Reviews

Archie Fisher
"His apprenticeship had carried him through a series of development stages beginning with the early imprint of Pete Seeger's forceful simplicity, which put a banjo in his hands, and the direct contact of the unaccompanied ballad singer, which gave him the confidence to put the banjo down."

Stirling Observer
"A committed singer with an unpretentious delivery, accompanied by a ready smile, his numbers are often amusing but contain an element of social comment which lifts them out of the ordinary."

Gill Bowman, The Scottish Folk Gazette
"Ian's songs speak volumes for him ... he [Ian Walker] has an enviable ability to tackle serious issues and strong emotions without preaching or overdoing the sentiment."

Folk Michel, Bonn, Germany
"Songs like 'Roses in December' or 'Hawks & Eagles Fly Like Doves' are so perceptive that they are guaranteed to be in the repertoire of singers in the future."

Alastair Clark, The Scotsman, Edinburgh
"Walker is at his best when he has a chunky theme to chew over. Songs like 'Hawks & Eagles Fly Like Doves' and 'Don't Turn The Key' are strong enough in word and music to carry them into the folksong mainstream."

Dr. Fred Freeman, The Scotsman
"There is less self consciousness in the internationality of Walker's 'Hawks & Eagles', Henderson's 'Freedom Come All Ye', Gaughan's 'Think Again', MacKintosh's 'Prisoner 562', more direct, universal statement in Bruce's 'Gone For The Day' or 'Child On The Green' than in so much of the 'literary' tradition."

Janet Foley, The Living Tradition - Review of 'Crossing The Borderlines'
"Ian Walker's songs very much reflect his personal vision, of which tolerance, concern for others, family and friendship all play a distinct part. These memorable songs, sung by Ian, are beautifully arranged and accompanied by Setanta."

Review of CD "Beats of the Heart" by Hector Christie
The Living Tradition Magazine, Issue 54 - January/February 2004
This (Beats of the Heart) is a re-release on a single CD of two previous albums by Ian, "Flying High" (1987), and "Shadows in Time" (1989). The second album was a good'un, and it's nice to hear again Ian Bruce's "Blodwen's Dream".

However, it's "Flying High" that brings the real glow of meeting again, an old friend you haven't seen or heard for far too long. You know the feeling where you realise you've been starved of their company, and are incredulous that you've actually managed to get by without them for so long? You'll deduce from this that I more than liked the album first time around, and you'll deduce it correctly - I loved it, and out of its 12 tracks how do you pick the absolute best, when for example the opening tracks are (in running order) "Roses in December", "Sing Me A Song Mr Bloom" and "Beats of the Heart", all of which are astoundingly good, as are others such as "Hawks and Eagles" and "Some Hae Meat". Is it all coming back now? For those not familiar with the original, many of the material has been covered by other singers, whilst some commented on controversies of the time, yet still remain thoroughly relevant today, and yet others are sung in schools, "Some Hae Meat" for example being widely sung around Robert Burn's birthday.

Ian sings with such straightforwardness and honesty, the themes are diverse and interesting, the tunes strong, and, and and - ach I just love it! A great record, which richly deserved its win as the outright favourite of The Music Retailers Association in 1988. Welcome back.