Hamish Napier – The Railway
Strathspey Records – 3 August 2018
With a cue from a conductor’s whistle, soft electric piano steadily gathers pace in perfect time to the sound of a departing steam train. It’s a beautifully evocative start to Hamish Napier‘s second solo album, The Railway; and as The Speyside Line evolves into a breezy melody that sweeps along with bass, drums, flute and delightful interplay between strings and piano, there’s no doubt we’re about to embark on a fascinating journey.
Currently on tour with Nae Plans buddy Adam Sutherland (http://www.naeplans.co.uk/when/), Hamish Napier’s 2016 debut, The River (reviewed here) was widely praised, earning Hamish two nominations in the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a nomination for the Scottish Album of the Year Award.
Patsy Reid‘s fiddle joins the stirring, fast-stepping build-up for the soaring, exultant flute melody, The Old Ways. Patsy’s presence is ample evidence of the musical talent joining Hamish in the studio, and the melody is a perfect example of his ability as a composer – which is probably, aside from being a native of the area, why Hamish was commissioned to compose The Railway as a soundtrack for Grantown East: Highland Heritage & Cultural Centre (http://grantowneast.com/).
The gorgeous Highland walking trail, The Speyside Way, links the Moray coast with the edge of the Grampian Mountains and follows in part the course of what was once a thriving, and essential, railway route. The last remnant of that line, The Strathspey Railway (https://www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk/) is now a volunteer-run 10-mile preserved line. Its history and its characters are celebrated in The Railway.
Of those characters, three veterans of the railway in particular, and their stories inspired much of the album. They also inspired Hamish’s brother, Findlay Napier, to write and sing two. Jocky the Mole tells the story of a boy racer on the railway, and the song exudes the joy in Hamish’s heart as he researched this album, as well as the equally heady joy of making fine music, about fine people. The Brothers Napier completely fail to disguise their enthusiasm as they join forces for the rousing chorus…
“Fire and water, smoke and steam
A train is like a living thing
Driver, engine, fireman
It takes us three to make her sing.”
The importance of the railway to local culture and commerce is marked in Findlay’s second, more gentle song, The World Came in By Rail. The family connections continue in Cheery Groove, a fine jig on flute and whistles that lives up to its name.
Jimmy Gray was an engine driver from Aviemore and Helen’s Song was composed in memory of his wife. It’s good to know there’s still room for the romantic in modern music, and with soft piano, sweet and plaintive at the same time, this is a true, sentimental, Highland air. When Patsy Reid’s rich fiddle joins, it’s heavenly.
Aside from the human characters on The Railway; the journeys, the locations, and engines themselves are all celebrated, Up The Hill is a brace of tunes that take us on one such journey, with The Balmenach Hornpipe heading towards a gentle lull as Ewan Robertson‘s guitar, James Lindsay‘s double bass, and Fraser Stone‘s percussion take the slow, steady 1500 ft climb O’er Drumochter. And you’re sure to enjoy pelting down the other side with a galloping, tumbling sprint of a melody. Another set, The Station, opens with the light jazz of Aye Busy!, before the sweet, uplifting strings of Homeward.
Double Header celebrates two locomotives. The Hiker is fast-paced from the start, with whistle, flute and fiddle. Then Ross Ainslie‘s pipes, perhaps the best way to represent an engine nicknamed The Sojer, approach from a distance and bring some lively strings along with them. There’s the ever-present rhythm of wheels on tracks in the pulsating, industrial beat of The Firebox, and the transition from steam to diesel is marked by a blistering pipe track from Ross in Diesel.
The album closes with a short suite of three pieces – The Railwayman. Soft whistle and piano introduce the theme in The Railwayman Air, before March of the Bairns employs stirring pipes backed up by some bold bass, leading to something of a gathering; as keyboards, whistles and strings join in and build towards a dance. This trio of ceilidh melodies, The Fireman / The Driver / The Railwayman March, abound with unrestrained energy as the wild tones of Patsy’s fiddle encourage Ross to take the pace up a notch, and the two head of on a Highland adventure.
With Andrea Gobbi‘s deft production, exceptional artwork from Somhairle MacDonald, and fascinating detail in the sleeve notes; visually, as well as musically, The Railway is a perfect follow-up to The River. As a quote (from Iain Fenwick’s book, The Speyside Line) in the album notes says “The railway was never far from the river, indeed there were places where the track seemed almost to hang above the water…it was a truly delightful journey.”
To be honest, Hamish Napier could write an album about an empty field and it would still impress, but writing music about his native Speyside definitely seems to bring out the very best. The Railway really is a truly delightful journey. As expected, this is music that makes the heart sing.
Order it here https://hamishnapier.bandcamp.com/album/the-railway