This month, Folk Radio favourite Adam Holmes launches his new album ‘The Voice of Scotland’, a unique and captivating collection of traditional tracks. Recorded on the road across various highland villages, Edinburgh’s own Holmes’ latest release quite literally takes listeners on an enchanting tour of Scotland’s history and heritage, from Gretna Green right across the Atlantic to the Appalachian Mountains. With the official album release taking place at Celtic Connections this weekend, it seems only fitting to take a closer look at what Holmes has in store.
In a recent premiere on Folk Radio UK, Holmes said of the album (which is dedicated to his mother, Janet, an instrumental influence upon his singer-songwriter career) that it represents an acceptance of his “small corner of existence” and that becoming a parent to his young daughter, Rosa, has sparked a keen interest in lineage and family history. His is indeed a rich one, with a great-great-grandfather having fought in the Battle of Waterloo and a grandfather who built spitfires. The album, he notes, is a nod to them and to how their stories have shaped the course of his own path as a “troubadour”, singing the songs he loves all across Scotland and the world. It is undoubtedly a part he seems destined for.
The album that results from these lofty aspirations is an eclectic feast of twelve beloved traditional tracks from Scotland and beyond. Although Holmes is perhaps most renowned for his exceptional songwriting abilities, and rightly so, his distinctive, uncut-diamond voice proves to be the perfect fit for this shift towards honouring the musical roots of his native land. The album sets the bar high from the outset, kicking off with ‘Go Lassie Go’, also known as ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’, and famously sung by folk greats such as Kate Rusby and The Corries. Holmes surely cements his place among them with this stirring rendition, immediately showcasing his vocal range, which is blended seamlessly with diverse instrumentals (notably, here, James Mackintosh’s percussion).
‘Macpherson’s Rant’ comes next to inject a distinctive country feel, with Fraser Spiers leading masterfully on harmonica and Connor Smith and Adam Bulley supporting on the dobro and mandolin, respectively. It tells the story of Scottish Robin Hood, James Macpherson, who evaded arrest for many years until getting caught up in a blanket thrown down on him from a window in the town of Keith. He was hanged in 1700, but as a fine fiddler, he allegedly composed this song to tell his story on the night before his execution and had it played on the scaffold. Holmes blends the original lyrics with Robert Burns’ rewritten version to bring us a dark tale with a surprising and refreshingly upbeat tune. It is far from the only track on the record which evokes Holmes’ country influences, however; ‘The Night Visiting Song’, previously performed and recorded by the likes of Jim Moray (as ‘Seven Long Years’) and The Dubliners (famously the last song performed by Luke Kelly before his death) is a song about illicit love which features another notable contribution from the harmonica. Later, we are treated to a second, slightly softer night visiting ballad-cum-shanty – ‘Lowlands Away’ – a popular choice previously performed by the likes of Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, and June Tabor.
Jock O’ Hazeldean is among the best songs I have heard Jim Moray perform live, but he is yet to treat us to a recorded version. Thank goodness, then, for this lovely offering by Holmes, with a strong performance by Ciaran Ryan on fiddle to accompany the tale of an English woman who (spoiler alert) flees across the border on her wedding day to be with Scottish lad Jock, her true love. It is a poem by Walter Scott, based on a fragment of Child Ballad 293. Holmes later introduces us to another, somewhat different, Jock, in the lively drinking song ‘Jock Stewart’. Also known by the name ‘I’m a man you don’t meet every day’, it is an Irish dance hall song shortened into an Aberdeenshire drinking song, which is told from the perspective of a rich landowner buying drinks for his fellow pub-goers. Perhaps here, especially, we can imagine all the ways in which Holmes’ live shows evoke, according to his own descriptions, “a boozy church service”, especially if performed in one of the many church venues that he frequents up and down the country.
Just as we’ve settled ourselves in for a domestic road trip, however, Holmes whisks us off across the Atlantic with a reverent nod to the rich transatlantic seams of musical ingenuity running between the shores of Scotland and Nova Scotia. ‘Peggy Gordon’ marks a quieter, more reflective interlude in the album. Previously performed by the likes of Jon Boden and Lucy Farrell, as well as Sinead O’Connor, it is during this track that the melodic pairing of Holmes’ and Marta Stryjecka’s vocals reaches its summit. ‘Irene’ (also known as ‘Goodnight, Irene’) is another gentle country song about unrequited love, with melodic accompaniment on guitar from Lyle Watt. Covered by American Blues musician Huddie Ledbetter in 1933, the song has also been adopted and sung by fans of Bristol Rovers F.C. since the 1950s (most certainly worth a trip to YouTube for…). Despite the dark themes underlying the lyrics, its waltz-like tune has a soothing quality. ‘You Are My Sunshine’ sits at the album’s heart, with guitar and harmonica accompanying this heartfelt, universally beloved song. Recorded in 1940 by Jimmie Davis with Charles Michelle’s Orchestra, it is perhaps the most modern song on the record, although its true origins are disputed.
Back in Scotland, ‘Annie Laurie’ is Dumfriesshire love song which blends notes of country – through the banjo and harmonica – with an almost Runrig-esque vocal quality. Although this is one of a series of longing love songs along a similar theme featured on the album, this novel juxtaposition makes the track an especially notable contribution. And what an unexpected delight to hear Holmes’ take on ‘Black is the Colour’, a traditional Appalachian song of Scottish origin. Perhaps most famously performed by Cara Dillon, for me, this is the standout track on the album. Much as Holmes’ voice blends beautifully in harmony throughout the record, it is in this thoroughly stripped-back track that we get to appreciate the full extent of his vocal command, soaring above the gentle guitar accompaniment.
There could be no better way to end the album than with the iconic ‘Auld Lang Syne’, with goosebump-inducing unaccompanied vocals at the beginning easing us into this iconic song that has become a staple of the Scottish Hogmanay, as well as being adopted with great enthusiasm all around the world. Hearing Holmes take command of this venerated text, it is little wonder that The Metro once described him as “the new Robert Burns”. Holmes could not have landed upon a more fitting conclusion to an album all about honouring history and heritage than one whose opening line very loosely translates to mean something along the lines of “for the sake of old times”.
‘The Voice of Scotland’ has everything to offer; for longstanding fans of Holmes, it is a rare treat to hear him depart from his own material and into the realms of traditional tunes, while, for the uninitiated, this is the perfect springboard to exploring his five other award-nominated albums. He has, after all, described this as a “prequel” to the rest of his work – a showcase of the “ingredients” behind the “dishes” that constitute his original material – taking us back in time, both in general terms and in the context of his own personal musical journey. In a Folk Radio UK review of his 2017 album, ‘Midnight Milk’, Neil McFadyen noted, “On the surface, it seems that with each successive release, Adam Holmes and the Embers move further from the acoustic/ folk beginnings that were a feature of ‘Heirs and Graces’, but those influences are still there”. ‘The Voice of Scotland’ is an exquisite and moving tribute that puts these same influences centre stage, and through this resoundingly successful foray into traditional material, Adam Holmes has even more firmly established himself as one to watch on the folk scene in Scotland and beyond.
Adam Holmes officially launches ‘The Voice of Scotland’ at Celtic Connections on 28th January 2024. It is available to stream or purchase now on Spotify and Apple Music. His UK tour continues into February.