Okay, this may not be traditional rainpop, yet it is, er, traditional. Which is only partially true, considering one of the highlights of the album, a cover of Runrig's Cearcall A'chuain. As a matter of fact, Smithfield Fair are a folk band and if you wonder what the heck they're doing in the Rainsite, well, your doubts are reasonable. Yet Smithfield Fair's music is so evocative and timeless that it's worth mentioning in every page devoted to Scotland. The funny thing is that the band doesn't even hail from Scotland, but from Baton Rouge, Lousiana. Frontman Dudley-Brian Smith's Scottish parentage is very strong though, and his several journeys to Scotland have fortified the band's ties to their homeland, the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. Highland Call, released in 1998 on Centaur Records, follows Scotland Owns Me (1995, a collection of old SF songs) and Scattered Seeds Of Scotland, their first international release (1997). Smithfield Fair celebrate their tenth anniversary this year. They were formed in 1989 by Dudley-Brian Smith (Highland bagpipes, Scottish smallpipes, guitar, mandolin, tin whistle) and Jan Smith (vocals, guitar, accordion, percussion), who boasts Welsh ancestry as well as Scottish. The current line up comprises Frank Bladen (drums and percussion) as well. The album is a collection of both traditional and self-penned songs, sung in Scots Gaelic and in English. Those of you who are familiar with folk music may know songs like An Coineachan, Siuil A Run and Fear A'Bhata, by far the best track of the re-arranged ones. However, if Scotland is said to be the band's muse, Dudley-Brian Smith is its soul, not only because he penned some of the most evocative songs of the album (Cumha Seamus a'Glenn, The Pretender Will Cam Nae More, Giant's Dance), but also because his voice and his singing prove to be more appropriate and "fitting" than Jan Smith's. Besides, his guitar is the real "engine" of the band's music, the true "metronome". In the end, it's a shame that Smithfield Fair's self-penned tracks be only one third of fourteen, even if they've proved that Runrig's Cearcall A'chuain deserves to be considered a classic. For further information, contact Stevenson Productions, 8323 Justin Avenue, Baton Rouge, Lousiana 70809 or phone (225) 928-3902. !