Barbara Dickson - Words Unspoken

(February 2011) 12 tracks (52 mins): The Magical West * Jamie Raeburn * Ythanside * The Trees They Do Grow High * Will Ye Gang Love? * Smile In Your Sleep * My Donald * Personent Hodie * Kishmul's Galley * Ca' The Yowes * King Orfeo * Bridge Over Troubled Water.

A multi-million selling singer with an impressive acting career, Barbara Dickson OBE is one of Scotland's most enduring and popular entertainers. With numerous awards for acting and singing, hit singles, gold and platinum albums, Barbara is no stranger to success.

In a return to her roots, this album features a collection of mainly traditional songs. Originally from Dunfermline, Barbara 'paid her dues' on the Scottish folk scene during the 1960s and 70s, working with the likes of Archie Fisher, Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty and Rab Noakes.

A successful stage appearance in a musical by Willy Russell in 1974, followed by her first hit single Answer Me, led to her big break - a guest residency on the BBC comedy show The Two Ronnies, which drew in Saturday night audiences in excess of 15 million viewers.

More hit singles followed - Another Suitcase In Another Hall, Caravan Song, January February - and her 1982 compilation album All For A Song went platinum in the UK. In 1985 her duet with Elaine Paige, I Know Him So Well (from the musical Chess) went on to become a Top 10 hit around the world.

In the 1990s, Barbara began to move away from the pop scene and back towards acoustic and folk music. This resulted in the 1992 album Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - a selection of Bob Dylan songs - and 1994's Parcel Of Rogues, featuring folk music from the British Isles. 1995 saw the release of Dark End Of The Street, which combined traditional music with songs by favourite songwriters.

In 2004 Barbara released her first studio album for eight years, Full Circle. Produced by Troy Donockley, it was widely acclaimed as a long-awaited return to her musical roots. Her next CD, Time And Tide, was released in 2008 and showcased her new direction, blending together old and new songs with a distinctive atmosphere prevailing throughout.

Words Unspoken includes another Barbara and Troy song-writing collaboration - The Magical West - which opens the album, and it ends with the Paul Simon classic Bridge Over Trouble Water. In between, Barbara interprets traditional songs with sensitivity and confidence. Smile In Your Sleep, written by Jim McLean, and My Donald, by the late Owen Hand, completes a formidable album, with artist and producer in total harmony.

Produced by Troy Donockley (guitars, uilleann pipes, whistle, bouzouki, keyboards, percussion, vocals) with musicians Brad Lang (bass, vocals), Frank Van Essen (violin, viola, drums), Andy Dinan (fiddle), Lucy Muir (harp) and Nick Holland (vocals).

"It is no exaggeration to describe Barbara as a great singer. She stood out a mile among folk singers of her generation and she has consistently shown her class when performing for a wider public. This is Dickson at her most engaging..." (Daily Telegraph, on Full Circle)