BUY CD  |  SOUND CLIPS  |  MUSICIANS  |  LINER NOTES  |  SHEET MUSIC

Release date:  August 18, 2005

There is a cassette tape I often listen to of uncle Buddy and John Morris Rankin at the firehall in Mabou in 1986.
It’s not of studio quality as it was recorded on an old cassette machine, but it is magic. I often play along with it.

It occurred to me one day that Buddy and I should record some of those tunes together in a studio, as we had never done so before. The music would be a keepsake for our family and we could have the option of using a track or two on one of our own future solo recordings.

After playing some of these great “Buddy tunes” together, we both felt quite good about the music and reached the conclusion that this recording should become its own CD – a permanent imprint of a family tradition passed down from uncle to niece. This tradition also includes my aunt (Buddy’s sister), Betty Lou Beaton on piano.

I have predominantly listened to Buddy’s fiddling throughout my life –on home recordings, at square dances and live at family gatherings and parties. He has influenced my fiddling immensely. This recording is a tribute to his music, our family traditions and to Cape Breton Island.

- Natalie MacMaster



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All tunes traditional, arranged by Natalie and Buddy MacMaster (SOCAN), except where indicated.

1.   The King George Medley
     King George the Fourth
     The Old King’s Reel
     The King’s Reel
     Miss Lyle Reel
     The Bridge of Bamore

2.  The Little Pickle
    Pet of the Pipers
    The Little Pickle
    The Rosewood Jig
    The Road To Skye
    Scotty’s Fitzgerald’s (Sandy MacIntyre)

3.  Scourdiness
    MacKenzie Hay
    Scourdiness (Charles F. Sherritt)
    Miss Baigrie

4.  The Red Shoes
    Welcome to the Trossachs (Wilfred Gillis)
    Miller O Drone
    Miss Lyle Strathspey
    The Devil in the Kitchen
    The Margaree Reel
    The Yetts of Muckart
    Mrs. Margaret MacDonald’s Delight
    The Red Shoes (Dan R. MacDonald)
    Bonnie Nellie

5.  The Dougall Creature
     Mom’s Jig
    The Soldier’s Cloak
    Come Haste to the Wedding
    The Inverness Jig (J. D. Kennedy)
    The Man on the Moon
    Tipperty Jean
    Miss Campbell’s
    The Dougall Creature

6.  Primrose Lasses
    Niel Gow’s Lamentation for James Moray of Abercairny
    Miss Ann Moir’s Birthday
    The Duke of Gordon’s Birthday
    The Primrose Lasses
    The Bear in the Buckwheat

7.  Iona House (Buddy Solo)
    Iona House (Wilfred Gillis)
    Daft Willie Dawson
    Willie Fraser’s (Donald Angus Beaton)
    Lady Mary Stopford
    The Lasses of Stewarton

8.  The Stage
     The Stage Hornpipe
    The Tarra Broach
    Laybourn’s Hornpipe
    Blind Nora O’Neill
    The Bonny Lass of Fisherrow

9.  The Leg Of The Duck
    Jessie Ann’s Favorite (Gordon MacQuarrie)
    The Rose Burn (Dan R. MacDonald)
    Bain’s Jig
    Mrs. A. MacGlashan
    The Leg of the Duck

10.  The Warlock
       The Warlock
      Bog an Lochan
      Flora MacDonald
      The Nine Point Coggie
      Malcolm Finlay
      Johnny Sullivan’s

11.  The Bonnie Lass of Headlake
       The Bonnie Lass of Head Lake (Gordon MacQuarrie)

12.  Wilfred’s Fiddle
       Wilfred’s Fiddle Jig (Dan R. MacDonald)
      The Clay Pipe
      Sandy McGaff
      The Unfortunate Rake
      The New Fiddle (Dan R. MacDonald)

13.  The Ten Pound Fiddle (Natalie Solo)
      The Bald Headed Bachelor
      The Sunshine Hornpipe
      The Ten Pound Fiddle
      Mrs. Smyth of Methven’s

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Buddy MacMaster (Fiddle)
Natalie MacMaster (Fiddle)
Betty Lou Beaton (Piano)
Dave MacIsaac (Guitar)

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Thank you to all the wonderful and generous people involved with this project, especially;

Jennifer and Bob Quinn, Joe Whalen, Wally Hayes, Cheryl Smith, Shelly Campbell, Frank MacDonald, Andrea Beaton, Paul MacDonald, Linden MacIntyre, Donnell Leahy, Scott Lake, Minnie MacMaster, Barbara Battaglia.

A special thanks also to:
Betty Lou Beaton and Dave MacIsaac for their wonderful accompaniment, and to Genevieve Whalen and Alex MacMaster whose presence and opinion at the recording session meant more than they’ll ever know.

Thanks always to God for the beautiful gift of family and music.

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