Echo’s Top 10 trad albums of 1999

By Earle Hitchner

The year 1999 went out with a bang, not a whimper, as 40 new Irish traditional recordings were rushed to "Trad Beat" for top-10 list consideration during December. Besides the customary sources of Ireland, North America, and Britain, the albums came from Belgium, France, Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy, Australia, Sweden, and Switzerland, indicating that the music is becoming part of the cultural fabric of those countries.

Those who sent the recordings insisted that I delay my annual list until all were received and duly considered. I was happy to comply, though winnowing 10 from a year-long cache of nearly 250 CDs and cassettes was a challenge. A few (e.g., Michael McGoldrick’s "Fused" and the debut recording by new Dublin band Providence) were advances of CDs slated for official release in early 2000 and will be reviewed then.

Four of the top 10 are self-issued. Thankfully, the stigma once attached to such "vanity" recordings has disappeared, as more and more musicians shut out from or dissatisfied with major commercial and indie labels have opted to do it themselves. It’s true that a number of self-released albums are disappointing in quality, but then, so are a number of heavily publicized, heavily bankrolled commercial recordings. A hefty budget and media blitz do not ensure music that will endure.

Nor does any top-10 list. But I hope this one will at least pique readers’ curiosity about recordings that reward close, repeat listening.

1. "OTHERWORLD," by Lúnasa (Green Linnet Records GL 1200): The personnel has changed — Kevin Crawford is in, Mike McGoldrick and John McSherry are out — but the exciting sound this all-instrumental band creates is even better than that heard on their superb debut recording in 1997. Crawford, Seán Smyth, Trevor Hutchinson, and Donogh Hennessy combine a strong sense of spontaneity and risk-taking with remarkable discipline and outstanding talent. Even hard-charging dance tunes, such as "The Floating Crowbar/McGlinchey’s/The Almost Reel," display deft, jazz-inspired flourishes, while in the slow reel "Miller of Drohan," the band show a more ruminative, delicate side of their musicmaking, especially through Hutchinson’s playing of cello and bowed bass. Every track is a keeper on this album, bursting with that altogether rare blend of intelligence, innovation, virtuosity, and passion.

2. "THE GODFATHER," by Brian Rooney (Racket Records RR 002): There’s almost a Thoreauvian quality to this album, a return to Irish traditional music performed at a tempo and with a technique happily unhitched from the warp-speed dynamics overwhelming so many major-label releases today. From Derragoon, North Leitrim, fiddler Brian Rooney has lived in London for many years, playing in such pubs as Fiddler’s Elbow in Kentish Town. The inviting intimacy of a small pub session seeps into this beautifully crafted recording, a testament to the musical brilliance that can be found among Irish immigrant musicians living in England’s capital. In a year notable for high-quality fiddle albums (two others appear in this top 10), "The Godfather" is head and shoulders above all and should bring Brian Rooney the wider recognition he deserves.

3. "BLACKBIRDS & THRUSHES," by Niamh Parsons (Green Linnet Records GL 1197): Eight years ago, Dublin-born singer Niamh Parsons gave a strong hint of what she could do with a song sparely accompanied and more traditionally approached, such as Mickey McConnell’s "Tinkerman’s Daughter." Here, the lead singer of Arcady and former member of the Loose Connections band finally delivers the all-traditional-song album that admirers of her husky, expressive voice have been waiting for. Parsons’s moving vocal on "Kilnamartyra Exile" and harmony with sister Anne on "Sally Sits Weeping" are but two highlights on an album chock-full of them.

4. "IDIR AN DÁ SHOLAS," by Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill with Dónal Lunny (Hummingbird Records GLH 9002): Two of the finest voices in Irish traditional music belong to these talented sisters, both former members of Skara Br’. On Maighread’s magnificent 1991 solo recording, "Gan Dhá Phingin Spré," they sang together on just a few songs, whetting listeners’ appetite for this album, comprising eight duets and four solos. Among the latter are Tríona’s understated rendition of "The Banks of Claudy," conveying the pathos of a young woman tested by her lover in disguise, and Maighread’s pensively stirring interpretation of "Bruach na Carraige Báine," a song of seduction. In glorious harmony together, they make brand-new such familiar songs as "The Spanish Lady" and "Dónall Óg." Guests include album producer and principal accompanist Dónal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, John McSherry, Laoise Kelly, Máire Breatnach, and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, Maighread and Tríona’s brother.

5. "FAMILIAR FOOTSTEPS," by Dezi Donnelly (DD 9901): Yes, the influence of Belfast-born fiddle virtuoso Seán Maguire is strong, especially in the way Donnelly tucks in piquant bowing surprises intended to tease or tingle the musical palate. Winner of five All-Ireland championships and two "Fiddler of London" competitions, the Manchester-born musician displays a technical maturity and far-ranging imagination beholding to no one fiddler. He knows how to embellish a tune without losing his grip on the melody, and his artful, adventurous playing distinguishes such tracks as "The Knocknagow Jig/The Maids on the Green" and "Lord Gordon’s Reel." The album’s title may refer to Dezi’s following in the footsteps of his Tyrone-born uncle, fiddler Des Donnelly, killed at age 40 in a Manchester construction accident. This recording, however, stands proudly on its own, a dazzling showcase for Dezi Donnelly’s enormous talent.

6. "STAY ANOTHER WHILE," by Paul O’Shaughnessy with Frankie Lane (POS 0001): Dublin-born fiddler Paul O’Shaughnessy, former member of Altan and current member of Beginish, has steeped himself in the Donegal tradition. That Ulster influence can be heard in "Bundle and Go/Two Francie Dearg Jigs" and especially "Boy in the Boat/Máire na Sop/Miss Monaghan’s," three reels he plays with breathtaking skill and swing. There’s also a hornpipe he wrote, "New Artane Roundabout," that reveals a lighter, sweeter touch, and it’s a pleasure hearing him gracefully bow the waltz "Jimmy Bhidi Mhici’s" and its album-ending extension, "Arís le Váls Jimi Bhidi," on this superb solo debut.

7. "MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT," by Dervish (Whirling Discs WHRL 005): Finally, with this sixth release (the first was all-instrumental), Sligo-based Dervish overcome the hyperbole and hype heaped on them and fulfill their potential. This is easily the best recording to date by the band, who rise above their bash-it-out sound of the past to create smartly arranged and layered music that’s still bracing. Going from a sextet to a septet has clearly helped, with fiddler Shane McAleer departing and fiddler Tom Morrow and guitarist Séamus O’Dowd coming onboard. The result is tunes and songs performed with wonted force and welcome finesse.

8. "AT HOME," by Cherish the Ladies (RCA Victor 09026 63377-2): On their sixth recording (apart from the collection "One and All") and second for a major label, Cherish the Ladies again display an indomitable joy in performance that has earned them international success. On the opening set of reels, "Limerick Lassies/The Bird Feeder/The Bank of Ireland/Grampa’s Céilí Band," can be heard whoops of delight as the ensemble ratchets up their performance. Only the inclusion of Dan Fogelberg’s rather sappy song "Leader of the Band" mars what is otherwise a stellar album by an ensemble that does Irish America proud.

9. "THE OLD FIRESIDE MUSIC," by Mike and Mary Rafferty (Larraga Records R093098, 229 Baldwin Ave., Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. 07604; 201-288-4267): Four years ago, Ballinakill, Co., Galway, native Mike Rafferty and daughter Mary, a member of Cherish the Ladies, released "The Dangerous Reel," an exceptional album finishing just out of the Irish Echo’s top 10. Their eagerly awaited followup cracks this year’s top-10 list with duet playing of tremendous vigor and heart. The blend of Mike on flute and uilleann pipes and Mary on button accordion, tin whistle, and low whistle is masterly, "nice and easy with lots of feeling," as Mary says in her liner note. Mike’s sister, singer Kathleen Glynn, and their late brother, lilter Paddy Rafferty, fortify this album’s estimable family connections.

10. "THE CROSSING," by Tim O’Brien (Alula ALU-1014): I know what you’re thinking: what’s a bluegrasser doing here? West Virginia’s Tim O’Brien, whose great-grandfather came from Cavan to America in 1851, here explores his Irish roots and the links between Irish and American traditional music. This is the cross-genre album Davy Spillane valiantly tried but ultimately failed to make with "Atlantic Bridge" in 1987. The mind-boggling roster of guest artists includes Altan, Paul Brady, Séamus Egan, Maura O’Connell, and Ronan Browne on the Irish side, and Del McCoury, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Kathy Mattea, Darol Anger, and Mike Marshall on the American side. Best song: "Talkin’ Cavan," a hilarious, Bob Dylan-style talking blues by O’Brien about his ancestors’ county. Best instrumental: hard to pick just one, but the nod goes to "Lord McDonald/Cumberland Gap," where De Dannan fiddler Frankie Gavin and bluegrass banjo legend Earl Scruggs cut loose together.