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REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk
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Karan Casey - The Winds Begin To Sing - Shanachie 78044 | ||||
Karan Casey made her name with Irish-American band Solas on three acclaimed albums. This is her second solo release, on which that remarkable voice is ably supported by not only regular musicians Ewan Vernal and John Doyle but also two of Manchesters finest - flautist and piper Michael McGoldrick and fiddler Dezi Donnelly. Most of the eleven songs are traditional, arranged by Casey and her musicians in a way which draws out their timeless power and doesnt attempt to shoehorn the material into new and exciting styles for the sake of mere cleverness. Casey and company know what theyre about, and its immediately obvious that were in safe hands; from the Lord Randall variant Who Put The Blood to a sensitive reading of the haunting The Snows They Melt The Soonest which rivals the definitive Dick Gaughan interpretation, these songs (to paraphrase Philip Larkin) dont bother us. Casey is also quite a judge of a good contemporary song. She makes an excellent job of Andy M Stewarts heartbreaking Where Are You Tonight I Wonder and the two John Spillane/Louis De Paor compositions; the ensemble playing on one of these, Buile Mo Chroi, is especially fine. She only puts a foot wrong once. The decision to tackle the Billie Holiday standard, Strange Fruit, was courageous but misguided; but then, I cant think of any singer currently working on the folk scene (except, possibly, June Tabor) who could take on that peculiarly intense, intransigent piece and win. Its the only false note in a collection which can only enhance Karan Caseys already considerable reputation. Dave Tuxford |
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