Capercaillie

July 11 - July 18, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

***1/2 Capercaillie

GET OUT

(Green Linnet)

In lieu of a new album from Scotland's best hip traditional band, we get this 1992 compilation of live versions and remixes. "Waiting for the Wheel To Turn," "Servant to the Slave," "Coisich a' Rùin" ("Come On, Love"), and "Dr. MacPhail's Trance" (formerly "Dr. MacPhail's Reel") are from the 1991 release Delirium; the traditional Gaelic love song "Fear a' Bhàta" ("The Boatman") is from the 1988 TV-documentary soundtrack The Blood Is Strong. New here are the puirt-a-beul (Scottish rap) "Pige Ruadh," the snatch of lullaby "Dean Cadalan Sàmhach" ("Sleep Softly"), "Outlaws" (yet another song of the dispossessed), and "Silver Spear Reels," which builds on a familiar Irish theme.

The alternate versions rock a little harder, particularly "Waiting for the Wheel To Turn," where a solid backbeat replaces the conga patter, and the hit "Coisich a' Rùin," a waulking song that swings. "Servant to the Slave" offers the same lulling ocean lilt and smell of salt spray. If you have Delirium, you don't really need this unless you're a true fan -- and why wouldn't you be? But if your Capercaillie collection is sparse, by all means snap this up.

-- Jeffrey Gantz

(Capercaillie play the Berklee Performance Center this Friday, July 12.)