" Sunshine on Leith" was the second album from unfashionable Scottish twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid, who with their NHS glasses and dress sense made you feel comfortable with your choice of fashion.
I saw them play "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles )" on Pebble Mill At One when I should have been studying, and thought it was really good. I had previously only heard "Letter From America" but I had read somewhere that they had acquired a rockier edge, playing with a full band sound, adding guitar, drums and keyboards.
I really didn't know what to expect when I purchased the album but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was excellent, with a mix of love, drinking and protest songs, in particular in favour of Scottish Independence. There were plenty of catchy, sing along song, a few tender ballads, and the lyrics mixed insight with humour. The brothers were capable of strong harmonies, as well as frequent counter-point vocals.
Many people don't sing with an accent, but that is something the Proclaimers could never be accused off, being unmistakably Scottish. They were labelled by some as a Scottish Billy Bragg.
Five songs on this album were used in the Dexter Fletcher directed "Sunshine on Leith" film/musical, which I found pleasantly entertaining when I saw it on TV a few years ago as a late night Christmas offering, as long as you didn't apply too much critical thinking to the plot, especially near the end when hundreds of people in Edinburgh spontaneously break into a choreographed dance routine to I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles ), as we all do !
I could remember all twelve songs on the album and whilst just about everyone knows "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles", "I'm On My Way", "Cap In Head", "It's Saturday Night" and "Sunshine On Leith" were also very strong songs.
Side One begins with "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles )", and I was surprised to learn it only got as high as number 11 in the UK charts. It introduced the Scots word "haver" to the wide public, which apparently means to talk foolishly or to babble. The electric guitar riff and drumming immediate catch the attention, as do the "Da-da da da (Da-da da da), Da-da da da (Da-da da da). Da-da dum diddy dum diddy dum diddy da da da" in the post chorus, in what underneath it all, is a song about undying love.
"Cap In Hand" is a jaunty protest song in which the singer explains many things they understand, like telling the difference between margarine and butter, can pronunce Saskatchewan without starting to stutter, and why Stranraer lie so lowly, they could save a lot of points by signing Hibs goalie, but can't understand why we let someone else rule our land, cap in hand.
"Then I Met You" is a sweet story of how a couple met and how pointless the singer’s life was until that moment, whilst "My Old Friend The Blues" is a cover of a US Country singer Steve Earle song. It's slow and mostly just acoustic guitar.
"Sean" makes a reference to Elvis Presley, "I’d say the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi" and has another recurring refrain of "Irish girls are pretty". There is also a soaring pre-chorus of "uh, hi-ya, hi-ya, hi-ya".
Side One closes with the piano ballad "Sunshine On Leith", a song about their home district in Edinburgh, but which apparently is now often played at funerals, probably due to the repetition of "my heart is broken". A violin is also prominent, in both the middle break and the final chorus and outro.
The joyous "Come On Nature" opens side two but with the Scottish accents sounds like "come on Nietzsche !"
"I'm On My Way" is a sing along toe-tapper with a jazzy piano. "I'm on my way from misery to happiness today. Ah-hah (Ah-hah), ah-hah (Ah-hah)" whilst the chorus goes "And now that I don't want for anything (Ooh), I'd have Al Jonson sing I'm sitting on top of the world".
"What Do You Do" is the second protest song and has a plucked acoustic guitar intro and features a whimsical country slide guitar. "What do you do when democracy fails you","Pat votes the Scots way just like her mother, but the South takes all, just liker her brother", & "what do you do when minority means you".
"It's Saturday Night" is one of my favourite songs on the album, with a slow pace similar to "King Of The Road" but is a drinking song, "the drink that I had three hours ago, has been joined by 14 others in a steady flow". The middle break has a whistling solo.
"Teardrops" is just the two voices and an acoustic guitar. "Teardrops, they're running down your face"
The album closes with "Oh Jean", another love song. "I'd never been lucky with girls I confess, don't know who to blame for my lack of success. Cause even with ones up the back of a bus there was always the risk of a slap in the puss. But Jean, Oh Jean, You let me get lucky with you".
Track Listing :
1. I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles )
2. Cap In Hand
3. Then I Met You
4. My Old Friend The Blues
5. Sean
6. Sunshine On Leith
1. Come On Nature
2. I'm On My Way
3. What Do You Do
4. It's Saturday Night
5. Teardrops
6. Oh Jean
Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 10
Singles :
I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ( No 11 - 1988 )
Sunshine On Leith ( No 11 - 1988 )
I'm On My Way ( No 43 - 1989 )
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