Highland Heartbeat

[Tim Little]

I have to say I watched this with pretty low expectations, but it wasn't too bad. Some pretty scenery to start with, anyway.

The Burns songs were definitely the highlight of the performance -- though I'll be forever spoiled by Eddi Reader's wonderful renditions -- and I always get a bit misty whenever I hear "Loch Lomond".

I'll jump right on board the Jim Malcolm bandwagon -- saw him live a couple of times previously with Old Blind Dogs -- though the hand gestures in "Rantin' Rovin' Robin" got to be a bit much for me, he has a fantastic voice. He and Darren MacLean did a great version of The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", and MacLean's mouth music medley was masterful.

The ladies were all in very good voice, in particular Maureen MacMullan -- who is presently studying here in Boston at Berklee College of Music and was WGBH's special fundraising guest tonight.

Music aside, the production seemed a bit campy -- Brigadoon-esque? -- and I wasn't crazy about certain song selections. As some have mentioned previously, the Scottish connections for some were tenuous at best. There was a pleasant version of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" for instance, but having just seen Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel perform the same song literally minutes before on 'GBH's broadcast of "Paul Simon and Friends" -- well, there's nothing like the original.

To keep this review somewhat on topic, I have to say that I wasn't particularly offended by the kilts. The lads switched between a Howie Nicholsby/TFCK concoction that pushed the fashion envelope a bit beyond my taste, and more traditional garb that seemed perfectly fine -- aside from the dreaded cream hose. I believe I spied Jim Malcolm in a pair of those fine Glenfinnan buckle shoes at one point -- though he was wearing breeks at the time. On the whole, however, it seemed to me that the ladies generally had it far worse from a wardrobe standpoint!

"Highland Heartbeat" will be coming live to Boston in September. I'm not likely to go -- I'm not even likely to buy the DVD or CD for that matter -- but I wouldn't consider this evening wasted watching the performance on TV, as long as I had an idea what I was in for.