Stand Easy, by John McLean Allan

Stand Easy

by John McLean Allan

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1.	Slow Air/Hornpipe 04:15	buy track
2.	Star of the County Down 02:56	buy track
3.	This Moment 05:01	buy track
4.	Letting Love In 04:19	buy track
5.	John's Jig Set 03:10	buy track
6.	Love Can Never Change 05:59	buy track
7.	Amazing Grace 03:16	buy track
8.	Siuthadaibh Bhlachaidh 02:54	buy track
9.	Strathspey Jig 02:56	buy track
10.	Back Home in Derry 04:31	buy track
11.	Going Home 04:09	buy track
12.	Scotland 03:54	buy track

about

Stand Easy was our first album. It was recorded before we even formed the band. We decided to form the band after we had so many requests to make our music "live"!

Here's a review by AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald:

"A unique blending of authentic Celtic music and pop/rock, Stand Easy unites these two forms into a cohesive whole that beguiles both the heart and the ear. While the 1980s saw groups such as Big Country intermingling bagpipe sounds with rock, these excursions were primarily done with electric guitar effects -- particularly utilizing the e-bow. John McLean Allan, however, fronts his rock band with real bagpipes as the lead instrument, and the effect is stunning. The opening instrumental, "Slow Air/Hornpipe," gives the listener a faultless introduction to the amalgamation. After a brief, traditional Scottish bagpipe prelude, a solid, riveting rock rhythm section breaks through and holds down the beat while Allan delivers some fabulous riffs and solos. Although the drone effect from the bagpipe often anchors his lines and the general feel in the traditional Celtic form, he actually, at times, operates the instrument more like a lead electric guitar. In fact, some of the lines he plays could easily be transposed to guitar and undoubtedly wouldn't be out of place coming from a guitarist of Steve Howe's caliber. Aside from the instrumental fireworks, Allan also proves to be a fine songwriter and singer as well. Songs such as "Star of the County Down" and "Love Can Never Change" readily exhibit his affinity with power pop and folk songwriting styles, and it's not a stretch to say that his songs would be extremely potent in a standard pop/rock band format. However, Stand Easy's fusion of Celtic/bagpipe music and rock & roll takes this artistic ball over the goal line and spikes it...hard."

credits

released January 1, 2002

John McLean Allan • Vocals, Highland Pipes, Guitars, Mandolin, Bass
Colin Armstrong • Vocals
George Cavanaugh • Vocals
Diane Browne - LEad/Backing Vocals
Pa,ela Browne • Lead/Backing Vocals
Laura Brown-Sorenson • Lead/Backing Vocals
Kevin McIntyre • Backing Vocals
Gene Black • Electric Guitar
Alex Del Zoppo • Keyboards
Kieran Campbell Murrray • Bass
Rettward von Doernberg • Bass (Strath/Jig)
Chris Razze - Drums

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about

John McLean Allan/Stand Easy Los Angeles, California

Stand Easy is a Celtic Rock band led by John McLean Allan, an award-winning bagpiper, singer/songwriter, and multi- instrumentalist. John has appeared playing bagpipes in numerous feature films and television shows, including the Oscar-winning Best Picture, Million Dollar Baby, among many others.
John has performed with the Chieftains, Korn, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and The Tonight Show Band. ... more

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