Classic Andy M. Stewart
fiona_macleod | Colorado, USA | 01/03/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Andy M. Stewart is one of my favorite Scottish singers, along with Dougie MacLean (check him out if you haven't yet!). By the Hush is Andy's first solo release apart from Silly Wizard. It has all the classic Andy M. Stewart ingredients: great ballads, fun-loving songs, and of course Andy's lovely Scottish voice. This album is "rougher" sounding than his later solo albums and his albums with Silly Wizard, but if you can see past that you'll find it doesn't matter much when you listen to the words he is singing and his voice. Andy is a great storyteller and two of the things I enjoy most about his albums are his lyrics and his explanations of the history of each song in the CD booklet. Two of the tracks - "The Ramblin Rover" & "The Parish of Dunkeld/The Curlew" - were also done on a Silly Wizard album. I felt they sounded better with the full band performing them. However, the rest of the album sounds fine, especially his ballads, which are my favorites. If you enjoy traditional, authentic, Scottish music, I would recommend ANYTHING by Andy M. Stewart, Silly Wizard & Dougie MacLean."