SEÁN O’DRISCOLL - So There You Go
Private Label
Seán O’Driscoll is a fine tenor banjo and bouzouki player from Blarney in County Cork. So There You Go is his second solo album, on which he is supported by Larry Egan on accordion; Patrick Egan on concertina; Dave Hennessy on melodeon and Donncha Moynihan and Johnny Neville on guitar.
This excellent album opens with a lively set of polkas played in American ‘honky-tonk’ style. In sharp contrast, on the slow air The Dear Irish Boy, the bouzouki and banjo arrangement is unusual and hauntingly beautiful.
In addition to traditional jigs, reels and hornpipes, So There You Go features several of Seán’s own compositions. The Comical Bargain/Bare Faced Lies pair of reels and The Twin Cities jig are fine tunes worthy of being played in any good session. The CD concludes with Seán’s lovely Lendrum’s Waltz, on which he plays button accordion, harking back to his ceili band days.
Some years back, I had the great fortune to play in a session with Seán in Friel’s bar, Miltown Malbay. What struck me then was Seán’s uniquely subtle banjo style – a phrase rarely used to describe this instrument! On So There You Go, the banjo is reborn as delicate, sweet and warm.
Keith Whiddon
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 96 of The Living Tradition magazine. |