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LONDON LASSES AND PETE QUINN - By Night And By Day

LONDON LASSES AND PETE QUINN - By Night And By Day
Lo La Records LL005

The fourth album for this London based Irish band boasts a new line up – with Elma McElligot (flute) and Brona McVittie (vocals and harp) joining long-standing Lasses Karen Ryan (fiddle and mandola), Elaine Conwell (fiddle), Maureen Linane (accordion) and, of course, Pete Quinn (piano and keyboard).

Of the 13 tracks, four are songs, two of which are in Irish.  They are nicely sung with thoughtful arrangements – the harp and piano working tightly together to provide much of the accompaniment.  Brona sings a lovely version of Ballyronan Maid, and Paddy Tunney’s version of Bean An Ti, which has a jaunty feel.  There is a very endearing quality in her voice, in this song particularly, which grows with listening.

There is a nice mix here of jigs, reels, polkas, barndances etc, all of which are nicely paced and played to perfection.  The absence of a guitar makes the group sound quite different - at times they are reminiscent of bands like Liadan or Deanta, and at other times there is a definite céilí band feel.  Charlie Lennon’s Planxty Joe Burke is a cracker of a tune, played well.  And we are treated to a slowed down version of the Humours Of Ballyloughlin, usually done in D, but brought down to C to be played on a C flute, which transforms the sound, giving it a warmer feel.

They don’t let rip quite as much as I would like them to, it is all quite controlled - maybe that is part of their charm.  But there is an elegance in their playing that really draws the listener, and the whole album is really quite charming indeed.

Fiona Heywood

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This album was reviewed in Issue 86 of The Living Tradition magazine.