| 1 | The Appalachian Way | 3:39 |
| 2 | The Willow Tree | 3:37 |
| 3 | Walk This Road | 4:39 |
| 4 | War of Love | 4:06 |
| 5 | Carolina Sky | 3:19 |
| 6 | Marie | 3:52 |
| 7 | Celestial Song | 3:05 |
| 8 | A Kind of Kindness | 3.22 |
| 9 | Those Good Old Songs | 3:57 |
| 10 | Thinking of a Song | 2:42 |
| 11 | Marion | 3:39 |
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Recorded in 2016 at Beach Studios, Shoreham by Sea, Sussex UK,
and at Pat Holt Productions, Music Row, Nashville, Tennessee USA.
All Melodies and Lyrics written by Pete McClelland.
Cover photo: The Blueridge Mountains seen from the Blueridge Parkway
Shoreham by Sea musicians : John Rain (bass), Jason Pegg (piano)
Nashville musicians: Wayne Killius (drums), Pat Severs (acoustic and electric guitar, pedal steel, banjo) Mike Joyce (bass), Tigar Bell (fiddle)
Pete McClelland
- Vocals (all tracks)
- Acoustic Guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Electric Guitar (tracks 3 & 4)
- Classical Guitar (track 11)
- Ukulele (track 5)
- Banjo (tracks 1 & 3)
- Mandolin (tracks 2 & 3)
- Fiddle (track 3)
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Ian D. Hall, Liverpool Sound and Vision - Rating * * * *
"Too often do we believe that what is not seen to be producing or adding to the bloated slug like economy is worthless or undeserving of allowing the senses to be commanded by its appearance or its quality. It is a point of rancour and heartbreak that nature and art has to be adding a series of zeros to a number in which to be considered fruitful, that it must add to the bank balance before it can be seen as anything more than indulgence.
You don’t have to go far from your front door to realise that what Government and authority tells you is nuts, that it contradicts all that we feel as human beings, that art and nature is a canvas that only requires understanding and love; the artist should be praised for bringing to life the scene which so many will never witness, the woodsman and the gardener must be admired for letting the scene be opened as much as it should be as you look out over Carolina Sky.
Pete McClelland’s debut solo album is such a case worth of honour and commendation, his is a spirit that has gone in search of the beauty, and whilst not everyone can do the same, that they cannot leave their own surroundings, to undertake a drive across a continent, to travel in someone else’s backyard, let alone their shoes, is surely a reason in which to be alive.
The genuine affection for all that the artist sees is often left out, it is missed in the wording or the beat and yet like the big rolling hills and mountains that are a gift to that part of the American landscape, the Folk musician will always convey a continuation of memory and eulogise the power they feel and touch.
Pete McClelland’s musical touch is sensitive; a feeling of open purity is attached to the work and a deep cleansing breath in which all worries can be, at least for the moment, dispelled. It is that purity of spirit that sees tracks such as The Appalachian Way, Walk This Road, Marie, A Kind of Kindness and Those Good Old Songs rise above the clouds, above the landscape and witness the world for what it should be, discovery and meaning, not adding percentage points to the coffers of a bloated outdated machine."
Steve Caseman R2 magazine
"Brighton-based folk music stalwart Pete McClelland of The Blackthorn Band and ThingumaJig, has always had an equal affection for country and Americana as evidenced by his other outfit, country 5-piece Montana Rain (who also include Terry Bickers, ex-House Of Love). Surprisingly, Carolina Sky is Pete's debut solo album. Originally developing from his love of the States and American music, he planned a visit to Nashville to see if anyone might cover his songs and ended up recording most of the album there, on Music Row. The result is a gently beguiling collection informed by McClelland's pastoral tones, eschewing any suggestion of a false accent, and at times bringing to mind Al Stewart. He skilfully combines elements of country, blues, bluegrass and folk with soft-rock favours on the Chris Rea-style 'War of Love', and Cajun on 'Marie'. Although recorded in under a week there's an unhurried, laid-back feel to Carolina Sky and a line-up of top country session men..adding extra quality to proceedings."
Reg Meuross
"Hi Pete, I think I failed to thank you for the beautiful record! thanks for sending it, it's a lovely intimate album, sounds like an American road trip. I love the personal nature of it and the classic way you tell the stories. Best of luck with it."
Nick Dalton, Maverick Magazine
"McClelland is from the deep soutth, Well Sussex, with some of the sessions here from the coast in Shoreham. He has the breathless enthusiasm of someone living the dream and indeed bid farewell to the British seaside, making his way to Nashville to record much of this album. This is a collection of self-penned songs that makes the most of the simplicity of the rhyming couplet and there's a certian charm in the way it all pans out. Marie, as he points out on the sleeve notes, does sound rather like Canned Heat's Going up Country, but it's fun."
Gerry Diver
"Hi Pete - thank you so much for the CD - been listening this morning - great songs! Particularly enjoyed the title track 'Carolina Sky' and also 'Marie."
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