The McCalmans   •     High Ground

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  • High Ground
    • 1997 - Greentrax CDTRAX 138 CD (UK)
  • Tracklist
    1. Cancel Marie's Wedding (Trad., I. McCalman)
    2. Loch's of The Tay (James Malcolm)
    3. Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands (Richard Thompson)
    4. They Sent a Wumman (Nancy Nicolson)
    5. Five O'clock in The Morning (Martin Harbourne)
    6. Instrumental (Trad. Arr. I. McCalman, N. Keir & D. Moffat)
      1. Alas That I Came O'er the Hill
      2. Square Da Mizzen
      3. Behind the Haystack
    7. No-One Left but Me (Alan Murray)
    8. Take Her in Your Arms (Andy M. Stewart)
    9. Upstairs Doonstairs (Trad. Arr. I. McCalman, N. Keir & D. Moffat)
    10. Don't Waste Ma Time (Nancy Nicolson)
    11. High Ground Vogrie (Ian McCalman)
    12. Wrecked Again (Ian McCalman)
    13. White Horses (Nick Keir)
    14. Cholesterol (Adam McNaughtan)
    15. Libertas Ragusa (Freedom for Dubrovnik) (Allan Taylor)

  • The McCalmans
    • Derek Moffat
    • Nick Keir
    • Ian McCalman
      • The Macs played guitar, whistle, mandolin, percussion, keyboard, harmonica and bass
  • Musicians
    • Wendy Weatherby: Cello (Tracks: 5, 7 & 15)
    • Andrew Talbot: Drums (Tracks: 1, 8 & 12)
    • Patsy Seddon: Harp (Track: 11)
    • Allan Taylor: Guitar (Track: 15)
  • Credits
    • Produced by The McCalmans
    • Recorded at Kevock Digital, Lasswade
    • Engineered by Ian McCalman
    • Digital Design: Haxby, Art Surgery
    • Front Cover Photograph Courtesy The Edinburgh Photographic Library
    • Original Inlay Photograph: Rene Hollmann

Sleeve Notes

Cancel Marie's Wedding — All nationalities have been made welcome in the Scottish Highlands but not the speculative absentee landlords. Ian sings.

Loch's of The Tay — Written by one of the emerging Scottish song-writing talents who knows his Perthshire. Nick sings.

Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands — There exists a Scottish, Hogmanay custom where priceless '78s' of Jimmy Shand are flaunted, played, then sat upon, thus increasing the value of the remaining few. Derek sings.

They Sent a Wumman — Sexist stereotyping. Written by a woman to be sung by a man. Ian sings.

Five O'clock in The Morning — Fishing song from Stornoway written by a local, which we researched from 'The Gabs' via Stephen Quigg. Nick sings.

Instrumental:
Alas That I Came O'er the Hill — A Highland slow air also known as 'Madainn chiuin cheitein' (Sweet May Morning).
Square Da Mizzen — A Shetland reel.
Behind the Haystack — A pipe jig of indeterminate parentage but probably Irish in origin. Nick plays.

No-One Left but Me — Over-fishing by factory ships. What chance the smaller boat? Derek sings.

Take Her in Your Arms — Dad plays "agony aunt". Nick sings.

Upstairs Doonstairs — Scottish singers have wrestled for years trying to make this song last longer than 2 minutes. Derek sings.

Don't Waste Ma Time — This should be performed by a trad jazz band, but we do our best. Ian sings.

High Ground Vogrie — This is taken from a commissioned piece of music for the lovely Vogrie Country Park in Midlothian. Patsy Seddon 'guests' on harp, Nick plays whistle and Ian is on 'the remainder'.

Wrecked Again — An ancient Scottish proverb says "Every journey to a hangover starts with the first drink" … or was it Chinese? Derek sings.

White Horses — Nick sets this song on the rocky East Lothian coastline between North Berwick and Eyemouth, near Tantallon, one of the most dramatic castles on the East Coast. Nick sings.

Cholesterol — Conflicting health advice about 'the right things to eat', Adam, (who performs the definitive version) gave us permission to edit the original. Ian McCalman sings.

Libertas Ragusa (Freedom for Dubrovnik) — This song was inspired by Allan's first visit to Dubrovnik in 1994. He joins us on guitar. Nick sings.