Ottawa, On - Feb. 8, 2007 - Ottawa Civic Centre

A High-Rankin Performance - By Denis Armstrong - Ottawa Sun

Sun rating: 4 out of 5

The Rankins turned tragedy into triumph with an unexpectedly passionate concert at the Civic Centre last night.

Ten years since calling it quits, the world-famous family of singers from Cape Breton announced last November that they would reunite to tour with a new album titled "The Rankin Family Reunion."

But when older sister Geraldine died suddenly of a brain aneurysm on Jan. 10, there was real concern that the grief-stricken family's remaining members would scrap their plans to perform.

Thankfully the four siblings, Cookie, Raylene, Heather and brother Jimmy decided to carry on as a way of coping, if not altogether burying their collective grief, a grief made worse by the cruel coincidence of the recent anniversary of the death of eldest brother and founding member John Morris, in a car accident in Jan. 2000.

So it was a rare opportunity to see The Rankins, best-known for toe-tapping, almost festive tunes and traditional ballads, share their private and deeply-felt sadness with 4,000 fans as they poured their souls into a poignant two-hour set of three- and four-part harmonizing.


There was little trace of their feelings as they began with rollicking, maritime-flavoured tunes such as "Fare Thee Well Love", "Gillis Mountain" and a singalong on "Fisherman's Son."

It seemed that the foursome was going to brave it out for the night, when middle sister Raylene stepped up to the microphone alone.

"We're mourning the loss of both of them and no words can describe our sorrow," she whispered as their pianist played a stirring solo tribute to the sister who played piano for the band in the 1970s.

You could have heard a pin drop.

But that remarkable moment didn't darken the mood. Far from it, the tightly-knit siblings turned high emotion into a rousing celebration of life and music, performing a cover of David Francey's ode to drink "Sunday Morning" and John Hiatt's "Gone," undoubtedly the happiest sad song this reviewer has ever heard.

Meanwhile Jimmy, who spent much of the first half playing guitar and letting his sisters do all the singing, used his turn at the microphone to plug his new solo album called "Edge of Day" by performing the first single, the gentle rocker "Slipping Away."

The evening's highlight was a soaring rendition of "We Rise Again" with Raylene's stratospherically-high vocals sending the audience into rapture.

But the freshest surprise was the addition of John Morris' daughter Molly.

It turns out that this second-generation Rankin is a triple threat, singing and accompanying herself on guitar on "Sunset," which she wrote for the new disc. Later, she swapped her guitar for a fiddle for a rollicking duet with Howie MacDonald.

The Rankins closed the concert with the traditional reel "Mary's Wedding," "Same Way Too" and the family favourite "The Departing Song".

It was a fitting way to end to an extraordinary concert.