by Rodney BatdorfThe Road North is one of the key albums in the Celtic craze of the late '80s and '90s. Working with keyboardist Paul Machlis, fiddler Alasdair Fraser created an album of original material that sounds timeless (there are a few standards and covers thrown in for good measure, too). The reason the record works is because the performances are lively and rhythmic, keeping one eye on the past and one eye on the future. When Machlis plays a synthesizer, things drift into new age territory, which may upset some listeners, but the wondrous thing about the album is how it keeps the spirit of Celtic music alive without treating it as a museum piece. And that's also the reason why it, along with Clannad and Enya records, kickstarted the Celtic-new age fusion that exploded in popularity in the '90s.