SHARON SHANNON & THE RTE CONCERT ORCHESTRA - Flying Circus
IRL - Celtic Arts CACD2415
Those of us familiar with Ms Shannon’s music will already have heard of this project, four years in the making, which combines her sublime box playing with tasteful orchestral arrangements by Joe Csibi (former Riverdance musical director) and David Hayes, on a collection of 12 new compositions. SS is accompanied on guitar by Jim Murray whose own composition, April Magnolia, is achingly beautiful in this arrangement (and I’m sure it wasn’t named after a shade of emulsion, that’s just perhaps my warped sense of humour). The co-star, who claims most of the remaining limelight, is Sharon herself, who thrives on taking tunes by the scruff of the neck and taking them where she is wont to – but on this occasion within the constraints of an orchestral setting (albeit the RTE who are well versed in the Irish tradition). Not that these constraints require any more discipline than usual. Sharon Shannon’s rock steady timing is legendary, and this is an ideal vehicle for her playing.
The Windchime Dance medley is a highlight for me, along with Indigo Sky. The album is delightfully bookended by two versions of Top Dog Goffo, both of which give the orchestra a perfect chance to let rip and go with the flow – to great effect. Special credit is due to the principle conductor, David Brophy, who is the glue in this particular flatpack of tunes, and has managed to corral this potentially incongruous partnership into a mean musical machine, to brilliant effect, although the real genius behind all this is, without any doubt, Sharon Shannon herself. Top marks from me.
Grem Devlin
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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 94 of The Living Tradition magazine. |