Greentrax Recordings

Greentrax Recordings

Specialising in traditional and contemporary Gaelic and Celtic music
from Scotland and beyond.

buy this title at MusicScotland

Mick West - Sark O’ Snaw (CD)

CDTRAX344 (released November 2009)
category: singers and songwriters

11 tracks: The Gairdner Chiel * Matt Highland * Chylde Owlett * Kelvin's Purling Stream * Kringsatt Av Fiender (Face The Foe) * My Last Farewell To Stirling * The Well Below The Valley * Tail Toddle * When A Man's In Love * Bloody Waterloo * The Rambling Sailor.


One of Scotland's finest traditional-style singers, who deserves to be more widely recognised - this album should certainly enhance Mick's reputation.

A regular act at festivals, concerts and folk clubs in Scotland, Mick West has performed in many other countries including England, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia, Estonia, Italy and Japan. Mick is particularly in demand in his home town of Glasgow, where he has been a key figure in putting - and keeping - folk music on the map.

A lover of song since he was a child, when he sang in the church choir and around Scout campfires, it was after a move from Glasgow to Boscastle in Cornwall as a teenager that Mick's love of folk music was kindled - there he listened to local farmers singing their traditional songs.

On return to Glasgow as a lad of nineteen, Mick's interest in Scottish folk song led to him forming his first band, Molindinar. He was responsible for starting the Partick Folk Club in Glasgow's West End in 2002, has been the man behind the annual Partick Folk Festival, and has also been traditional song tutor at The National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music (Plockton).

Mick is equally at home singing traditional Irish songs, and has a great fondness for these.

Mick West (vocals, guitar) with The Mick West Band: Fraser Fifield (whistle, saxophone, percussion), Frank MacLaughlin (guitar), Ali Hutton (pipes, whistle, bodhran, guitar) and Stevie Lawrence (bouzouki). Other featured musicians on the album include Graeme Stephen (electric guitar, acoustic guitar), Kerry Fettes (vocals), Mario Caribe (double bass), Torlhild Ostad (vocals) and Lillebjorn Nilsen (Hardanger fiddle). Produced by Fraser Fifield.


Customer reviews

The Well Below The Valley is my favorite tune off of this album… I LOVE IT and heard it on a public radio station (KPFK) here in LA.

reviewed by Jeff Goodman from Los Angeles, CA, USA on April 5th 2010 at 6:44am

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when the fair was in town “the scottish store” from edmonton was there… im a Mcpherson and very proud of my heritage went straight to the kiosk to see if they offered any Mcpherson trinkets, after purchasing a cheaply made plaid scarf bearing my modern tartan, i remembered… i bought a tape in victoria of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band… I believe 2000 or 2001. i loved the tape and listened to it all the time. However, knowing how tapes and cd’s in other peoples cars go… it got lost.  So i asked the owner of “the scottish store” if he anything by SFU pipe band…the best pipeband in the world… he directed me to the section and there was one single cd left… on home ground vol 2. i grabbed it right away. i also purchased a cd from another pipeband so i could compare the two bands. seeing as SFU pipeband was the only pipeband i’ve ever heard, i thought it would be good to see how good you were in comparison. after listening to the entire cd i found macneills farwell was by far my favorite and envision getting married to the song. but its so long that i wouldnt know how to set my wedding up so the entire tune could be played… i cry nearly every time i hear the tune. thank you

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