Originally published by L.S. Media. September 27th 2009.

For lovers of genuinely good Scottish music the new McIntosh Ross album is a breath of fresh air. Two of the founding members of Deacon Blue, Ricky Ross and Lorraine Mcintosh have taken time out from recording anything new for the band and have instead come up with an album of high quality, gentle vocals and atmospheric musicianship.

The Great Lakes is the first venture for the twosome and although Ricky Ross has had some critical success with his solo career it comes across as a more fulfilled album, perhaps due to the influence of his wife Lorraine who has a few writing credits on the album including the stirring Winter is Coming and Silver and Gold.

There a couple of gems on the record that really stand out, not just for the vocalisation which is rich all the way through the album but for the imagery that the words provide and backed up by some wonderful fiddle work by Richard Green, the tracks are Bluebell Wood and the beautiful Gloria; these songs compliment the album fully

This is an album that deserves to be in anybody’s play list and is a credit to Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh.

Ian D. Hall