Brian McNeill

There are simply not enough superlatives to describe McNeill’s solo set. After a slow air, Lady Livingston, McNeill had the good judgement to launch without pause into four reels, sparing the audience the decision of whether to applaud or merely sit in stunned silence after his breathtaking rendition of the complex, brooding tune. The reels, impeccably played at breakneck speed, required no such decision, and both audience and band members cheered McNeill’s performance...

- North Carolina Spectator

...One reel of seemingly endless choruses and ever-ascending modulations showed McNeill at his best, even to tossing in a few unexpected jazz-blue notes. And the audience lapped it up. - Perth (Australia) Sunday Times

...If the show had been made of nothing but the wonderful songs, songs that have that turn of phrase that stamps them as surely as a signature in ink and sung in Brian’s warm voice, a voice like Scotch whisky itself, it would have been memorable. But Brian, like a painter, filled in the spaces between the songs with a series of slides showing scenes from every phase of Scottish history... ...In watching the show, I was reminded of all that I have ever read of the bards who passed along the heritage of their culture in story and song and felt glad to have seen such a bard as Brian McNeill... - Dirty Linen

...The solo set gave ample opportunity for Brian to display his virtuosity on a variety of instruments, including guitar, fiddle and mandocello, otherwise known as "the tank" which, despite the. affectionate nickname, Brian was able to coax into a gentle fade-out. He even picked up the concertina for that hardy perennial, The Dark Island, turning the tables on the audience who hummed or sang along with the familiar tune but if -unlikely as it seemed- he did make an error, Brian was modest enough to provide an alibi. "If I make a mistake, it's jazz," he quipped. His songs show that he has not mellowed with age, however, and still finds much to be angry with, not least New Labour. A newer song, War of the Crofter attacked the system of landownership in the Highlands, while No Gods and Precious Few Heroes savaged the tartan mythology of Scotland. Brian finished with a rousing jazz-tinged fiddle set which somehow managed to combine the Perennial "Mason's Apron" with "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Grieg's "Peer Gynt" suite and to survive a fiddle bow collision with a microphone. Someone of McNeill's experience and talent could not fail to deliver a good show and he will be welcome back to Inverness any time.

- Inverness Courier

Brilliant new solo album by one of the founder members of the Battlefield Band. Brian has not only written all the songs and tunes on this album but also plays all the instruments which include fiddles, mandolin, bass, guitar, concertina, hurdy gurdy, etc. But this is no mere exercise in technical wizardry -Brian is a sensitive and talented musician who writes and performs beautifully. The tunes have, for the most part, a Scottish feel to them, though they were inspired by Brian’s travels throughout the world as a member of the band -airs, reels, polkas, etc.-all of which have that melodic quality that makees them so listenable. The two vocals are excellent -I particularly like The Laverock Sang, based on the reminiscences of traveller and singer Betsy White -I’m sure many people are going to be singing this wistful and catchy song in years to come. Highly recommended. - Down Home Music NEwsletter

...As with anything he has recorded, it is the arrangement of the music which really stands out. Brian plays with a skill and an ease which would make anyone who has ever held a fiddle weep. He has indeed stolen every tear the fiddle has ever let fall and gathered pain and pleasure both, to all who listen closely enough to hear the heartbeat of tradition.
All the sets are so good, it is impossible to single one out as being the `high point’ of the album. Whether you like waltzes or jigs, slow airs or marches, McNeill has them all. the only thing I can suggest is that you buy this album and enjoy it for what it is -a snapshot of Brian McNeill’s soul. The man is a fiddler -nothing more can be said, and nothing less could do him justice.
- Stornoway Gazette

The Return Of The Time Traveller

In his years with the Battlefield Band, Brian McNeill may have come across as a cheerful extrovert, not taking his music too seriously, but anybody who heard his first solo recordings would have been in no doubt that McNeill possesses the kind of skills that should be taken very seriously indeed. A fine, fiery fiddler and an exquisitely poised guitarist, he is also a songwriter who can pack a man’s lifetime into a few bustling verses and an ear-tugging chorus and give you the feeling that he has said all that needs to be said.
Eric Bogle, who knows a bit about these matters, says: `It’s Brian’s songwriting talent that cuts closest to my heart. His songs of Scotland’s heritage are so authentic, so evocative of the period of which he’s writing that you’d swear he kept a wee time machine in his attic, and every so often he wheechs back to the past to pick up some period colour to brush into his songs.’
The time machine has clearly been working overtime for McNeill’s latest solo album, The Back O’ The North Wind (Greentrax), in which he tells the stories in song of various Scots heroes, heroines and adventurers, from Flora MacDonald to Andrew Carnegie, who sailed to America in search of a new life. As well as the songs there are occasional instrumental tracks, the best of which, Bridal Boat, a masterly, resonant guitar piece, is the album’s final track. Destitiution Road, a slow air featuring concertina, is another beautiful composition, beautifully played.
McNeill is a good singer, not yet a great one, although he has a robust, no-frills manner and a firm voice -ideally suited to the boldly-go spirit of lines that bristle with narrative and imagery.
He is heard at his best in the Flora MacDonald song, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, where the unmistakable tones of Dick Gaughan chime in as backing for the marvellous, moaning chorus. Muir And The Master Builder is delivered with a big, rocky band sound, with Gary Coupland on trombone. And the angry, questioning lines of the Carnegie number, Steel Man, are vividly complemented by the powerful clatter and clutter of electric guitar, pipes and synthesiser.
In addition to Gaughan and Coupland, the hand-picked team of musicians includes Dougie Pincock (pipes), Neil Hay (bass) and Mike Travis (percussion). This is bound to figure among the folk albums of the year, and in terms of musical inventiveness it surely puts Brian McNeill in an unrivalled position at the top of the league.

Alastair Clark. - The Scotsman

...the music itself is a joy from beginning to end. McNeill is joined by nigh on a dozen musicians, resulting in various odd but enchanting instrumental combinations. Gorgeously baroque, the guitar-led title track (better known in its hymnal guise) is a masterpiece in sensitivity, in both playing and arrangement. A rare balance of integrity and personality throughout, the warm production never shows its age -and better still, nor does the music. ***
- Q Magazine

A solo album from Brian? Well, if you count an album with ten backing musicians as a solo album then this is the solo album with the most. It is Brian McNeill through and through showcasing his talents as musician, singer, writer, arranger, producer, recording engineer and more. This is the McNeill supergroup, probably never to be seen on stage, but supergroup none the less. The complete spectrum of Brian’s songwriting is revealed from the political Any Mick’ll Do, the historical Montrose, the personal Trains And My Grandfather (for me one of the highlights of the album) to the social comment of Steady As She Goes together with a clutch of new tunes from Brian. The “Theme” of the album is heroes, with a few villains thrown in for good measure.
The title track is given an uptempo treatment which I personally feel detracts a little from the power of the song. Brian is not quite convincing as Mr Angry, but the uptempo numbers provide a variation and contrast that ultimately makes the album such a satisfying performance. For me the jewel in the setting has to be the song Trains And My Grandfather, a personal song yet one which many will be able to empathise with the emotions superimposing their own story, The piano accompaniment from Gary Coupland is the only support to Brian’s voice on this track
and it works beautifully. Ian Green gave Brian complete freedom in making the album and his faith has paid dividends. The musicians sound as if they were having a ball in the studio. This is a mature album from a master musician and a great writer revealing yet more of the depth of the McNeill talent. The broadening of the writing suggests that there is more to come and that we can look forward to a future McNeill epic, in the meantime this one will give plenty of pleasure. John Muirhead - The Living Tradition

...Once again Brian puts together a set of tunes that will wow his many fans, based on or related to incidents in the book, a rather sombre roman policier (I can say this, as it's set largely in France) dealing with fiddles in both senses of the word. Some of the tracks are best listened to after reading Brian's own idiosyncratic notes - Czarlie Is My Darllng?, for example; I bet the Brothers Sobieski wish they'd thought of it first, so they could design a tartan for it and sell it. Likewise there's a tune with arguably the longest title in showbiz, offering condolences to the Outgoing Tory government in 1997. This album demonstrates Brian's stupendous musical virtuosity. - Freelance Review