Search - Runrig :: Cutter & The Clan

The album that brought Runrig to a higher level of stardom

Ed Hanley | Sweden | 04/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""The Cutter And The Clan" was the first Runrig album I bought and I was immediately blown away by the contents! It does indeed feature extremely strong material, ranging from rockalongers "Alba", "The Pride Of Summer", and "Rocket To The Moon" to poignant melodious treatments like "The Only Rose" and "An Ubhal As Airde".



The success of this album led to them being signed by Chrysalis Records, which eventually re-released "The Cutter And The Clan", introducing the music of Runrig to a whole new world. The genius of songwriting brothers Rory and Calum MacDonald can definitely not be underestimated, as they are basically the core of Runrig's substance that has helped them gain recognition both within and without their native Scotland.



I highly recommend this album; for me it represents an entirely different epoch compared to the first four albums, which were more locally known than their subsequent post-Cutter material. The band, led by Donnie Munro's soothing vocals, has since then continued to make albums of outstanding quality and has still maintained the love of their native language, which prior to "The Cutter And The Clan" was more prominent on their first couple of albums. Yet "Alba" ranks among one of their best Gaelic tracks, and the same can be said about "An Ubhal As Airde", which was later used in a Carlsberg TV advert and subsequently released as a single, being also the first Scottish Gaelic single to enter the Top 20. 'Tis a ballad with an utmost sense of melancholia, and which is definitely one of their more underrated Gaelic language ballads. Yet the English material on the album is also excellent, particularly the energetic "Pride Of The Summer" and the equally high-soaring "Rocket To The Moon" and "Protect And Survive".



This, you can say, is their ultimate milestone - a musical work which gained them instant recognition beyond the Scottish borders and which solidified their position as the best Scottish band of our time."

I instantly liked this group as soon as I heard them.

James Di Crocco III | Camp Babylon, Iraq | 10/01/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Runrig in a German CD store in the fall of 1991 and have been a fan ever since. Unfortunately, this Scottish group is virtually unknown in the U.S. They combine traditional Scottish musical sensibilities with rock. It is an excellent combination. "Hearts of Olden Glory" and "Alba" are standout tracks, but my all-time favorite song by them is "Rocket to the Moon." It is available here on this album. Another great Runrig album (probably their best) is "Runrig - Live," the album that I first heard by them. Hopefully Amazon.com will also carry that one soon. At any rate, "The Cutter and the Clan" is a fine album."

Worth Searching For....

Ed Hanley | 07/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a fan of Big Country but would like something a little more relaxing, then find this work. I learned of this release through the local college radio station WVVS back in 1987 and felt a kindred spirit awaken from within. This is my kind of Celtic rock! Alba, sung in the local tongue, kicks off The Cutter & The Clan with a beat that will remind you of Tears for Fears, but the chorus soars away from that comparison immediately showing that these Scotts have thier own identity. The Cutter brings me a sense of a song written for a soundtrack for a man far away from his home. Bag Pipes? They have 'em. Very tastefully done in Pride Of The Summer. For this American, the whole package is full of emotion and just perfect for an evening sitting on the porch with pipe in hand dreaming of far away lands."