THIS is what happens when one of those "what if..." pub conversations becomes reality.

Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble has collated the cream of Scotland's contemporary writers and musicians for an Arts Council-supported project that does well to come even close to being as interesting as it should be.

Poets including Bill Duncan and Robin Robertson, writers like Ian Rankin and Edwin Morgan are joined by the likes of Vashti Bunyan, Mike Heron (Incredible String Band), James Yorkston, King Creosote and, of course, Idlewild. The material frequently gets bogged down in a need to be traditional' and Scottish', but gets more interesting when it broadens its sweep as on Norman (Teenage Fanclub) Blake's shimmering Girl.