It took a few listens to this album to really appreciate what "Balance" has to offer, but once I found out, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in the current Celtic rock scene. There's more of a variety here than on albums by groups such as The Young Dubliners, which makes it a more intriguing package. I'm not very good at figuring out whether a song is based on an Irish reel, or Norwegian folk tale, or Scottish ballad, so I have to rely on what little information is given in the liner notes. There are several traditional songs, as well as original interpretations of traditional pieces and totally original songs.

Track one, "Captain Ward," is listed as "Traditional" and is about a Scottish pirate. The music is bouncy and fun with rock guitar thrown in with the more exotic instruments. Sorbye's accent can pass for Scottish, Irish or whatever and he does a hell of a job on the vocals. The lyrics require a lot of words to fit in with a very small portion of music and it's done masterfully.

"Dancing Girl," written by Sorbye, is based on the pipe tune "Farewell To Loch Katrine." The fiddle in the instrumentals between verses is very light and happy, while the music that accompanies the verse and chorus is much heavier and more rock oriented. However, the instrumental that finishes the song is most definitely a dancing song reminding me most of an Irish reel. "Dance Of The Sand Witches," written by Evans, has ". . . origins lost in the sands of time," according to the liner notes. The song itself is a really awesome instrumental, heavy on bass and percussion and a wild fiddle line. You can almost see the "witches" whirling around a fire in the middle of a desert. About half way through, the music becomes more recognizable for a bit, because it sounds a lot like music in "Riverdance" and "Lord Of The Dance." Then it changes again into somewhat of a "solo by instrument" before returning to a repeat of the beginning.

The next song was written by the late folksinger and political activist, Phil Ochs in the early sixties. His idea came from a social worker in Ohio who had taken the phrase "Iron Lady" (also the song title) from a poem written by a man on death row. This is a protest song against capital punishment, with the "Iron Lady" being the electric chair. The song has very melancholy instrumentals to accompany the subject matter, with a heavy rock beat for emphasis. The lyrics, as you would expect, emphasize the possibility of sending the wrong person to the chair, gives explicit information about the condemned's last hours and how the rich never seem to end up ". . . in the chair." It's a song that definitely makes you think, not only because of the lyrics, but also by the musical presentation.

"Two Sisters" is a traditional Irish tune about two sisters vying for the love of the same man. The only way I can think of to describe this one is that it sounds like an Irish pub song. The accompaniment is more acoustic and light with the fiddle being the most prominent. "Wicked Spring," written by Sorbye and Reynolds, is described as "An impassioned little ditty of a favored, flaming season." This song showcases the mandolin more obviously than some of the others. The instrumentals are of the upbeat variety, but much slower than on previous songs.

"Old Man Flint" is a lively instrumental written by Sorbye and basically showcases all the instruments in a variety of ways. This song has a little bit of all the types of music "Tempest" plays and composes. A medieval ballad from Norway, "Villemann" is another traditional tune. This one is sung in Norwegian and is really quite interesting. It's so unusual to hear a song in the native language of the country it comes from these days, that I found it quite refreshing. The lyrics have a "sing-song" sound to them, while the instrumentals have a rich, full band sound that are very complimentary to the language.

The next song, "Battle Mountain Breakdown," sort of throws you off base. It's VERY fast and very rock based, although not what I'd call a full on rock song. Another instrumental only on the album, it was written by Evans and is an excellent example of combining all the "Tempest" influences. "The Journeyman" is an old folk song with new music written by Sorbye, followed by two traditional hornpipes: "Alexander's" and "The Harvest Home." Again I'm reminded of an Irish pub song, but it may be Scottish. I can't tell the difference.

Inspired by the traditional melody "Gus Breo," Sorbye and Reynolds wrote "Between Us." Starting off with acoustic guitar and mandolin, this is the one true ballad on the album. It tells a tragic story about sisters and has a lovely melody, although it's probably my least favorite song on the album. Something just didn't click with me on this one, but that's just me.

The final track, "Royal Oak," is a medley of jigs written by "Tempest" members, past and present, named "The Cow That Ate The Piper," "Ulcers Enough For Two," "Royal Oak" and "Toddy's Wedding." These are exactly as described - a medley of jigs. They're fun and bouncy and feel good music. It's definitely a good last track to leave listeners with, because it's upbeat and leaves you wanting more.

Overall, I found "Balance" to be a very good album, especially since it represents so many musical styles combined into a whole package. This album isn't for everybody, but if you're at all interested in Celtic, Scottish and/or Pan-European sound, it's definitely worth a listen.