Irish Traditional Music CD Reviews - 2002

These first appeared in the Irish Herald newspaper. They appear here with the kind permission of the Irish Herald.

For Irish Herald CD reviews of 2003, click here.

For Irish Herald CD and book reviews of 2004, click here.

For CD and book reviews of 2005, click here.

For CD and book reviews of 2006, click here.

You can contact the author of these reviews

The Reviews

• The Family Album: The McCarthys

• Live in Lisdoonvarna: The Kilfenora Céilí Band

• Éigse Dhiarmuidín: Live Recordings in Concert

• From Ballymote to Brooklyn: Paddy Killoran and James Morrison

• Slán le Loch Eirne: Séamus Quinn agus Gary Hastings

• seánsongs: Seán Keane

• Bakerswell: Various Artists

• At First Light: Michael McGoldrick and John McSherry

• Oíche go Maidean: Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich / Brendan Begley

• Ó Thuaidh! Traditional Music and Song from West Kerry: Maidhc Dáinín Ó Sé agus Caoimhín Ó Sé

• Belladonna: Seán Tyrrell

• As I Carelessly Did Stray: Harry Bradley

• A Song in Turn: Deirdre Connolly
  

• Hand-Me-Downs: Mary Rafferty

• The Elm Wood: Briege Murphy

• Séamus Tansey: Words and Music - The Phantom Shadows of a Connaught Fire Light

The McCarthys: The Family Album
Maree Music

Pure music, pure melody, if those are things that you're chasing, put an ear to this CD, the first "all-family" CD from the four McCarthy siblings, children of Tommy McCarthy Sen., nach maireann. This shining CD easily joins the ranks of other brilliant family recordings like "The Mulcahy Family" and the McNamara family CD "Leitrim's Hidden Treasure".

With this truly traditional CD, the lie is again put to the apparent belief among some musicians and producers that a traditional recording these days needs one or more guitars to "punch it up" by adding some loud, choppy, rhythm chords to the native Irish melodic flow of the tunes. None of that raiméis anseo ar chor ar bith, buíochas le Dia. Instead, here it's the power of the melody pouring out of the hearts and souls - and memories - of these fine musicians.

Those memories are filled mostly with tunes from County Clare, tunes passed on down to them from their father, a native of Shyan, Kilmihil, County Clare. Their father moved to London at age 23, but brought with him his music. His four children were raised with music all around them, and with the company of visiting musicians such as Bobby Casey, Willie Clancy, and Máirtín Byrnes. In 1987, the four children began moving home to Ireland, where their music and their parents were born.

In ómos (in honor of) their father, the CD features three archival recordings of his. These solo tunes are shining gems of gently flowing melody and delicate ornamentation. Among them, maybe the most amazing is The Shyan Hornpipe, so subtle, so beautiful, you would say, "Tá an mhéar bhinn aige"; "He has the sweet touch".

As do his four children, as they play uillean pipes, concertina, tin whistle, and fiddle with a mastery that comes from hard work, and love. And they play these tunes in the Clare way, not too fast, not too slow. It's the kind of gentle pacing that you can hear on tunes from Martin Hayes, also a County Clare native.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

The Kilfenora Céilí Band: Live in Lisdoonvarna
Dolphin Records

This CD is as much a vibrant céilí dance music recording as it is an historical record. This first live CD from the renowned Kilfenora Céilí Band does this through its excellent and detailed liner notes and its music. Its music is not only as live as living gets (you can hear the dancers' feet battering away), but the tunes themselves and they way they are played are historical documents handed down over generations of County Clare musicians.

Tracing is an expression in Irish music used to describe musicians’ habit of going over the history of a tune, and in fascinating detail do the liner notes here trace the history of the music - and the people that are its living expression. From the founding of the band in 1909 (and even its roots before that), the Kilfenora Céilí Band’s history is described, even through the weakening of local interest in the 1970s and 1980s, and on through to the dancing and music revival of the 1990s.

The town from which the band gets its name is a wee north-west Clare village small in size but big in music and history. Between the three pubs, Vaughan's barn (where the dancing is), the beautiful Burren Visitors’ Center, and the shops, it's a place that offers music lovers a true taste of Irish traditional music, dancing, and hospitality. Kilfenora is a short drive from Lisdoonvarna, where this CD was recorded.

And what a night it must have been when they made this CD. If you’ve never heard this kind of music before, or never seen it played live for dancers, this CD will take you to that dance hall under that Irish sky, an draíocht a bhí ann, the people dancing, touching hands, together forgetting the cares of that day.

And if you’ve danced these dances before, you’ll know straight away that this was a night of bliss as close to perfection as nature will allow and humans can tolerate. The tunes flow, the dancers’ shoes whip the floor, and the applause rings. Cloisim é fós…

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

Éigse Dhiarmuidín: Live recordings in concert
Cló Iar-Chonnachta

During "an tsneachta mhóir" (the big snow) of 1947, a baby was born in Cúil Aodha to a family with deep roots in the Irish song tradition. Diarmuidín Ó Súilleabháin grew up to become one of the most well-respected and accomplished singers of his generation. In 1992, one year after his early passing, it was decided to start an annual celebration in honor of Diarmuid.

This CD is a dazzling collection of some of the many tunes and songs recorded over the years at the annual Éigse Dhiarmuidín. Not limited to just songs and tunes from the Múscraí region in which Diarmuid grew up, this CD is a real showcase for the very best of music from much of the island.

On the tunes, from the Donegal fiddling tradition, you have the driving sound of the Glackin brothers, Kevin and Paddy, on a couple of reels. From County Clare, you have other end, there are a couple slow, meditative hornpipes on concertina from Mary McNamara. From County Galway, Maeve Donnelly and Patsy Broderick serve up a couple of bouncy reels that bubble with an energy that seems to go straight to your feet. And that's just scratching the surface of the fantastic tunes on this CD. It's safe to say that the tunes on this CD are really from the deepest well of the rich Irish tradition.

For the songs, it's a banquet of sound. The Múscraí tradition is in full force here, with songs from old friends and colleagues of Diarmuid. There's a sad song of lost love from Inis Mór, off the western coast. A favorite is Líontar Dúinn an Crúiscín (Fill Up The Jug For Us), a rousing song from Donegal that encourages young people to enjoy their carefree life - while they can. Many other wonderful songs are here.

If you love traditional Irish songs and tunes, you'll love this CD. If you don't know a thing about this music, this is your open door.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

Paddy Killoran and James Morrison: From Ballymote to Brooklyn
Coleman Heritage Center

When brilliant musicians like Paddy Killoran and James Morrison left for America in the early 1900s, it was a great loss for their native County Sligo. But the 78 RPM records that they made in America in the 1920s and 1930s preserved their music and even found their way back to Ireland, where musicians were becoming less common by the day due to heavy emigration.

Séamus Tansey, who did not emigrate, commented in his CD "Phantom Shadows of a Connaught Fire Light" on the positive impact of the arrival of one of these celebrated "foreign" 78 RPM records on the local people. The way it is, the first tune on this CD is called "Tansey's Favourite".

from Ballymote to Brooklyn… is a first-time issue on CD of some of these classic tunes, formerly only available on 78 RPM recordings and, more recently, vinyl. Not only are they released on CD here for the first time, but they are digitally re-mastered to re-capture the original sound.

And the sound is excellent. Except for a few pops on some of the tunes, the sound is remarkably clear, capturing as it does the flow of the tunes and the great skill of the musicians and the ornamentation that they put with the tunes.

These two fiddle masters play together on some tracks with musicians that had also emigrated to "the new island" also known as America. Among them are the great John McKenna on flute and P.J. Conlon on accordion.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

The Coleman Heritage Center, which released this CD, is at colemanirishmusic.com

Séamus Quinn agus Gary Hastings: Slán le Loch Eirne
Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 152

There's an Irish tune called the Musical Priest; this CD could well have been called the Musical Priest and the Musical Minister. That's because the two musicians here are Séamus Quinn, who grew up to become Father Séamus Quinn, and Gary Hastings, who grew up to become the Reverend Gary Hastings.

This CD is a golden mix of olden and new and green and orange. The musicians are from the Republic of Ireland and from the six counties of Ireland, but both are fans of the 78" rpm American records from the 1920s and 1930s recorded by the likes of Michael Coleman, James Morrison, and Paddy Killoran.

Now both living in the Republic of Ireland, they decided to make a CD of some of the old tunes that they love, as well as mixing in a dash of lively fifing tunes from the Orange protestant tradition that Hastings heard growing up in Belfast.

Both are clearly lovers of Irish traditional music as a whole. They not only bring out the drive and lift of those early old American recordings, albeit a wee bit slower, buíochas le Dia, but they also capture the sheer joy in the music, which is always fresh and new.

Because this CD is from Cló Iar-Chonnachta, the liner notes and tune titles are in Irish and English, buíochas le Dia, as are comments from Séamus Quinn and Gary Hastings themselves. And because this CD is from CIC, there are liner notes go leor. Unlike CDs from other labels, this CD also gives information on who is playing what instrument on which tune. A leithéid de smaoineamh!

The CD features jigs, reels, polkas, highlands, slow airs, barndances, and as mentioned, a set of fifing tunes. Among the standouts, the title tune, Slán le Loch Eirne, played on viola by Father Quinn, is a slow air played simply and majestically. The New Copperplate and Patsy Hanley's reels are good examples of tunes that are played beautifully and at just the right speed (not too fast).

Séamus' talents are on the fiddle, melodeon, piano, and viola, while Gary plays the flute. The occasional guest musician rounds out the sound, which is always clear and bright. The piano, when it is used, is muted and is not allowed to overwhelm the melody instruments that drive the tunes.

It's of the very best quality (den scoth) this CD is, from recording to musicianship to detailed liner notes. A joy. Rinne sibh togha oibre anseo!

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

Seán Keane: seánsongs
Circin Rua Teo

One tends to think of Seán Keane as a singer, and indeed the title of this double CD echoes that. But half of this double CD is a re-issue of Seán's classic Elemental album, and in that album are several tunes on which Seán plays whistle, flute, uilleann pipes, and a bodhrán.

The tunes are all beautifully done. Jigs, reels, and hornpipes, Seán sails through them all without a bump. It's hard to believe that such a fine and talented singer could also be so handy with a tune, but he proves there.

That being said, he is a singer first and foremost, and the real diamonds on this second CD are the songs. His version of Skibereen will leave you feeling the sorrow and longing of the father telling his son why he left his native home. Stephen Foster's classic Beautiful Dreamer is lovingly brought alive by Seán. Seán also sings the reflective Satisfied Mind, covered recently in Seán Tyrrell's Belladonna. And Seán truly shines on The Banks of the Lee, the classic song of love that does not die with the beloved.

The first CD is all songs, ranging from a country feel, to a modern folk feel, to even one reminiscent of an African chorus. Songs like Burnt Out Star and Blackbird are good example of rich songs about rote love and reviving old love. Love and its loss are regular themes in Seán's songs, and his rich voice is the perfect sound stage on which to bring out these stories and emotions.

If you've never heard Seán Keane sing (or play), this is a fine CD set to start out with. With the more modern songs and the older traditional songs "le chéile", it's a balanced picture you'll be getting of what this fine singer can do. And the sweet tunes are the icing on the cake.

This CD set is available at www.seankeane.com. This site seems to work better with Internet Explorer.

Bakerswell
Claddagh Records

Finally, we have it, this re-release of the brilliant 1972 recording from some of Ireland's finest traditional musicians. The musicians here read like a who's who from the early 70s in Dublin; fiddler John Kelly Jnr., son of the famous Clare-born fiddler, John Kelly Snr., fiddler Kevin Glackin, John McEvoy on flute, Mick Hand on flute, and whistle-player Seán Potts. And Seán Potts is joined here by his son Seán Óg on uilleann pipes and Nóirín Ó Donoghue on harp, among others.

Perhaps the best-known player on this CD is the renowned Seán Potts on tin whistle. The son of John Potts, a melodeon player, and the nephew of Tommy Potts, the famed fiddler, Seán fell in with Paddy Moloney in the 1950s. In time, Seán and Paddy became original members of Seán Ó Riáda's brainchild, Ceoltóirí Cualann. Ceoltóirí Cualann was later re-born into a group you may have heard of called The Chieftains in 1963.

The bright, open, and unhurried sound that Potts and Moloney helped to create with the Chieftains also shines through in this CD. With the gentle and lovely opening strings of Nóirín Ó Donoghue's harp on the first tune, soon met by the clear, high call of Seán Potts tin whistle, you can tell early on that you're in the presence of great talent.

The first set of reels, Paddy's Trip to Scotland and The Wild Irishman, is a first-rate example of what pipes and fiddle can and should sound like together. As the crisp sound of the pipes and the sweet sound of the fiddle curl and swirl together like wild Celtic knotwork, well, tá ceol draíochta ann.

Also in it is a seldom-heard Turlough O Carolan piece called Madam Maxwell. And then there are the other pieces, polkas, jigs, some Kerry slides, a few reels, and some marches. All reflect a deep understanding and love of the music, which are expressed in a vibrant, rich sound that makes the listener feel like they are sitting in a comfortable living room there with the performers, listening to the sound of magic itself, draíocht, fá lán seoil.

This CD is available at www.claddaghrecords.com or from Celtic Grooves

Michael McGoldrick and John McSherry: At First Light
Vertical Records under license to Compass Records

At first listen, At First Light shines so brightly that you know you're hearing true masters of Irish music. And like light itself, this music flows with the kind of effortless grace that comes as naturally as the dawning of the day.

Belfast-born John McSherry and Manchester-born Michael McGoldrick, the son of Irish parents, have been playing Irish music since they were in their youth. They have been a part of many influential groups in the last 20 years, including Toss the Feathers, Tamalin, Flook, and Capercaillie. McSherry and McGoldrick later went on to found Lúnasa in the early 1990s.

On this outstanding CD, rooted firmly in the melodic tradition of the Irish island, uilleann piping master McSherry and flute wizard McGoldrick play traditional tunes and some recently-composed pieces. There's the driving Farewell to Connaught, and the bouncy, vibrant Jimmy Batty's and The Bloom of Youth. The peak of the CD may well be the arrangement of John Nee's reel and Lucy Campbell's, with the players painting the tunes with ravishing ornaments and bringing out the tunes' deepest colors.

They bring one foot out of the tradition on a few tunes, of course, such as the lovely Doinna, a haunting flute and pipe duet with an Iberian feel. And there's the tuneset starting with the gentle Trip to Ireland, composed by Pierre Bensusan, which touches you with its Irish character. Following perfectly on this comes Jutland, a tune with a like feel, but this composed by Tommy O'Sullivan.

Of course, piper McSherry also plays the tin whistle and low whistle, and flute player McGoldrick also plays the uilleann pipes and low whistle, so there's no stopping these lads. And with help from fiddlers Dezi Donnelly and Aidan O'Rourke, you've got a CD here to put up against the best of the tradition.

Ceol den scoth atá ann.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich/Brendan Begley: Oíche go Maidean

Maybe for marketing purposes to a world that mostly speaks English, this stunning Irish CD is also titled "It Could Be A Good Night Yet". There may be some doubt about why the English title isn't given accurately as "From Night to Morning", but there is no doubt at all (níl amhras ann ar chor ar bith) about the beauty and power of this CD.

Sure, you would expect no less from Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich, the County Kerry master of the accordeon and melodeon, and master of songs in Irish. But it's still a great pleasure and surprise to find that the new CD from such an artist is actually even better than his last CD.

From the bouncy but measured opening notes of the first tune, the Lonesome Jig, you can tell that this musician has found the "nia", or essential nature, of the tune. This makes this tune, and all his tunes, come alive in a way that cannot be described, but must be heard and so felt.

Unlike a lot of other Irish CDs, Breanndán focuses on songs, jigs, and hornpipes, with only one set of reels. Of course, that one set of reels burns as brightly as three sets on some other CDs. The focus on the slower tunes like jigs and hornpipes, with a few polkas and slides thrown in, gives the CD a more reflective, comfortable feel. You know the musician isn't trying to show you how fast he can play. He just plays.

And he sings. The beauty behind songs like An Buachaillín Bán and Sliabh na mBan won't soon leave you. The songs in English are likewise lovingly brought out by Breanndán.

Glór ceol atá ann.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

Maidhc Dáinín Ó Sé agus Caoimhín Ó Sé: Ó Thuaidh! Traditional Music and Song from West Kerry

A native of Carrachán, in the West Kerry Gaeltacht, Maidhc grew up to become a musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and poet. He later moved to Chicago, where he lived for a time. Although born in the Chicago Gaeltacht, Maidhc's son Caoimhín was "returned" intact to West Kerry at three years of age. In time, he mastered the flute and whistle and, of course, Irish.

Together, these gentlemen have created a CD that shines brightly above the crowd of over-produced and over-percussive Irish "traditional" music CDs.

For the tunes, you have the usual suspects and then some, but what stands out most are the two jig sets. These sets of tunes have a particularly lovely lift and lilt that really shows off the beauty of jigs.

Like the jigs, the slow airs are of special note. Variously played by Maidhc on accordion and Caoimhín on flute, they sound a genuine echo of the old music at its heart.

As for "the usual suspects and then some", the CD is outstanding for its range of tunes. Sprightly marches, reels, slow airs, barndances, hornpipes, polkas and flings make the CD a real treasure of tune types.

Not all of the tunes are from the West Kerry area, so there is also a taste of different styles. Caoimhín plays two reels on flute that show off the lively North Connacht style. He also plays a barndance from the Cois Fharraige area.

For the songs, Caoimhín's rendition of Réidhchnoc Mná Duibhe/The Smooth Hill of the Dark Woman, is simply mesmerizing. Even if you've not a word of Irish, the feeling that Caoimhín conveys through his voice will touch you. You can almost see the dark fairy woman on the faraway slopes of the green hill, and she walking away from the human who loved her.

This CD is available at dainin.net or claddaghrecords.com

Seán Tyrrell: Belladonna

You only have to look at a picture of Seán Tyrrell to know that he has long walked the walk of a real storyteller. No smooth-faced, shape-shifting, guess-my-latest-pop-star-persona David Bowie he. Tyrrell looks like he's lived each of the songs on this CD, some of them maybe twice.

Take the lovely John O' Dreams, a song Tyrrell often sings at funerals. You don't have to know anything about Tyrrell's own life to hear the heart in his voice when he sings of John O' Dreams, who brings the comfort of sleep and dreams to the prince and the ploughman alike.

Seán also covers Bryan Bowers' time-tested Satisfied Mind. Fans of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" may remember the talented autoharp player and singer Bryan Bowers from past shows. Satisfied Mind almost sounds as if it were written for Seán himself, as it echoes well Seán's own take on life.

The songs on the CD are gently rounded out with a panoply of instruments that includes guitar, banjo, accordion, and fiddle. Tyrrell himself plays the mandocella, mandola, and mando bass.

A few tunes also grace this CD, such as the atmospheric Midnight in the Burren, the quiet place in County Clare where Tyrrell and his family make their home. The Black Kerryman set moves along jauntily, sounding as if you might hear them in your head as you walk with a child through the Irish countryside in spring. Those upbeat tunes are in fact tied to two of Seán's children. He also plays some traditional tunes, including the serpentine Paddy Fahy's Reel, and Mulvihill's, the Irish Washerwoman, and Whelan's.

A special treat is Seán's cover of the lively traditional An Spailpín Fánach, which he sings in Irish.

This is lovely living room music all. Dia leat, a Sheáin.

This CD is available at seantyrrell.com and portlandAmerica.com

Harry Bradley: As I Carelessly Did Stray

Stray away and lend an ear to this CD, Harry Bradley's fine follow-up to his first CD, Bad Turns and Horseshoe Bends. His first CD was voted Best Traditional album of 2000; this CD is bound to bring in an award or two, as it again captures the clean, bright, lovely sound of Irish traditional tunes played well on the flute.

Stray away indeed from the slua, the crowd, of over-produced, guitar-laden Irish traditional music CDs. On this CD, the melody's the thing, and rhythmic guitar accompaniment, while present on several of the tunes, is typically not so loud that it chops up the flow of the melody. You get the sense that the CD's producer knew that the listeners would want to actually listen to the flute and whistle, not a loud acoustic guitar that wars with the melody for your attention.

This CD is a showcase for several tunes recorded by flute masters from the 1920s such as John McKenna, Michael Coleman, and James Morrison. From McKenna you've got the charming The Ballroom Favourite #2, a barndance, followed by Morrison's The Belle of the Ball.

More into modern times, there's Jim Coleman's, a mischievous hornpipe that Bradley first heard from Séamus Tansey.

And not to be forgotten is The Old Maids of Galway, an unmistakably smashing (is maith sin) tune which goes by several other names. A tune by any other name would sound as sweet. Bradley plays it with the kind of restraint and gentleness that brings out the best in the tune.

Despite growing up in a South Belfast family with no music, Bradley began playing the whistle at age 12 when he heard Irish traditional tunes and songs from Planxty and the Bothy Band. Now living in Galway City, Harry Bradley has been able to immerse himself in Irish music firsthand.

On this CD, he plays flutes, including a marching band flute, and a whistle. He is accompanied by the odd piano, bodhrán, guitar, bouzouki, and fiddle player.

This CD is available at claddaghrecords.com or from Celtic Grooves

Mary Rafferty: Hand-Me-Downs
Larraga

In their other lives, Mary Rafferty and Deirdre Connolly are members of Cherish the Ladies, the talented Irish-American band of female musicians. Here they step out on their own with two fine CDs brimming with the best and the beauty of Irish tunes and songs.

Mary Rafferty's CD is a treasure chest of jigs, reels, hornpipes, and airs mostly learned from her father, Mike Rafferty, a native of Ballinakill in east County Galway. Mary's CD also features tunes from other East Galway musicians, as well as other luminaries in the Irish sky, including New York uilleann piper Jerry O'Sullivan.

Not just a keeper of the flame and fame in the tunes department, Mary plays several instruments. Along with her trademark accordion, she plays a concertina, whistle, and flute on her CD.

Adding to the blend of instruments are some of her fellow musicians from Cherish the Ladies, including fiddler Marie Reilly, and flute/whistle-player Joanie Madden. Singer Deirdre Connolly even joins in to add some understated vocals on one air.

It's all together a beautiful thing. And when you add the sean nós dancing of Seosamh Ó Neachtain to a couple of the tunes, and the occasional bodhrán, you've got the kind of lift and flow that marks the best of Irish traditional music.

Mary Rafferty's CD is indeed the real thing, with masters of the music at the height of their powers.

This CD is available at CherishTheLadies.com or RaffertyMusic.com

Deirdre Connolly: A Song in Turn
Glentrague Records

Deirdre Connolly's CD is the other side of the coin, with songs from the Irish tradition. She has a lovely voice, clear and bright.

Her voice brings out well the beauty of the songs. On Killarney, a song of longing for Ireland, a cappella she brings back to life the feelings and thoughts of the person who first wrote and felt the words.

She offers also a version of Tommy Sands' tragic There Were Roses, a story of death on both sides of the conflict in the six counties. There are a number of fine recordings of this song; Deirdre's recording does this song proud. This new recording of this song seems ever more poignant as the Middle East explodes into the kind of violence that once gripped the six counties. It's also a reminder of how much progress has been made in the six counties.

Tucked in among the songs from Deirdre is a song sung by her father, Mattie, a native of County Monaghan. Mattie does a seldom-heard version of the bittersweet Welcome Poor Paddy Home, with its three extra verses. His voice is warm and rich, full of the Irish soul and a collective memory of harder times.

But Deirdre's CD features not just songs, but also several tunes, as she plays the tin whistle. She shows her talents on traditional jigs, as well as some jigs that she composed herself. One of these is the lovely The View from Annie's, a jig named after the beautiful view from her grandmother's home in Glentrague, County Galway.

This CD can be obtained from Deirdre at connolldee@aol.com

Briege Murphy: The Elm Wood

If you love warm, sweet singing from the heart, with absolutely perfect arrangements, you'll love this fine CD from County Armagh native Briege Murphy. Briege's clear, lovely voice is well-met by the instruments, including mandolin, pedal steel guitar, piano, viola, fiddle, and whistle. It's clear that a great deal of care and experience went into the songs and the arrangements, and it pays off nicely.

The songs on The Elm Wood, from the Irish Leamh Choill, include treatments of old folk melodies that have entered American folk tradition, haunting odes to Irish places dear to her, and even an uptempo, humorous look at rural Irish bachelor farmers.

Briege (with a soft "g", the ending "e" silent) makes a lovely new folk song from the old folk melody behind The Bard of Armagh. That easily recognized melody is also behind the American folk song, The Streets of Laredo. Murphy's version is called Colorado Cowboy, and is partly based on her father's travels through America, before returning home to Ireland to stay.

In the Ring of Gullion, she brings forth a vibrant picture of a place dear to her, the land around her native home in South Armagh. But it's not all a pretty picture, as she also sings of the oppressive presence of the British troops, far from their own native home.

Her loving look at Irish bachelor farmers, and their love of the pub, is a bouncy, wry look at the men and their lives. It has a sweet sound that is vaguely somewhere between Cajun and American country music. Seoid.

Also with a soft look at the lives of imperfect people is Saving Up To Be Famous, which tells the story of a woman whose musical talent exceeded her looks by a sight. How the woman plans to change her looks to become "pretty" enough to be famous, well that's all in the song, with tongue firmly in the cheek.

CD Available at www.chivalry.com/briegemurphy/

Séamus Tansey: Words and Music - The Phantom Shadows of a Connaught Fire Light (self-produced)

This incredible 3-CD set captures the terrible and beautiful childhood of the brilliant Irish musician, Séamus Tansey. Tansey's memories and music bridge the time just before the birth of the Republic in 1949, through years of massive emigration, and into the cultural revolution of the 1960s that saw the re-birth of Irish traditional music in her own native home.

Weaving words and music together like Celtic knotwork, Tansey with great craft describes the people and events of his childhood. Growing up in North Connaught, near the famous town of Gorteen, Tansey saw a time when the ancient thread of Irish music was nearly broken by emigration, the church, and the policies of the government. Yet, in the midst of this famine of music, one of Tansey's earliest memories is of himself and his parents sitting in the glow of a turf fire, his mother playing the fiddle softly, the fire throwing phantom shadows on the walls.

From this haunting beginning, the three CDs go on to tell stories of the Wren Boys, the birth of the Republic as celebrated in his small village, and, in particular, the early loss of a beloved relation who encouraged young Séamus in his music. These stories, and many more, are all told with a hypnotic blend of brutal honesty and disarming innocence. Truth to tell, Tansey brings to life his childhood so fearlessly that you can feel the unadulterated joy and sometimes the kind of painful innocence that he must have known as a child.

And then there's the music running through it. In songs and tunes, Tansey tells the other side of the story. He plays the flute, tin whistle, and bodhrán with a natural mastery. His songs are songs that he learned from his father and elsewhere, and, like the tunes, they reflect deep emotion and continuity in the tradition.

It's safe to say that there has never been an Irish CD the likes of this.

This CD is available at Celtic Grooves

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