run of exceptional tracks. And occasionally McCormack steers a little too close to Joan Baez earnestness, with Till The Morning Comes and I Wonder What's Keeping My True Love Tonight the biggest culprits, especially when placed next to the likes of the ghostly a cappella track Mo Ghaol Oigfhear A Chuil Duinn.
Arguably the two outstanding songs on the album come courtesy of two grossly overlooked songwriters. Boo Hewerdine is in prime form on A Smuggler's Prayer, a timeless ballad that demonstrates the man's utter mastery of the songwriting form.
Justin Currie of the unfairly maligned Scots rockers Del Amitri is responsible for the title track. Needless to say, McCormack invests the song with the beauty that the lyrics and melody warrant, bringing the album to a close on a celebratory note.
The combination of modern songs and traditional Gaelic folk is clearly a format with which McCormack feels comfortable, and it will no doubt help her to rocket to the top of the folk echelon.
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