Description
Emily Smith is one of Scotland’s finest singer-songwriters, but for this set she is credited simply as singer and arranger. There is none of her own material included (apart from a melody that she and Jamie McClennan wrote for Thomas Carlyle’s The Sower’s Song), and she concentrates instead on a classy revival of tradition ballads, along with three songs by contemporary writers. The choice of material is a little unadventurous, but her singing is as distinctive and impressive as ever, and she is backed by a remarkable band. Last year she joined the Transatlantic Sessions lineup, which included the celebrated American dobro and lap-steel player Jerry Douglas, who plays a prominent role here, bringing an unexpected twanging edge to songs like Reres Hill. The best tracks are an exquisite piano and fiddle-backed treatment of the murder ballad Clerk Saunders, and Archie Fisher’s poignant seafaring lament, The Final Trawl.