Restless Soul

The songs on Restless Soul offer lyrics of uncommon honesty and depth and speak eloquently to listeners everywhere. According to Charlie, “When you become specific, you become universal. You write about your own life and make your own observations. People who worry too much about appealing to everybody miss the point. If you write sincerely, and identify with the feelings of other people, you’ll catch the ears of people who want to go beyond our accents or our points of view, whether they’re inside or outside of Scotland.” About the Restless Soul title, Craig adds that it reflects how the Reid brothers see themselves. “I think the song ‘Restless Soul’ is about myself and other people who can’t chill out and just sit back and relax and not worry about the next thing,” he says. “The album continues what we have done in the past–traditional song structures and varied subject matter–but the production is slicker,” continues Craig before pausing. “I never thought I would have used those words to describe a Proclaimers album. More time was taken over the arrangements and it’s a bit more controlled than previous albums.”Restless Soul was recorded in London with producers Mark Wallis and David Ruffy, who have worked with the La’s, the Smiths, U2, Talking Heads, Travis, the Go-Betweens, Rooster, the Ruts, Atzec Camera, Sinead O’Connor, Prefab Sprout, and Kirsty McColl. Craig and Charlie said, “We really enjoyed the experience, Mark and David were great to work with. Their technique for making the instruments sound big by recording them at a low volume was new to us and helped us develop as musicians in the studio. The atmosphere was very relaxed and we believe they got the best out of us and the other guys in the band.” Joining the Reid brothers on the album are Stevie Christie on keyboards and accordion, Zac Ware on guitars and pedal steel, Ross McFarlane on drums, and Garry John Kane on bass.