The
London Lasses & Pete Quinn
Enchanted Lady
Lo La 004
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Track Listing 1. The Barr Road / John Naughton's / Sean Walsh's. Reels 2. My Ballingarry Lady. Waltz 3. Cailín Rua. Song 4. The Coming of Spring / Headwood Crossing / Sport. Jigs 5. Green Grow The Rushes / Kevin Coyne's. Reels 6. The Green Fields of Canada. Song 7. Lad O'Beirne's HP / Joe Madden's / Mick O'Connor's Choice. HP/Reels 8. The Mickey Dam. Song 9. Rocking The Cradle. Slow Air 10. Humours of Castlefin/ Eileen O'Brien's/ The Enchanted Lady. Reels 11. The Maid from Maraclune. Song 12. A Smile From Síle / The Walls of Liscarrol l/ Langstrom's Pony. Jigs Click on underlined titles to hear MP3 sound samples
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We
are delighted to announce the release of this fine album.
The
London Lasses & Pete Quinn
Enchanted Lady
Lo La 004
The London Lasses are:
Elaine Conwell (fiddle)
Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle, mandola, banjo)
Maureen Linane (accordion)
Dee Havlin (flute, whistle)
Kathleen O'Sullivan (vocal)
Pete Quinn (piano, keyboard, bodhran)
Recorded at The Cowshed Recording Studio, London, 2006 Produced by John McCormack,
The London Lasses and Pete Quinn Engineered by John McCormack and Tim Burns
Mastered at Sound Recording Technology, Cambridge, by Gareth Williams
"The
London Lasses are back in bouncing form with even more excitement, enthusiasm
and energy than ever before-if that is possible. Their latest offering presents
well chosen material which juxtaposes old with new, slow with racy, song with
dance tunes from dreamy to overdrive.
The blend of instruments (and there are many) is a delight to the ear creating
an authentic traditional sound with a freshness that attracts and holds the
attention of the listener. A tasty use of backing as a strong support to musician
and singer completes the sumptuous meal.
For those who follow the group this latest CD will be a welcome addition to
their collection. To the newcomer
I simply say buy it now, taste it and discover just how good it is".
Charlie Lennon
The pride of London return with their finest to date. Another rousing set of
tunes finely played and a careful selection of songs all delivered with the
usual panash and polish. Music to rouse the dullest of hearts!
Copperplate
is very proud to have this title on our roster
Also available from Copperplate Mail Order:
LoLa001 London Lasses & Pete Quinn
LoLa 002 London Lasses & Pete Quinn: LoLa002 Track
Across The Deep
LoLa003 Kathleen Sullivan: LoLa003: Born On St Patrick's Day
Saturday 17 April, London Album launch of 'By Night and By Day' at Jerwood Hall,
LSO St Luke's, 161 Old Street, London EC1V 9NG www.lso.co.uk/lsostlukes 7pm
doors, Free Entry, book your free ticket at the box office 020 7738 8891
Friday 21 May, The Red Lion Hotel on Milford Street, Salisbury, SP1 2AN
Irish tour to launch 'By Night and By Day' with support by Conor Doherty http://www.myspace.com/conordoherty1
IRELAND LAUNCH TOUR
Friday 28 May, The Cobblestone, 77 King Street North, Dublin 7 www.myspace.com/thecobblestone
Saturday 29 May, The Mills
Inn, Ballyvourney, Macroom Co Cork www.millsinn.ie
Monday 31 May, St John's Theatre, The Square, Listowel, Co Kerry www.stjohnstheatrelistowel.com
Wednesday 2 June, The Crane,
Sea Road, Galway www.thecranebar.com
Thursday 3 June, Matt Molloy's, Bridge Street, Westport, Co. Mayo http://www.mattmolloy.com/pub_about.html
Friday 4 June, The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim www.theglenscentre.com
Friday 16th July: Ignite Series, Café Consort, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/ignite/winter.aspx
Thursday 22nd July: (Brona, Karen and Pete) Folk at the Royal Oak, Station Street, Lewes BN7 2DA http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/
July, Fiddler's Green Festival, Rostrevor, Co Down (date tbc)
August, Whitby Folk Week,
Yorkshire (date tbc) http://www.whitbyfolk.co.uk/
Further details on their own web site http://www.londonlasses.net/index.html
Press Reviews
'provides a well-balanced
helping of first-class Irish music' Alex Monaghan, Irish Music Magazine
'The sort of album to make anyone fall in love with Irish music' David Thorpe, The Irish Post
'They play with much finesse without missing the trick of generating the informality and excitement of pub sessions' Colin Randall, Daily Telegraph
'There's a grace and subtlety in their playing that few bands could match' Sarah McQuaid, Hotpress (Ireland)
'guaranteed to keep you riveted for the entire 55mins' www.irelandxposed.com
Kathleen OSullivan provides the lovely, warm vocals on all four songs...whilst the beautiful instrumental backings support the vocals well Dave Beeby, The Living Tradition
'Third album from
the Irish six-piece who play traditional music beautifully, unadulterated by
global influence or genre crossover'
BBC Radio 2, Folk & Acoustic website
'They bring fresh life and assured musicianship to the immortal Irish tradition' New Classics website
'Enchanted ladies
and gentlemen you will be, once this album reaches your weary little ears' Shelley
Marsden, The Irish World
The Living Tradition
You have to be careful if you do a Google search for London Lasses, so I
was glad for both the promotional material provided (always helpful to a reviewer)
and the search has a filter on it. London Lasses and Pete Quinn are back with
their third album (I think) of basically good quality Irish Traditional music
mixing the old with newer material most arranged by the band themselves. It
is these almost spontaneous-but carefully worked out- arrangements, which brings
the Enchanted Lady to life, and gives a freshness to the sound.
Let's deal with the songs first. Kathleen O'Sullivan provides the lovely, warm
vocals on all four songs, telling the story clearly, allowing the meaning to
come out, whilst the beautiful instrumental backings support the vocals well.
Excellent sleeve notes provide the listener with that extra bit of information
as well as the words. Incidentally this is an issue, which will have to be addressed
before downloading becomes popular with this reviewer as I like to know the
sort of info provided in this good quality CD booklet. But back to the Enchanted
Lady.
I think Maid from Maraclune shows the group's talents off at their best, and
you can tell Kathleen enjoys singing this, which is, interestingly, in waltz
time. My Ballingarry Lady is also a waltz written by John Whelan for his mother
and is again handled well by the band but my favourite tune is the slow air
Rocking the Cradle - it really does work as I felt myself drifting away before
being brought back to earth by the set of reels which follow. Fiddles mix with
accordion, banjo takes over from flute and behind it all is the keyboards-never
obtrusive though- of Pete Quinn.
Good clear production, engineering and recording also help to make this an enjoyable
album. They will be launching the CD at this year's Ceiliuradh an Earraigh in
Gurteen, Co Sligo in May. There seems to be no immediate tour- it's not on the
website - so if you want to hear The London Lasses and Pete Quinn then this
CD might be your only chance at the moment, unless they are on Eastenders again.
I recommend you take your chance.
Dave Beeby
The Irish World
You might already be big fans of The London Lasses. You may even have seen
Karen Ryan and company letting their hair down at The Return to Camden festival,
or witnessed their rip-roaring set at Glastonbury.
If so, you wont need any convincing about the musical prowess of their third album, Enchanted Lady. If youve been living in Outer Mongolia for the past six years and dont know of them, then youll have to trust me on this one.
One of the most talented, vital traditional groups to come out of the London-Irish music revival, The London Lasses are what they say they are, five women from London, all with Irish roots. Pete Quinn is the sole male in the lineup, providing sturdy and versatile piano backing. As their latest offering confirms, The London Lasses still offer their straight-down-the-line traditional music, no messing around.
But they stand out from the crowd because they play it with a modern touch.
Their vibrancy
of arrangement and the pure sonic energy of twin fiddles, flute and accordion
bring old tunes back to life, set off beautifully by the graceful, restrained
vocals of Kathleen OSullivan (hear Cailin Rua). Enchanted ladies and gentlemen
you will be, once this album reaches your weary little ears. Shelley
Marsden
The Telegraph
When need or ambition inspired the Irish to find new worlds, they took their
music with them. As a consequence, wherever folk music is played and sung in
the English-speaking world, recent emigrants or descendants of old ones are
to be found holding the fiddles, singing the maudlin ballads and belting out
the choruses.
The five-strong London Lasses, all but one of Irish background but not birth, belong to this tradition. Like the best of the transatlantic variety, exemplified by the exceptional Cherish the Ladies, they have built a reputation for standards of musicianship that sit nobly alongside those of the homespun bands.
With a token male, Pete Quinn, of Liverpool Irish stock, on piano, keyboards and the ubiquitous goatskin drum or bodhrán, they play with much finesse without missing the trick of generating the informality and excitement of pub sessions.
Dotted among the
reels, hornpipes and jigs are songs by Kathleen O'Sullivan with a texture that
occasionally recalls the Bothy Band's Triona Ni Dhomhnaill. Irish music in London
has moved on some way from the impassioned but raw, scratchy days of Paddy in
the Smoke. Colin Randall
Irish Music Magazine, July 07
Officially, this album is the third album by The London Lasses And Pete Quinn:
maybe they needed a token man, or they couldn't find a female keyboards player,
but either way this group of five Irish emigrées is backed by a boy who's
among the best in the business. Now we've sorted that out, I'll just call them
the London Lasses. In four songs and eight instrumentals, Enchanted Lady provides
a well-balanced helping of first-class Irish music. Lyrical reels like The Barr
Road and Green Grow the Rushes (from the Burns song), cracking jigs like The
Coming of Spring and Peadar Ó Ríada's Spóirt, together
with a sprinkling of slower tunes: all are delivered with depth and feeling.
The gutsy flute of Dee Havlin lashes into The Humours of Castlefin, Maureen
Linane's button box bleeds and sighs for My Ballingarry Lady and Rocking the
Cradle, and twin fiddling strikes sparks from The Walls of Liscarroll as Karen
Ryan and Elaine Conwell ply their bows. A touch of banjo, a touch of whistle,
and that man on the ivories supplies the foundation for a fabulous sound.
Kathleen O'Sullivan
kicks her heels for eight tracks, but gives us a good mix of songs in her four
solo spots. Cailín Rua is an old chestnut tastily roasted here. The Green
Fields of Canada is also well known, and gets a mammoth six-minute arrangement
from The London Lasses. The Mickey Dam and The Maid from Maraclune are less
familiar, but Kathleen's renditions make them memorable. Her voice is full of
fighting passion on The Mickey Dam, and there's a full showband arrangement
to back it up. The air from The Rocks of Bawn visits Maraclune for the usual
sad story of untrue love, from which Kathleen wrings every ounce of pathos.
The title track is not a song, nor another reference to Pete Quinn as I first
thought, but a striking brash and bubbly reel which nicely sums up this album.
Alex Monaghan
New Classics
Since
the release of their debut album in 2000, this acclaimed Irish six-piece have
appeared at some of the worlds most prestigious festivals and concert
halls (Cambridge Folk Festival, Glastonbury, Philadelphia Irish Festival). Widely
regarded as one of the finest acts on the traditional Irish/folk scene, the
group plays a mostly traditional repertoire that is reflected in this new album.
Enchanted Lady features a host of lively reels, bursting with life, along with
intricately arranged jigs and captivating songs. Highlights include Cailín
Rua (beautifully sung by Kathleen OSullivan), the plaintive Green Fields
Of Canada, the irresistible Hornpipe And Reels (Lad Obeirnes Hornpipe;
Joe Maddens; Mick Oconnors Choice), and the wistful Slow Air:
Rocking The Cradle (featuring Maureen Linane). The London Lasses are five London-based
women of Irish heritage: Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle, mandola, banjo), Elaine
Conwell (fiddle), Dee Havlin (flute, whistle), Maureen Linane (accordion), Kathleen
OSullivan (vocal). Together with pianist Pete Quinn they bring fresh life
and assured musicianship to the immortal Irish tradition. Look out too for the
groups previous albums: LONDON LASSES & PETE QUINN (LL001) and TRACK
ACROSS THE DEEP (LL002).
The Folk Diary
Here is another very fine collection from this very fine bunch of second generation
London Irish. They offer great variety amongst their seven sets
of tunes and four songs. The tunes are played in a fine ensemble manner with
the fiddle of Elaine Conwell and the punchy box playing of Maureen Linane to
the fore and a nice sense of pace in whatever rhythm they chose - and the firm
adventurous piano accompaniments from Pete are a great asset here. There is
a waltz, there are hornpipes, jigs and reels and a polka to round off one of
the songs which brings us to the inspiring voice of Kathleen O'Sullivan. Her
four songs also show versatility as she switches from the light and humorous
"Mickey Dam" to one of the most demanding of Irish songs in English,
"The Green Fields of Canada". Her singing is fine and balanced with
excellent diction and the emotional range to do justice to these very different
pieces. Vic Smith
Ireland Exposed
The London Lasses are presisely as their name suggests, five women of Irish
heritage living in London. The group, Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle), Elaine Conwell
(fiddle), Dee Havlin (flute, whistle), Maureen Linane (accordion), Kathleen
OíSullivan (vocal) and Pete Quinn (piano) have compiled this traditional
album. Thankfullythough it does not consist of the same tunes you so often hear
on the majority of trad albums.
Their sound will not appeal to everyone but nomatter who you are you will appreciate the extraordinary energy and vitality of the album. There is an incrediblearray of sounds from the reel, to a slow air and on to a gig. Its variety is guaranteed to keep you rivetted for the entire 55mins.
Each member of
the group gets a chance to shine and shine they do. This will leave you indeed
enchanted! It is thoroughly entertaining and a fresh approachto an old fashioned
style of music.