Track Listing

1. Mile Marbshaisg (A Thousand Curses)
2. Mooney's
3. The Boy Who
4. At Dawn of Day
5. The Old Crone
6. Little Do They Know
7. A State of Yearning
8. Sound of Sleat
9. Who Will Raise Their Voice?
10. Nuair a Chi Thu Caileag Bhiodheach
11. Sort of Slides
12. I Will Set My Ship in Order

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12781 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 58 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Capercaillie must be considered one of Britain's premier folk rock bands, and Choice Language finds them resurrecting another set of antique Gaelic songs--they remain zealous in their protection of this particular endangered species. But even before 1997's Beautiful Wasteland (and years before Damon Albarn), they had begun to embrace the rhythms and moods of African music, and the precise but soulful trip-hop of the likes of Portishead, using them to contemporise and enliven the more traditional compositions they'd written or re-discovered. This process continues here, as they rework a series of Hebridean work songs, ballads and raucous reels, combining neat beats with flutes, fiddles and accordions, sometimes to stirring effect. As ever, their greatest strength is Karen Matheson's voice, a miracle of clarity, and it's when she takes centre stage, as with the opening work song "Mile Marbhaisg", the mouth music of "Air Fair An La", and "Nuair A Chi Thu Caileag Bhoideach", where she mournfully warns of impetuous young love, that Capercaillie really shine. Elsewhere we have midnight jazz and several increasingly hypnotic reels, but you end up wishing they'd spend less time on modernisation and more on writing epic super-dramas to bring out the best in Matheson. In this they're in good company; Clannad made similar mistakes. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

Choice Album
I waited eagerly for the release of Choice Language; from the moment I heard that it was forthcoming. It was well worth the wait. Within moments of putting it to play I was gasping with delight.

Choice Language is exactly what you would expect from a group which has given us so much beautiful music over the last fifteen years. It’s a fabulous album, packed full of wonderfully articulate musicianship, marvellous toe-tapping melodies, and great lyrics both traditional and modern. All this, attended throughout by the astonishing, awe-inspiringly beautiful song of vocalist Karen Matheson.

Wonderful music, which will mesmerize you with its vibrant beauty and creativity, and make you want to dance; all at the same time.

A sense of unity predominates throughout Choice Language.

Unity in performance; that the many traditional pieces included here are interpreted in a style which is undoubtedly contemporary in feel, but which at the same time is totally at one with the heritage to which it belongs.

Unity too in composition; with group members again providing new pieces which demonstrate all the vitality and vibrancy so characteristic of their tradition.

Overall, the unity of a group of musicians who are completely at ease with the rich gaelic musical tradition which they have done so much to explore, revive and contribute to.

Choice Language is an expression of wonderful craftsmanship. Like any great craft work, it thus demonstrates a unity and simplicity, and conformance to its tradition, which makes it all too easy to forget all the work, talent, skills, caring, love and emotions, which have contributed to its fruition, and which permeate throughout.

If you are new to Capercaillie, make this wonderful album your first exploration into their music. Explore further, and you will not be disappointed. You will have before you all the delight of finding a collection of work where fantastic music and songs of simply astonishing beauty abound.

For those of us whom have loved Capercaillie for some time, our delight lies not in this first hearing, but in the everyday enjoyment, renewal and discovery which flows from music of such fabulous vitality and beauty.

certainly a brilliant choice!
admittedly, i am a huge capercaillie fan, so i admit any bias straight off the bat. however, with that disclaimer in there, this is an absolutely amazing album! the album continues with the same upbeat feel of "nadurra", but with an added emphasis on donald's piano, which adds a jazzy feeling to many of the songs. (for those of you familiar with the band members' independent pursuits, it often feels a synthesis of karen's "time to fall" and charlie's "big sky: the source".) for the gaelic fans, there are plenty of traditional songs on this album, given the jazzy, rhythmic treatment capercaillie excels at. for fans of "beautiful wasteland", "the old crone (port na caillich)" is reminiscent of that feeling .... while "at dawn of day" reminds me of a laid-back, softer "finlay's" from their live album. and, as usual, the reels of michael, donald, and charlie are amazing, while karen's voice remains unparalleled. this CD has been in my player for four days straight now, and i really am not inclined to remove it anytime soon.

Five stars for Choice Language
If you are a Capercaillie fan this is an album you will love. If you've never heard them before, then this is a great place to start. The last two albums have been good, but this one takes them to another level. Play it once and you think "that's pretty good". Play it again and you're hooked. The album contains a mixture of their styles of the past 10 years. Tracks like "The Sound of Sleat" encompass their more traditional instrumental sounds, while "At Dawn of Day" is a more hypnotic track which plays in the mind for a while afterwards and comprises two very old songs from the beginning of the last century. Yet the album has a more modern feel at times. The combination of Charlie McKerron and Michael McGoldrick (fiddles and whistles)is superb, particularly on "Sort of Slides" Karen's vocals are still top notch...just listen to "I will set my ship in order"
In my opinion this is the best album since "Secret People"