1. “Greengold” is by The Cast. Now, The Cast is two extraordinary artists from Scotland, Mairi Campbell and David Francis. Mairi Campbell has a gorgeous alto of a voice, and plays a wondrous fiddle and viola. Let us repeat. Gorgeous. Francis remains on the cutting edge of trad guitar playing. This album may show us The Female Vocalist of the Year, as well as Composition of the Year, “Jean Yelland”. This is the group’s third album. It is terrific. Great technique meets real soul. Geez, this is great! Out on the powerful Greentrax label, so it ought to be widely available. Rating: Highly Recommended
2. “Turning the Tune” is a new double album out from the great musician, Charlie Lennon. In this outing, we have Charlie giving a tour de force on fiddle. This is a beautiful textbook of music at its best, played with total understanding and grace. This is for real trad lovers only. It is required for all aspiring Irish fiddlers, not only for the technique, but the vast array of tunes on offer. In a double album we would have wanted more airs, but you can’t have everything. This is a corker. Rating: Recommended
3. Matt and Shannon Heaton moved to Boston from Chicago years ago. Our loss. Their album, Dearga, shows us the totality of it all! Shannon is a really accomplished flute player with great touch and phrasing. Matt centers in on the guitar, and both do vocals. They are well tuned into the trad scene, and musically very, very hip. We love them. Heatons Come Home!! (More on their new album anon!) 
4. Michael Black has his first solo album out, appropriately entitled, “Michael Black”. You know him. One of the Black Family. He and his brothers have toured for years, and have a couple albums out. Although Michael’s sister, Mary, is the more famous of the siblings, we have long preferred the brothers,. Mary has wandered away from the tradition into less familiar and suitable music for her. The brothers have remained true to the bone. We love this album. Just let us say this. It is an immediate contender for Male Vocalist of the Year. It is on Compass, so you can find it everywhere. A winner all the way through the 11 cuts. Produced by the man, John Doyle, there are lots of guest stars. A great, great piece of business, altogether. 
5. There are certain labels where you know. You just know. Anything that comes out on them will be fab. Clo-Iar-Chonnachta is one of them. Now comes, “Pride of the West” featuring the flute of John Wynne and fiddler, John McEvoy. It is in the north Clare style. That is not important. What IS important is that if you like trad, this one is a must-have. Accompanied by the legendary Arty McGlynn on guitar and Paddy McEvoy on piano, this is a delight. Tons of tunes, perfectly played. Perfectly. Great lift and ambience. There are 14 sets of tunes. We wanted 14 more. Many are rarely, if ever, heard. We adore this album. Rating: Highly Recommended
6. Copperplate comes through again. The most reliable company in the world for Irish music quality is located in London. Under the directorship of Alan O’Leary, like Clo Iar-Chonnachta, Copperplate means quality. If it ain’t, O’Leary doesn’t handle them. So, here comes Tim Dennehy. “Old Boots and Flying Sandals” is the name of this stunner. On Sceilig Records, Tim Dennehy gives his latest take on the music with his incredible voice. There is nothing harder to review than a vocal album. How do you describe someone’s voice? It is either pleasing or not pleasing to each individual listener. But, there are these artists like Dennehy. OK. OK. He masters a song. Great phrasing. Nuance. He takes his time. You know the deal. “Master at work”. Yup. That good. It is hard for us to imagine you not loving his voice. Like the legendary Sean Tyrrell, Dennehy is not afraid to be lushly romantic, and to lose himself in a song. It is harder for male artists to do this, for some reason. But, the best do. And, so does Dennehy. This is a gorgeous album from a talented, gifted singer who “gets it”. You should get it, too. Rating: Strongly Recommended
8. Here is another from Copperplate. “Highly Strung” by Padraic O’Reilly. It is a piano album, and we didn’t get it at first. The more we listened, the more we got it. This is a great album by a musician of soul and understanding. Very, very,very good, indeed. There are so many beautiful takes on this 15-tune set. The hardest thing to do on an Irish piano album is the airs. There is so much to know and be good at. In his mid-20’s, O’Reilly is already there. He is accompanied here by The Corofin Chamber Orchestra. The regular reader and knowledgeable trad fan will know Corofin, Galway as a real hotbed of traditional music, including super-families such as the Scahills. Add O’Reilly to the Corofin recipe. A great debut! Rating: Recommended
Margeson on the Music
Margeson on the Music
Well, well, well. Didn’t our column set off some discussion in July! If you didn’t see it, we were critical on the current state of American Irish Festivals in general, excluding Milwaukee. Of all the musicians and vendors with whom we spoke after the column appeared here, not one– not one– disagreed with us. Most felt we didn’t go far enough criticizing the rockification of the fests, and the non-communicative nature concerning the dwindling attendance numbers. It remains up to the festivals themselves to stop looking at numbers and beer sales, and look at who is not coming and why. Let’s see if they do.
Milwaukee Irish Fest this month. The big kahuna. No long article here–just the assurance that this is their best lineup ever. If you are planning on being there one day only, you won’t see them all, but here is a quick list of whom we consider the must-sees of the Fest, set for August 16-19. Google their site. A new innovation this year lets you click on your favorite artists and see their individual stage and time schedules. Here are this year’s stunners, no explanation needed. As usual, trust us. NOT in any order! Here we go: Cathie Ryan, Dave Munnelly Band, Eddi Reader, Cherish the Ladies Reunion concert Sunday afternoon, Liz Carroll and John Doyle, Mick Moloney and Michelle Mulcahy, Barra McNeils, Beoga, The Fuchsia Band, Millish, Liadan, Leahy, Tommy Makem and Blarney. See what we mean about one day? We will be up all three days, and probably won’t be able to see them all. Wonderful dilemma! The Fest producers Chuck and Ed Ward, Barry Stapleton and Jane Andersson are all scheduled to be on our radio show, Blarney on the Air, Monday night, August 6 from 7-9 Central time in America, to talk about it all. We will see you there !
We are swamped with albums this month, and will do a major haul on them all next month. We have to mention the best of the lot, however. The album is out on Clo-Iar-Chonnachta and is entitled, A Tribute to Andy McGann. There are few more revered or well-remembered musicians in the tradition than Sligo/New Yorker, Andy McGann. This fiddle player is so influential in the music that many of the younger players of today are emulating at least a piece of his fiddle playing style, probably not even realizing it. Andy passed in 2004. Years before (1964) he, the legendary button box player, Joe Burke and pianist, Felix Dolan had recorded a dedicated Michael Coleman album, Tribute to Coleman. Coleman is the greatest of all the great Sligo fiddlers (Morrison fans notwithstanding). Indeed, as a young man, Andy had briefly known Coleman and even played with him. Fiddler, Brian Conway was mentored by McGann, and his playing on this album makes the salute perfect. There are times when you would close your eyes, and hear Andy himself coming through the hands and soul of Conway. Brill.
Coleman is a god in the pantheon, but there were many Sligo musicians like McGann who basically invented the elegant New York/Sligo style of playing traditional music. So, when Andy died, Joe Burke and his wife Anne, joined pianist, Josephine Keegan and a number of other musicians in a concert in Donegal a few months later. It basically turned into a McGann memorial concert, and a great time was had by all. There at the concert was Chicago’s own master fiddler and creative force at The Irish-American Heritage Center, John Daly. What a fortuitous coming together! John immediately struck on the idea of a McGann tribute at the Heritage Center. Joe Burke and Felix Dolan had joined McGann on the 1964 Tribute to Coleman album, which has since become one of the required albums in a comprehensive trad collection. With Daly at the helm of a growing ship of volunteers at the Center, the concert began to take shape. Arrangements. A flurry of activity. Phone calls. E-mails. Back and forth, back and forth and then WHAM! It was time. On April 1, 2006 it all came together at the Heritage Center’s auditorium with well over 400 people there on a memorable night. We were there. We’ll never forget it. This album was recorded that night, and added to in subsequent sessions in Chicago. Some of the tunes here are from the actual concert, and some from the studio work that followed. It is all brilliant, and the sound is superior, thanks to recording engineer, Jim Reeves. The transcendent warmth and musical magic coupled with great humor that night, and became one of those magical moments you take with you forever. We sat behind Chicago’s own fiddle legend, Liz Carroll, that evening. No one was having more fun than she. Magic. At the end, the 400 and more did not want to leave the auditorium. After some encores, we began to slowly leave, but staying just a bit longer to bathe in the moment. A stunner. And, it is all here on this album. Contact the Center, get to your Irish vendor, go online to Clo-Iar-Chonachta or contact us here at LiveIreland.com. Do what you have to. Get this album. No excuses. You can be part of it all, too. Just crank it up, sit back and smile. What a deal. Chicago is easily the pre-eminent city in America for Irish music now. There can really be no argument on the point anymore. And, a big, big part of that position goes to John Daly. He is a treasure, and the Heritage Center– and Irish music — are lucky to have him. Thanks, John, on behalf of everyone who loves the music. Up Cork!! Rating: Four Harps .
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Then, we were at Irish Fest years ago in Milwaukee. Our daughter, Mary, came tearing up to us. Had we heard, “that harp player”? What harp player? THAT harp player! (We were thrilled she was listening to any of the music instead of “hanging”.) What was even more unbelievable was that she was raving about “that harp player and this guitar guy”. What was the name? She didn’t remember, if she ever knew—but she DID remember it was a real long Irish name, and we HAD to go see her and the “guitar guy”. Noted. Done. No one else we knew had any inkling about harpists, either. So we went to the different stages to check the lineups and WHAM! Found her! Had to be! Maire ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman. Never heard of them. Ignorance was NOT bliss, but…well… We made a note not to miss the next concert and went on our merry, ignorant way.
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Island Heart Records and the non-stop Deanna Griffin have sent us Who? by the very gifted, Darren Maloney. A young tenor banjo player out of Ireland, this well-produced gem offers us a new and major figure on the scene. We like to tell you about these artists first—so be aware. Heads up! This is a wonderful musician, and a gifted interpreter of the music. All-instrumental, this album joins Maloney with three other musicians in a delight. Full range of tempos, ambiances and styles. This is a very, very good musician we are meeting here. Maloney is also heard playing a tasty mandolin. These banjo albums can get very boring very quickly, depending on the artist, and his or her taste. Well, this guy’s taste is pretty impeccable, as far as we can hear. We would, however, beg him to shave before the next album cover. It is kind of like Elvis Costello meets the plectrum. But, let us not quibble here. Darren Maloney sounds ready to be put right up with Ireland’s best banjo players, Enda Scahill and Gerry O’Connor. Google the name, or Google Island Heart Artists, or check Cdbaby online. A lot of you love this stuff, and so do we. A new breeze blowing into town, with some wonderful chops. Enda, Gerry! Battlestations!! 
The regular reader knows well of our admiration for the group, Danu. These guys really forged a place for themselves, and were—for a long time—the hottest band in trad. Personnel changes have happened, and each of us Danu fans is still considering the impact of those changes. Danu’s fiddle player, Oisin McAuley, is now out on Compass with a new album, Far From The Hills of Donegal. This is a really ambitious album. There are a ton of different styles, and some work better than others. What is not in doubt is McAuley’s prodigious talents on fiddle. Among the guest musicians is Shane McGowan on guitar. Now, some of the tunes, like the opening, Quebec Reels, hit us as derivative. In this case, the playing reminds us a lot of Liz Carroll and John Doyle. It could BE Liz and John, for all that. The sound is not distinct, and it all seems too easy for Oisin in this opener. And, as long as we are being snooty, we’re not partial to Mary’s Waltz, either. Oisin’s liner notes tell us that this waltz was written in a very open fashion as to allow a lot of improvisation. Good enough. But the tempo, certainly 3/4 as a waltz, seems buried in the improvisations and the accent rhythms. We lose it as a waltz, and the whole cut struggles. We want to be able to dance to a waltz. With a special woman! This brings to an end the whining portion of this review. We find the rest of the album wonderful on several levels. Constant throughout the project is McAuley’s musical sense and taste—almost flawless. His bowing style remains redolent of the Irish northwest, as he also adapts other styles and flourishes. Lots and lots of good, wonderful—even great stuff here from an important artist. McAuley is widely admired among the thousands of international Irish fiddle aficionados, and this album will show you why. Taken all in all, it is a terrific showcase for this young man, whose future remains as bright as ever. Being on Compass Records means it is easy to find. Well done! Rating: Three Harps
Few labels guarantee a great album, but Ireland’s Clo-Iar-Chonnacta comes close. Here’s another winner. Marcas O Murchu’s Turas Ceoil is just the best. This flute player has gathered some of the tradition’s great players around him, ranging from Altan’s Ciaran Curran on guitar and Oisin McDiarmada on fiddle to Ben Lennon on fiddle, with the great Seamus Quinn on piano. There are more, but the trad buff gets the drift. This album is really filled with the northwestern style of flute—you know the deal— Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim. Polkas, reels and jigs abound. One complaint. There are only two airs, with one thrown overboard too quickly in favor of adding a hornpipe. We have long argued against recording a gorgeous air, only to have it turn half-way through into an uptempo piece of business. It is as if the musician does not trust the audience to cherish the air, hold it close to the heart, and make it a part of their soul. Rather, it seems to say, ” Okay, we won’t bore you any longer with this. We know what you want, hear comes some faster stuff.” Shame. BUT–that is only nitpicking! This is a great, great album by a master musician. Flute players the world ’round know about, and respect, this brilliant interpreter of the staccato, yet flowing style that marks his geographic style of playing. We are rapidly losing the regionally stylistic features of Irish traditional music for a number of reasons frequently described here. The point is that these styles can still be found, thanks to labels like Clo-Iar-Chonnacta, and true-to-the-bone musicians like Marcas O Murchu. This is a great album. Not very good, mind you. Great.