Folking.com (reviewed by Pete Fyfe)

"The opening instrumental track of this CD is quite honestly superb. ‘Angel of the South Side’ is one of those tracks you would expect to hear as the soundtrack to a film like Local Hero. So subtle in its arrangement, it doesn’t quite prepare you for the second track ‘Carmel Mahoney’s’ which sounds a bit too close to Capercaillie for comfort. Maybe it’s the accordion and for those of you that remember him, one-time Capercaillie Musician Marc Duff on whistle. With vocals provided by John Wright and Michelle Grehan for contrast, this album is an ideal showcase for Angus’s production skills. This is as auspicious a debut album as you could wish for and a welcome contribution to any self-respecting Celt-ophile collection."

Fiddlestix – 88.3 southern FM ( Australia)

"The feature CD on this week’s fiddlestix was ‘long road’ by Scottish accordion player Angus Lyon. This album ranges widely from tight productions of jigs and reels, to soothing airs. To some excellent contemporary compositions and arrangements. Although largely instrumental, Angus is joined on three tracks by vocalists John Wright and Michelle Grehan."

Sunday Herald 26/08/01 (reviewed by Sue Wilson)

"Widely schooled in both traditional and classical music, this young Lanarkshire accordionist and pianist sets out his stall in confident style, showcasing his combined talents as a player, composer and arranger. Comprising mostly original, instrumental material, his debut album features a crew of well-kent guests, including multi-instrumentalist Steve Lawrence, Fraser Speirs on harmonica, Marc Duff on whistle and Wendy Weatherby on cello. Lyon’s sensitively shaded accordion work and versatile piano technique weave in and out of tracks as varied as the wistful ‘The long Road Home’ and the ebullient folk rock of ‘the penguin’. 10,000 miles, featuring a terrific vocal performance from Michelle Grehan set to a funky grove – stands out as the top track."

Greenman – Lars Nilsson

"It could be argued that there are two schools of modern folk, or what sometimes is called folk rock. One is the Fairport Convention side, where folk songs and tunes are played in a fairly traditional rock format. The other is the more Celtic or wordly side, where folk music is used as one of the ingredients in a melting pot of all kinds of music. It could also be argued that the Moving Hearts were one of the founders of this, adding bit of jazz to the mix. At its worst this line has sometimes transformed into new age-music.

Angus Lyon is a bearer of the Moving Hearts-heritage. In his music you hear very clear influences of people like Davy Spillane, Sharon Shannon and Capercaillie. And although he stays clear of the trad arr-tradition, his roots in traditional music shine through and add to the music he plays. On Long Road he has recruited a string of established players like Steve Lawrence (Whirligig, Canterach, and back up on John Wright's A Few Short Lines) on guitars, bouzouki and percussion, Marc Duff (Capercaillie) whistles, recorder and bodhran, Alistair McCulloch (Canterach) fiddle, Fraser Speirs (Canterach and John Wright) harmonica, Wendy Weatherby (John Wright) cello and Ross Kennedy (Canterach) guitar. Lyon himself plays accordion and keyboards and has done some drum programming. He is also present on the latest Canterach-album and the John Wright-album.

The tracks can be divided into three categories, slow, faster sets of tunes and songs. The slow airs show Lyon at his very best. There are four of them, all written by Lyon himself. The opening "Angel of the South Side" is a real diamond. It is performed in a dreamy fashion, not unlike something on Davy Spillane's albums, with the whole group. The tune is a perfect starter, giving you a fond appetite for the rest of the album. "The Long Road Home" is another gem. This time Lyon steps out of the limelight and lets McCulloch´s fiddle shine, backing him on piano, with Weatherby's cello joining half way through.

There are four sets of tunes. About half of them are written by Lyon, with Kennedy providing three, McCulloch one and writers Jerry Holland and Peter Wood the rest. Lyon shows a preference for reels against jigs, and the most successful set is just that, three reels "The Penguin (Lyon)/The Ankle Biters Reel/(Lyon)/Lord MacDonald ( Holland)". The set has an exciting introduction, almost rocky with piano chords and percussion before Lyon's accordion starts the first tune. McCulloch takes over for the second and a short bridge on the organ leads into the last one, again with Lyon at the wheel. This is a pattern often used in the sets, letting the lead instruments alternate, thus helping the listener to discriminate between them. Another pattern is using the acoustic guitar to drive the rhythm together with Lawrence's percussion.

And then we have the songs. There are three of them: "Never Be the Sun" (Donal Long), "10,000 Miles" (trad) and "Don´t Go" (Kasey Chambers). Not being a singer himself, he is joined by guests John Wright and Michelle Grehan. Both do a very good job and the songs are well performed, but I do not see the point in including them. With the quality of Lyon´s playing and his writing I do not think they are necessary. Since he neither writes songs or sings himself they become more of an interruption of the flow than a nice addition.

And yes, there are two tracks that do not fit into the categories. The best of them is the closing "Mr. Lee Wolfe & The Blues Rangers". It has a very bluesy feeling to it, with the harmonica doing the intro and the accordion playing the tune in a very Sharon Shannonesque way. A lovely way to finish an album off.

If you like any of the artists I have mentioned as Lyon's main influences this could very well be an album for you. It has a great selection of tunes and songs, with everything performed with expertise.  Above all, Long Road is very well recorded and produced, a real professional effort that I strongly recommend."