All seven recordings prominently showcase Irish American musicians and champion, whether wholly or partly, what might be described as an Irish traditional music sound or style forged in America. They point to a resurgence of pride and roots reclamation in this sound or style, and to a feeling that it should be considered in its own right and not be invidiously compared to Ireland’s own musical tradition. The condescending phrase “pretty good for a Yank” is clearly losing its bite in light of the superb recordings I cited, as well as an upcoming debut album by the Pride of New York.
Over the phone, Billy McComiskey played for me some unmastered tracks from the eagerly anticipated recording by the Pride of New York, a band comprising him, Conway, Madden, and Brendan Dolan. They are all Irish Americans. I was stunned by the musical brilliance I heard through the phone line. “Distinctly American,” McComiskey told me. “Distinctly New York.” We talked about the 1-6-4-5 chordal progression forming the bedrock beneath much of the playing, and we recalled the talented Irish immigrants, including several from Sligo and East Galway, who encouraged and mingled with U.S.-born players (e.g., Andy McGann and Felix Dolan) to shape a sound combining the best of each culture. That Pride of New York album should appear by midsummer.
But right now, to slake your thirst for superb traditional music performed by both Irish Americans and Irish immigrants, you can turn to the “The Green Fields of America.” This is a new recording from an ensemble founded by Mick Moloney in the late 1970s that has featured a protean lineup over the years. The core here is Moloney on vocals and mandolin, guitar, and tenor banjo, McComiskey on button accordion, Tergis on fiddle, Robbie O’Connell on vocals and guitar, and John Doyle on vocals, guitar, and bouzouki, and they are in top form throughout.
The swing is almost palpable in such Irish medleys as “Jackie Riordan’s / Money in Both Pockets / The Dungannon Reel,” “Fahy’s #25 / Molly on the Shore / Bonnie Anne,” “In the Woods of Old Limerick / Felix the Cat / The Music Teacher,” and especially “The New Irish Barn Dance / Paddy McGinty’s Goat.” Among the guests lending a sure hand are Brendan Dolan on piano, Jerry O’Sullivan on uilleann pipes, Tim Collins on concertina, and Ivan Goff on uilleann pipes, flute, and whistle.
Two other guests, fiddler Bruce Molsky and singer and five-string banjo player Mac Benford, come from America’s old-timey tradition, related to and partly drawn from the Irish tradition. They join Green Fields on the old-timey tunes “Billy in the Lowland / Belle of Lexington / Waynesboro” and on Stephen Foster’s song “The Glendy Burke.”
Skillfully fleshing out the instrumentals on the album are the slides “Jim O’Keefe’s / The Clog / The Star Above the Garter / The Hare in the Corn” and Turlough O’Carolan’s “Planxty Miss Maxwell.” The latter features Jerry O’Sullivan on uilleann pipes, and Moloney in his track note states, “It was introduced to the New York scene by Tim Collins when he was in the city as a Fulbright scholar at New York University in 2007.” No doubt Collins helped to boost regional interest in the melody, but I’d credit button accordionist John Whelan for its main regional revival in 1990 when he and uilleann piper Jerry O’Sullivan recorded it for Whelan’s “From the Heart” solo recording. (Last year on his own solo CD, “Consider the Source,” fiddler Brian Conway covered the tune with pianist Brendan Dolan, who guests on the same tune on “The Green Fields of America.”)
Six more songs appear on “The Green Fields of America,” and they are movingly delivered.
Moloney stirringly sings “The Rambling Irishman,” a song of emigration peppered with references to Philadelphia (Moloney’s adopted hometown and my own hometown), and “The Catalpa,” a song celebrating the daring rescue of six Fenians imprisoned in Australia.
Robbie O’Connell imparts quiet passion to one of his own songs, “The Islander’s Lament,” and appealing springiness to the traditional ballad “Down by the Tanyard Side.”
John Doyle’s masterful guitar playing and persuasive lead vocals distinguish two songs, “The Bonnie Irish Boy” and “Across the Western Ocean,” the latter of which is enhanced by the harmony of Moloney and O’Connell.
Toward the end of last year, a well-known traditional musician in Ireland asked me pointblank, “What are you Yanks drinking over there?” He meant it as a compliment for the impressive traditional music recently pouring out of America. “More home brew,” I answered him. We can expect much more of it this year.
“The Green Fields of America” (cat. no. 744952) is available from the Compass Records Group, 916 19th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212, 615-320-7672, www.compassrecords.com.