CELTIC MUSIC CD REVIEWS APRIL 2008
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
KARAN CASEY Ships in the Forest
Karan Casey is one of the most influential and imitated vocalists in Irish and American folk music. A natural innovator, she proves that the ancient and the modern make excellent bedfellows.
On Ships in the Forest, her fifth solo album and debut with Compass Records, Casey's soulful and evocative voice ebbs and flows around ballads both timely and timeless.
The songs found on Ships in the Forest range from fresh arrangements of tried and true standards Black is the Colour of My True Love's Hair and Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye to The Fiddle and the Drum, Joni Mitchell's 1969 anti-war song, and Martin Furey's newly-composed The Town of Athlone.
Casey says of the album, "I feel that this is by far my most ambitious album to date. I think it has taken me all my years as a singer to come to the point of feeling confident enough to tackle the big songs within the traditional repertoire."
And Karan Casey has chosen some of the best ballads for her first solo album of traditional music. Which includes: Love is Pleasing; Dunlavin Green; Erin's Lovely Home; Ae Fond Kiss; Maidin Luan Chincise and I Once Loved A Lass.
LUNASA
The Story So Far...
Ireland's supergroup, Lunasa have been one of the most sought-after bands on the International Irish music scene for the past 10 years, so it's not too surprising that they have entitled their new album The Story So Far...since the story is far from over.
Inspired by Ireland's great 1970s group The Bothy Band, Lunasa uses melodic interweaving of wind and string instruments, pairing flutes, fiddle, whistle and pipes in often breathtaking arrangements.
Named for the ancient Celtic harvest festival in honour of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lunasa is indeed a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Its members have helped form the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade. They offer traditional Irish music at its best.
Featured on The Story So Far... and reading like a who's who of Irish traditional music are current band members: double bassist, Trevor Hutchinson; piper, Cillian Vallely; flutist, Kevin Crawford; fiddler, Sean Smyth; guitarist, Paul Meehan; guitar, Donogh Hennessy; flute, Michael McGoldrick; and uilleann pipes, John McSherry.
The Story So Far....is brilliant!
ANDREW McFAYDEN
Suilean Fosgailte, Fuasgladh Cinn (Open Eyes, Open Mind)
Andrew McFayden is a Scottish Gaelic singer and an artist with a varied history reflecting many interests and loves. He was born and raised in northwestern Ontario, Canada. After graduating from university with a Bachelor of Education, he moved to Prince George, B.C. where he now resides.
In 2006 he completed a Master of Arts in Leadership and Administration with a thesis focusing on the revival of the Scottish Gaelic language in Cape Breton.
A teacher, artist, singer, songwriter, linguist and musician, Andrew draws on these experiences and more when creating his musical works. He speaks, sings, and writes in Scottish Gaelic, a language that has long been dead in his family for it was his great-great-grandfather who last spoke it fluently, a man he never knew.
Andrew discovered this fact through stories that his grandmother told him. He decided to learn the language after buying a book and tape set. Since 2000, he has taken summer immersion courses in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where he also learned the language and songs from local elders, teachers and community members.
Andrew's musical influences vary from Gaelic traditional music, Celtic instrumental fiddle and bagpipe styles, jazz, blues, rock, pop to hip hop. Most of these styles are reflected in his new album. His artistic influences range from Mary Jane Lamond, the Barra MacNeils, Runrig to Capercaillie.
You don't have to understand a language to appreciate the culture, but certainly if you're interested in the Scottish heritage and culture, then you will appreciate the music and songs of Andrew McFayden. If you are lucky enough to speak the language, then you will most certainly have a deeper appreciation of McFayden's songs.
For more information, visit his website at: www.grianmcbuttons.ca.
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