Greentrax Recordings

Robin Laing - Whisky For Breakfast (CD)

CDTRAX361 (released May 2011)

category: singers and songwriters

Robin Laing is Scotland’s ‘Whisky Bard’. This is his fourth album of whisky songs, and this time, whether following his Muse or the thread spun for him by the Fates, he has put together a collection of his own songs, all on the tasty subject of Scotch whisky. An eclectic mix of songs, they might go down well with a dram but they can also be enjoyed in their own right by anyone at all: young or old, male or female, drunk or sober.’

Robin’s previous ‘whisky’ albums are ‘The Angels’ Share’ (CDTRAX137), ‘The Water of Life’ (CDTRAX246) and ‘One For The Road’ (CDTRAX313). Robin presents his ‘whisky shows’ both at home and abroad.

Robin is of course also established as a very productive and creative songwriter of many subjects, including his award-winning ‘The Forth Bridge Song’ and has recorded three other albums for Greentrax: ‘Edinburgh Skyline’ (CDTRAX021), ‘Walking In Time’ (CDTRAX072) and ‘Imaginary Lines’ (CDTRAX185). Robin has also published two books with Luath Press Limited.

The new album consists of fifteen of Robin’s own songs plus a bonus track, ‘Ein Letztes Glas’, the words of which are by Hans-Willi Ohl and set to music of Ian Sinclair of Thurso. Robin covers various subjects relating to whisky from ‘Special Sippin’ Whisky’, and via ‘Talisker Bay’ and ‘The Arran Dram’, to ‘Loons is Loons’ and ‘The Smallest Whisky Bar’ (in Santa Maria, Switzerland).

The album is brilliantly produced by David Scott (of The Pearlfishers fame) who contributed additionally on guitars, keyboards, mandolin and backing vocals. Ursula Laing (Robin’s wife) and Maisie Laing (their daughter) also added backing vocals on some tracks. The other session musicians are Jim Gash (drums), Brian Molley (saxophone), Jeana Reid (fiddle) and Mr Derek Star (percussion). David Scott considers this to be Robin’s finest body of work to date and we would agree. There is a wonderful mix of sounds on the album and some tracks have a solid ‘country’ feel to them. It is a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable album in our opinion.