Track Listing

1. B's Jig
2. Tortoise Regrets Hare
3. Temptation
4. When The Haar Rolls In
5. Queen Of Spain
6. Midnight Feast
7. Would You Have Me Born With Wooden Eyes
8. Summer's Not The Same Without You
9. Capture Of The Horse

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5899 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

CD Description
After four successful LPs that showcased James Yorkston's ability for both interpreting traditional folk material and his own skill as a songwriter, 'When The Haar Rolls In' proves that Yorkston is an artist with real longevity. Recorded with the help of a small army of auxiliary musicians (known on previous recordings as The Athletes), the tone is still resolutely antiquated and focused on the interpretation of existing folk material. This release also features collaborations with Olly Knight and Norma Waterson among others.

Customer Reviews

Life as a rainbow
The Haar which rolls off the north sea and obliterates the islands and fishing boats from those who would stand on Fife's East Neuk shores appears to act as some sort a magic creative cloak if we measure the incredible number of musicians and artists who have gained inspiration from the land and sea in this wind blown corner of Scotland.
One of East Neuk most famous sons...relatively speaking...is the cat loving,real ale quaffing scruff bag, James Yorkston who has marked out his territory from fellow Fence Collective artists like the more rock/pop orientated King Creosote by virtue of the quality of his songwriting and his musicianship which is certainly more traditionally folk based than the aforementioned KC who nevertheless is a huge talent in his own right.
Without beating around the bush any longer,I will just say that 'Haar' is James Yorkston's finest moment yet. A genuine 5 star outing which perfectly displays contemporary songwriting at its best with traditional folk airs delivered with aplomb !
Using The Athletes and Folk legend Norma Waterson to great effect,the album unfolds as a beautiful musical journey which will surely be seen as one of the folk albums of 2008 and a future JY classic.
Personal favourites of mine include the charming 'Tortoise regrets Hare'...'Queen of Spain' and the epic 'Capture of the Horse'.

In a word or two....Bonnie and Beautiful !

Rolls In Unnoticed
The Haar is a fog that rolls in off the sea and over the land, and Yorkston has taken this productive imagery to create an album that washes over the listener. Unlike the fog however, there is little chance of losing yourself in the album. Whilst it plods along happily and unquestionably prettily, it ultimately does so uneventfully.

This is an earnest but immemorable collection of inoffensive but bland folky, acoustic mumblings. Yorkston's vocals are, as ever, disinterested and as such hard to engage with, his words more spoken than sung. His songcraft here is able but uneventful. There are moments that recall Absentee's esoteric grit, gentle swellings of strings that recall The Tindersticks, but in comparison to these and others, `When The Haar Rolls In' falls short.

Nice
Saw this chap, James Yorkston a few years back supporting tindersticks and loved what I heard then so, When the Haar Rolls In hit the shelves I had to purchase.
It took me 2 listens to enjoy this and I think you have to hear the whole cd in one sitting to appreciate it. He's a master of words, which he crams into each song, and each song seems to flow into the next so, put aside 49.22 minutes of your time, and enjoy his words and music.