Celtic Connections: Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan @ ABC, 21 Jan

Article by Dave Kerr | 10 Feb 2007

It was a wee while in the pipeline, but tonight sees the combo which brought us one of the most famous folk-riddled saloon soundtracks of last year - Ballad of the Broken Seas - finally pair together to take a stab at the performance the record deserves. Can they recapture that transatlantic magic? Initially oozing the "weird chill" that Mark Lanegan alone seems to own, songs from the first half of the set are wrought with enamoured soul - take a haunting cover of The Gun Club's 'Carry Home' and a well executed flirt with Bobby Bland's 'I'll Take Care of You' as exhibits A and B. However, this blues train soon switches principal drivers when the contrast of Lanegan's vocal over Isobel Campbell's becomes too much and her tender words are reduced to a comparatively shy whisper. Moments of poignancy do bubble to the fore, but at this early stage of their live alliance the duo's chemistry tells tales of teething. [Dave Kerr]

http://www.isobelcampbell.com