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This collection is a welcome rattle bag of laments, cover versions and traditionals that reveal the side of Yorkston that would happily sit in on a high-spirited ceilidh, or woozily join on the harmonies at one of the Fence Collective's legendary homegames. It also demonstrates James Yorkston's blood deep understanding of the dynamics of folk music, storytelling, and singing your life even as it unfurls around you. On tracks such as "Sleep Is The Jewel", "The Hills & The Heath" and "The Lang Toun", the instinctive dynamic understanding Yorkston shares with his band The Athletes, especially drummer Faisal, can be heard in full flow. Carrying everything is Yorkston's rich voice and wry lyric, which always manages to sound hopeful and pessimistic at the same time. Yorkston's ruminations on love / lust / longing / liquor share a more eternal, resigned, Celtic feel with the battered reflections of Jacques Brel, Shane McGowan and Bert Jansch than any of his contemporaries. The album compiles unreleased or vinyl-only tracks over the years.

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