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RORY CAMPBELL
Intrepid Vertical Records ***

Hyperactive pipes, busy arrangements and sometimes leaden percussion conspire to drag Rory Campbell's solo CD into the undergrowth. Campbell is a member of Scottish band Old Blind Dogs, and his pipes are at times capable of great subtlety, sidling their way under the belly of many a fine beast: from the pairing of Breton gavotte and English polka, charismatically christened Gavotte and Polka, to Bass Strathspey, a cheeky borrowing from Corrinna Hewat. Campbell's chief weakness is his tendency to try to please all of his listeners all of the time. Stretching and bending himself to conform to too many competing styles, and lending his own vocals to the mix as well, he buckles beneath the competing weight of the ineffably bland Joca, but manages to redeem himself with the clean-shaven whistle on Innes Campbell and pipes on Gloria. www.verticalrecords.co.uk