Isla by Isla St Clair Re-Play

In the late 70s there were many potential TV crushes for a teenage boy. There were American actresses who were impossibly glamorous to our eyes, female pop singers like Blondie and actresses from all areas of England who could and did catch your eye. For me, however, one woman stood above all others, the Scottish co-host of Larry Grayson’s Generation Game, the beautiful Isla St Clair. She was the first celebrity whose autograph I requested, and much to my delight she wrote back enclosing a signed photo, which started a hobby that has been continued with a number of peaks and troughs ever since. Now, her real talent lay beyond the TV studio, although she did have occasional opportunities to demonstrate that talent on the Generation Game and beyond. She is one of the foremost interpreters of Scottish Folk music, and a singer whose recordings are used in university courses as reference points for academics and students alike.

In 1979, she recorded an album of Christmas music, simply entitled Isla, which is a jewel amongst all the Christmas albums in my collection. It has, in my opinion, been consigned to completely undeserved obscurity, and in my own very, very small way I would like to rescue it from that obscurity and bring this lovely album to your attention.

Side 1

The album starts with a softly sung version of Mary’s Boy Child, a track Boney M took to Number One the previous year. While it isn’t home territory for Isla, she makes the most of her incredible voice to turn it in to a lullaby style carol that is absolutely lovely. Once she gets to the chorus her voice just soars, but not in the showy way we are now used to. Green is the Holly is a traditional song that, judging by the lyrics, has a history that moves beyond the era of Christianity whilst still blending in the Christmas story. I had never heard it before, nor have I heard anyone sing it since. It is a gorgeous air. The next carol is Little Drummer Boy, which is delivered with beauty and quiet power as Isla shows the full range of her voice. One thing you notice with all of these songs is the subtlety of the arrangements which suit her perfectly. The First Noel is absolutely heavenly in both senses of the word. Here, Isla takes an overly familiar carol and gives it new life. As you can imagine I have a large number of versions of this carol on vinyl and CD, but I can honestly say that none of them match this for beauty. Nativity is the penultimate song on Side 1 and is another unfamiliar tune. It is a very bouncy number, with a slightly Caribbean feel, that in other circumstances could have set Isla St Clair off on a middle of the road pop career, but like Charlotte Church later on, you feel that she preferred a different route but that she could definitely have pulled it off. She sounds far more at home with Isn’t it a Goodly Thing which reminds me, vocally, extremely strongly of the songs that Enya has had such success with. It is further evidence of the quality and versatility of Isla’s voice.

Side 2

This side opens with Mel Torme’s famous The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire), and she shows a lightness of touch and delivers the lines with a smile in her voice which is absolutely enchanting. You can tell that she loves singing this song, and I love listening to a version that has a real point of difference. The vocals are, of course, amazing, but it is the way they are delivered that puts this version right at the top of the tree. Silent Night is next and I really liked the arrangement of the tune. In most of the songs, the skilful arrangements fall under the radar, as indeed they should, but this one really works incredibly well in giving fresh life to a song that everyone knows. The secret is that the arrangement serves the singer and vice versa, and that doesn’t always happen, particularly at Christmas. Ding Dong Merrily on High is usually belted out by a full choir with orchestra. To hear one voice is to hear the carol stripped down to its very essence, and it works marvellously. One of my favourite Secular songs is Winter Wonderland and this version makes it feel like Isla is singing directly to you rather than past you. It makes it almost conspiratorial as you imagine she is talking over plans with you alone, or perhaps that’s just me! It’s my favourite version of the many I have heard for these reasons and my favourite on the entire album. The next track is Child in a Manger, which is sung to the tune more familiar as Morning is Broken. Now, it is not my favourite tune, for which school assemblies get the blame (!), but it gets a pass on here as it is so beautifully delivered. The final track on the album is Midwinter Song, better known as In the Bleak Midwinter. I love the carol, but here the voice of Isla St Clair transcends the raw material and lifts it to a truly divine level. It is a beautiful end to a beautiful album.

Listening to this again has been an absolute treat, and inside I am a star struck 14 year old once more! If my review has piqued your interest in the Scottish songstress supreme, and if it hasn’t I haven’t done my job, you can listen to more of Isla St Clair’s incredible voice on her Spotify page, where you can sample the voice that defines traditional Scottish music. https://open.spotify.com/artist/1CIIhGiinCwOk1PCFz75iu?si=8Lm9XayjTRGR_hHiQ5osMA