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A
Touch of Class – Pride of the Raven.
To read
another review of this CD from Robbie Gallimore click here. EVEN
WITH EAST BELFAST having so many outstanding loyalist marching bands at the
present time like Ballymacarratt, the
Protestant Boys and Gertrude
Star to name just a few, there is one band for me that stands head and
shoulders above the rest. A band
whose marching style and discipline and ability to plat great music both of the
melody and Blood and Thunder variety is second to none.
Of course the band I'm talking about is The
Pride of the Raven FB. I
haven't seen much of ‘The Raven’
over the last few years. But I do
remember attending a parade in Belfast in the 80s with my own band, the Loyal
Sons of Benagh. The whole band
were in awe as The Raven marched
proudly past. So it was with great anticipation that I sat down to listen to
their new CD, A
Touch of Class. The
first track, British Legion, set the tone excellently for the rest of the CD.
It’s a great military march with some superb drumming - so good it even
had me marching around my lounge. (Blush!) What
surprised me about track two, The
Councillor, was The Raven’s
ability to switch from melody to Blood and Thunder so easily.
This is a great tune played in a traditional Blood and Thunder style.
Simply excellent. The
other tunes on the CD played in a Blood and Thunder style which really stood out
for me were track six, Rambling
Irishman; track 18, Rifles
and track 14, Every Other Saturday. This
old Rangers tune is played brilliantly. However, my favourite is track
ten, White
Plume. Pure Blood and Thunder!
I
must also mention track 22, Black
Bear. It’s a very
entertaining if unusual tune. It
has an excellent mix of Lambeg and Pipe Band style drumming which you'll either
love or hate. I can't decide! But,
I suppose The Raven is best known as
a melody band. So the melody tracks
that stood out for me were track 9, Flag
and Empire. This is a great melody tune accompanied by some
outstanding drumming. Track 19, On
the Quarterdeck and La
Festive - a tune which grows on you the more you listen to it. The prize
for the best melody tune has to go to an old favourite of mine.
It’s track 23, Killaloo. It’s a
tune that my local band in Newry, the Hunter
Moore Memorial, one of Ireland's top melody bands plays so well.
But The Raven surpassed even
them on this track, a lovely
stirring tune played so brilliantly it made me quite emotional. Colin,
South Down. The
Twelfth
thanks Colin for this review.
He is also the author of The
Bannerman, which looks at his childhood experiences of the 12th
July Celebrations. To read
another review of this CD from Robbie Gallimore click here. For a copy of A Touch of Class, send a cheque/Postal Order (made payable to Glenwood Publications) for £11.00 (including p & p) to:
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