Track Listing

1. I Came In From The Mountain
2. As Still As I Watch Your Grave
3. Every Line Of A Long Moment
4. My Secret Is My Silence
5. Act IV
6. From The Drifter To The Lake
7. If I Could Name Any Name
8. Whiskeyface
9. Waverley Steps
10. Under My Breath
11. Play Me Something

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2239 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Colour, DVD-Video
• Original language: English

BBC.CO.UK
Tender and epic, enormous yet touching, Woomble's secret may not be his silence, but the brilliance of his musical friends.

The Sun
..a stunning piece of work

The Sunday Mail
...beautiful and lilting songs

Customer Reviews

That's all Folks!!
I've been fortunate to have this album for a month or so now. Other CDs have come and gone during that time but this is still getting regular outings.

This is a side project from the Idlewild lead singer who has put this record together with help from friends, including Rod Jones from Idlewild and two folk stars in their own right Karine Polwart and Kate Rusby, while another of the Idlewild band members took a break to enjoy fatherhood.

The CD has an enjoyable mix of folk songs and Idlewild style songs with a more folky instrumentation than would be normal for the Scottish rockers.

Stand out tracks include the ballad and title track "My secret is my silence" - co-written by Rusby's husband John McCusker who also produced the album. Polwart lends her vocals to this track and with McCusker's violin the three conjure up a melancholic though enchanting sound on this track.

Another is Track 2 "As still as I watch your grave". An example of an Idlewild-like song which builds to a delicious toe-tapping conclusion reminiscent of the Kate Rusby band live - and it's no coincidence then that you find KR band members McCusker, Andy Cutting, Ian Carr and Michael McGoldrick all featuring on this and other tracks.

Finally, "If I could name any name" has all the hallmarks of a Polwart song in its intelligent lyrics and simple melody. Woomble and Polwart should do more together - their voices just work together to bring a song to life. They sang this at a Celtic Connections gig in Glasgow earlier this year and you'll be singing along too after a listen or two.

So, if you're an Idlewild fan looking for something more pared back or a fan of Rusby or Polwart's work then you shouldn't hesitate to add this to your collection.

Interesting and brilliant, as always
I have always thought of Roddy as a kind of musical equivalent of the observational comedian. His lyrics seem to perfectly capture little elements of the world around us that are so easy to overlook but that can be infinitely interesting. This album gives me that feeling you get, when travelling, of opening your eyes and really seeing everything around you.

Musically it is beautiful and accomplished. In todays music scene where many artists try too hard to be just like one of the fans, it is refreshing to hear an album where the artist is saying "look what i've learnt and look what I can do".

A story of emergence
This beautifully worked album shows just how far Roddy Woomble has come from his first offerings of the punk/rock of his normal day job with Idlewild. Crafted folk of a simple nature with wonderful lyrics.