Prince George, BC - Jan 21, 2007 - CN Centre

Maritimers Make Magic - By Teresa Mallam - Prince George Free Press

The Rankins also known (again) as The Rankin Family, rank right up there. I have always thought so but it wasn't until I saw them perform live at the CN Centre Sunday, that their Maritime magic truly rubbed off on me. Count me now in the ranks of Rankins' fans.

It's been awhile, eight years, since they came this way, but 2,300 Prince George fans greeted the family from Inverness County, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia with wide open arms, hoots and hollers. The band's songster sisters Cookie, Heather and Raylene, their guitarist/singer/songwriter brother Jimmy and five talented musicians were a big hit. Before this leg of their reunion tour was over, they had people dancing on the floor, jumping to their feet in the stands, clapping and singing along.

It was wonderful.

The stage was set with heavy, formal, ruby-tone draperies so when you walked in, it felt like you were in Carnegie Hall waiting for the maestro to appear. So when The Rankins walked on stage and Jimmy said casually into the microphone, "We're the Rankins" and just started playing, the mood was set.

I think the crowd would agree they got much more than their money’s worth. I lost count of how many songs they did. Cookie called some oldies, “blasts from the past,” reaching back into their repertoire to when it all began in the late 1980s and then fast forwarding to some tracks from their new album, The Rankin Family Reunion.

Jimmy, who changed guitars it seemed with every song, delighted fans with Slipping Away from his new solo CD, Edge of Day, to be released this spring.

Sifting through Rankin family originals and covers, they came up with tunes like Roving Gypsy Boy, Movin’ On, Followed Her Around, You Feel the Same Way Too, Maybe You’re Right and Let it Go and they made sure they got in Orangedale Whistle. They aced them all. In between songs, there was sibling ribbing and lots of humour. As in any concert, there were undeniable highlights. Howie MacDonald gave a rollicking, fun fiddling performance that won him wild applause even before he was joined on stage by young Molly Rankin who raised the tempo and kicked the applause-o-meter up another notch.

For me, Raylene’s soulful, signature song Rise Again (she ended with the playful remark, “I’m not sure I’m happy with that last note, maybe I should do it again”) was absolutely breathtaking. So was Heather’s singing of Fare Thee Well Love. Gillis Mountain was sensational. During the show, the Rankin sisters sang solo or in harmony but a Gaelic song, performed in harmony with solo spots, left the audience spellbound. All three sisters (from a family of 12 children) have beautiful voices with the kind of range that allows them to criss-cross into many musical genres to come up with their special brew of Celtic with traditional and contemporary folk and pop.

More than all that, The Rankins gave the crowd energy. They sent ripples of excitement into the audience until everyone was standing on their feet, clapping and singing along. The group’s unique music and soulful ballads have won them a place performing for royalty and heads of state but I got the impression the Rankins give it their all, no matter who is in the audience. Over the years, The Rankins have been racking up music awards like bowling pins, selling records and garnering fans worldwide. Sunday’s performance gave a glimpse as to why.

There was a moving tribute to one of the non-performing Rankins, who died recently.

“We lost our brother John Morris [in a car accident in 2000] and now we are grieving for our sister, Geraldine. There are no words to describe our sorrow,” said Cookie who briefly left the stage with her sisters, leaving musicians to showcase their talents with an instrumental number and piano solo. Later, in their encore performance, Cookie, Heather and Molly showed off some fancy footwork, performing a lively step dance as the crowd clapped in appreciation. When they left the stage and waved to the audience, it was as if The Rankins were saying goodbye to long lost friends.

And maybe they were.