"... a gem of traditional and Celtic-inspired tunes... This is virtuosity in the service of artistry..." "In addition to his skills as a guitarist, MacLean's talent as an arranger and as a composer are more than enough to make ears stand up and take notice."
Hank Davis - Goldmine Magazine
"His skilfully played acoustic guitar music, underproduced to the extreme, with no overdubs or gratuitous additional instruments, is an utter delight - 14 tracks of honest playing … "
"The melody lines here are either drawn from traditional sources or are so Celtic to the core that you'd swear they were copied from 16th century roots even though MacLean created them spontaneously in 21st century Canada. The tracks that stem from traditional sources are putty in MacLean's hands. He is a dedicated and master craftsman on the guitar. The ensemble sound is lacelike, with haunting melody lines and graceful playing. The effect is at once contemporary sounding and traditional… a four star disc."
Cliff McGann - Celtic Heritatge Magazine
"… Fans of Celtic guitar will love this recording and anyone who needs to be introduced to how the guitar fits into the world of Celtic music should look no further."
Wil Macaulay - Toronto Celtic Music Resource Page
"Bob's lush acoustic guitar sound is in the direct tradition of the English folk revival, with echoes of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. This is a superbly recorded album of guitar instrumentals ranging from traditional ballads through O'Carolan and his own original compositions. Bob's classical guitar background is evident in his technique and arrangements, but he avoids overplaying or overarranging. Although originally from Glace Bay, Cape Breton, his choice of material strikes me as being inspired more from the vocal tradition of the great ballads and the instrumental harp airs than from the jigs, reels and strathspeys of the dance tradition."
Tom Knapp - Rambles- a Cultural Arts Magazine
"Dancing on a String exhibits some of the amazing versatility and virtuosity a guitar is capable of -- in the hands of the right man, such as MacLean." "Working alone, without other instruments to distract from the solo sound, MacLean provides his own melodies, harmonies, rhythms and percussion, putting his guitar through its paces and demonstrating just what it can do. He tosses jazz, blues, rock and other techniques into the mix, coming up with his own sound grounded solidly in folk and Celtic styles."
