 Song's Sweet Caress (Hard Danger Records HDCD 001) |
Occasionally I come across a gem of a recording and I’m happy to say that “Song’s Sweet Caress” is just such a case. Mind you, it’s not surprising when it features one of my favourite musician’s. Christy O’Leary impressed me the first time I heard him in the Boys Of The Lough some years ago and his subsequent solo album was a blinder. Like that album, this is very much a case of the iron behind the velvet. Now based in Sweden he is to be found in company with guitarist and bouzouki player Bert Deivert. The thing that I like about this recording is that the vocals sound so right - perhaps bringing to mind the first time I heard Micheal O’Domhnaill performing in the Bothy Band. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to say their approach lacks balls, it doesn’t. It’s just that the whole process is taken at a reasonably leisurely pace and therefore you tend to pick up on every nuance. Thanks to some neat doubling up of the Uilleann pipes and whistles you get a really full sound and it is this attention to detail in the overall production that sets the duo apart. Not only is it obvious they enjoy the music, they enjoy the whole recording process - they must do to create music this good – and they’re not worried about crossing the boundaries by including Bert’s laid back jazz treatment of Robert Burn’s ‘The Slave’s Lament’. With the choice of material leaning heavy on the tradition including Christy’s sublime interpretation of ‘The Bonny Lighthorseman’ where the mandolin accompaniment by Paul Kelly adds a further touch of class trust me when I say you will come away from this album with a real glow. Top notch! The album can be obtained from www.copperplatedistribution.com |