Track Listing. 1. The Bag of Spuds / The Copperplate 2. Tom Billy's Jigs 3. Billy in the Lowground 4. No Place Like Home ( Gerry O'Connor) 5. Thomond Bridge / Sean Ryan's 6. Paddy O'Brien Selection 7. Colonel Fraser 8. Banish Misfortune / The Trip to Killarney 9. Brendan Regan's Reels 10. Ruby's Birthday ( Gerry O'Connor) 11. Really Green Reel ( Gerry O'Connor) Click on underscored titles to hear MP3 sound samples and see You Tube selections.

We are delighted to announce our release of this classic recording.

No Place Like Home
Gerry O'Connor
on
Banjo & Fiddle.

with
Brendan O'Regan - Bouzouki/Mandolin/Guitar.
Tommy Hayes - Bodhran and Percussion.
Damien Evans - Bass.

The Irish Times named No Place Like Home the Number 1 Traditional/Folk album of the year 2004!

"Even if Earl Scruggs and Bela Fleck switched from 5 string to 4 string banjo, I'm still not sure they could ever match the magic og Gerry O'Connor on the instrument". Earle Hitchner, The Wall Street Journal & Irish Echo

Voted #6 in Irish Echo's Top 10 of 2004

O'Connor is without doubt Ireland's leading exponent of the tenor banjo, Pay The Reckoning.com

Home is where the heart is and the heart of Gerry O'Connor's music lies in County Tipperary. Born and raised in Garrykennedy. he is a triple-threat instrumentalist (fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo) who got his first exposure to music from his father. Liam, a fiddler originally from Kerry and a member of the Ormond Ceili Band led by legendary Newtown button accordionist, Paddy O'Brien.

On this aptly titled "No Place Like Home." his third solo album ("Time to Time" in 1991 was his first, and "Myriad" in 1998 was his second).
Gerry honours the music of his home county on successive tracks, The first is "Thomond Bridge/The Cuckoo's First Call," with the latter tune coming from the great Newtown fiddler-composer Sean Ryan.
The second is a medley of reels, "Iniscealtra/Town Teine/Ormond Sound," all written by Paddy O'Brien. In addition. Gerry pays homage to his father's native county by performing "Trip to Killarney" and "Tom Billy's." named after the blind Sliabh Luachra fiddler Tom Billy Murphy.

Those tunes and others such as "The Bag of Spuds/The Copper Plate." two peels he learned in sessions at the Barge Inn in Garrykennedy. peppesent both musical milestones and biogpaphical touchstones for Gerry. They summon up memories of places and people that shaped his approach to the music heard here. "I tried to
play within myself and focus on tempo." he explained. "I hope listeners will discover more atmosphere than technique on this album."
Even in full service to that atmosphere. his technique is formidable
especially on four-string banjo, which he plays with unsurpassed brilliance. Gerry took informal banjo lessons from Limerick's Larry Ryan who used the same tuning he did C-G-D-A. He also absorbed some of the style and music, including "Colonel Fraser" off Clare tenor banjoist Kieran Hanrahan. Another early influence on Gerry's banjo playing came courtesy of American television: the soundtrack to "The Beverly Hillbillies" series broadcast in Ireland during the
1970s. "That music really captivated me." he said, citing Earl Scruggs's "zippy, high, cross-picking" prowess on five-string banjo.
Some of that American bluegrass flavor certainly seeps into Gerry's tenor banjo picking on "Billy in the Lowground/The Temperance Reel."


He learned me first tune off the Kentucky Colonels' classic bluegrass album of 1964. "Appalachian Swing." featuring the innovative guitar playing of Clarence White, while the second tune. a bluegrass and old-timey standard, is better known in the Irish music tradition as "The Teetotaler."

Over the years the skill and soulfulness of Gerry's playing have distinguished several bands: Tipsy Sailor, Wild Geese, Arcady, and Four Men and a Dog (1993-present). He's also worked with the Waterboys. Luka Bloom, Chris Rea, Bonnie Tyler, Moya Brennan, and THE Band's Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson.

This superb solo album, which includes a beautiful banjo solo on the lullaby-like "Ruby's Birthday." one of three melodies he wrote, will only add luster to Gerry O'Connor's growing global reputation. It proves there's no place like home-and no talent quite like his. Earle Hitchner, The Wall Street Journal & Irish Echo

Press Reaction

The Stillwater Times Reviews Star Rating: ****

This is another traditional Folk album from Ireland that once again showcases the depth of talent that exists in the Emerald Isle. Gerry O'Connor is a master craftsman when it comes to playing the banjo, his music is highly infectious and with the assistance of Brendan O'Regan, Tommy Hayes & Damien Evans, "No Place like Home" has fast become an instant classic of the genre…

· The CD is a collection of reels, hornpipes and jigs ~ exactly what you'd expect from an Irish traditional album. What sets this recording apart from other similar outings is Gerry's superlative banjo work which is at times unbelievably complex, but at the same time tuneful ~ the melody is never lost and this I feel is the hallmark of any great musician…

· It's fair to say that there isn't a wasted track on the album ~ personal favourites being the title track which is based on a repeated banjo figure and "Brendan O'Regan's Reels" which features some fine fiddle work from the maestro. The rhythm section of Tommy Hayes' bodhran and Damien Evans' bass fits in superbly with Gerry's banjo playing as the duo drive the tunes along. Special mention too for Brendan O'Regan's inventive bouzouki, mandolin and guitar work which adds extra colour and depth to proceedings…

· I have to admit to liking this album instantly. It usually takes several listens to get to the heart of any recording but I found myself humming along to the various tunes and melodies the first time I put "No Place Like Home" in the CD player. That's not to infer that the album lacks depth, as you listen for a second, third and fourth time you discover more and more layers of sound beneath Gerry's exemplary banjo work. A truly classic album that comes highly recommended… "No Place Like Home" was reviewed by Dave

The Irish Post 27.08.05
COPPERPLATE continue their well-regarded series of releases with the latest from Gerry 'Banjo' O'Connor.

Gerry is renowned as one of Ireland's best fiddlers. And he also plays the banjo, not surprisingly. No Place Like Home contains 11 tracks -
with just three new compositions and the rest being traditional material.

It's a pure celebration of Irish music with Gerry again demonstrating just what a virtuoso he is on both banjo and fiddle.

It's a different beast from previous release Myriad - being more pared down and raw. But it can't fail to win you over. Jon Myles

Folk World Web Site
We're talking world-class banjo here, but without the World Music feel. Gerry's third album harks back to his Time To Time debut, taking Irish session tunes to their virtuoso limit. The line-up is pared down to old stalwarts Tommy Hayes on drum, Brendan O'Regan on bouzouki, and Damien Evans on bass. Gerry does the honours on banjo and fiddle: for a banjo-player, he's a great fiddler. There are three of his own compositions on No Place Like Home, but the eight other tracks are almost entirely traditional material. This is a very different beast from Myriad, Gerry's second album, which was more about his own compositions and pushing the banjo envelope: No Place Like Home celebrates Irish music, and the mind-bogglingly brilliant playing is almost a by-product.
Lowlights are non-existent on this album. The Bag of Spuds is worth its weight in gold, and The Copper Plate also enjoys Gerry's Midas touch. Tom Billy's Jigs are a pair of absolute gems: you won't hear better. Thomond Bridge Hornpipe starts a selection of Tipperary tunes, justifying the album title and bringing Gerry's fiddle to the fore. The showpiece Colonel Frazer is taken at a very leisured pace, leaving plenty of room for expression, even on a banjo: this is one of my favourite tracks.
Alright, so there's a bit of African rhythm and Latin flair thrown in here and there. And there's a fair helping of American Old-Time: but most of that's just stripped-down Irish anyway. The Old-Time standard Billy in the Low Ground is a simple beauty, followed by some flawless picking on the American cousin of The Teatotaller. The title track is another of Gerry's Bluegrass-tinged tunes, with the electric bouzouki wailing away like the coyotes in the Texas desert. The jigs Banish Misfortune and Trip to Killarney could have been cloned from the Connaughtman's Rambles set on Time To Time: they have the same strong beat and Eastern swing, but the rest of No Place Like Home is much closer to Ireland. Track 9 is a trio of reels which all appear to be O'Regan compositions: the melodies are totally trad, but the arrangement rocks. Banjo don't get no funkier. Two more top-flight O'Connor tunes finish the CD: a sensuous slow drag called Ruby's Birthday, and the pulsating powerhouse Really Green Reel.
Any recording by Gerry "banj" O'Connor is worth hearing. This one is worth hearing again and again. Treasure it, but don't hoard it: let your friends hear it too. Anyone who doesn't want a copy of this CD is either insane or deaf. If they're deaf and they play banjo, give them two. Available on prescription. Alex Monaghan

TAPLAS, The Welsh Folk Magazine Aug / Sept.05 Adolygiadau / Reviews.

IT'S a good job people, particularly editors, take it with a pinch of salt when you declare you hate something - like the banjo, for example!

God, this guy's good - not the other Gerry O'Connor, of course, who was playing fiddle all over the April/May issue of Tap/as, but Gerry "banjo" O'Connor of 4 Men and a Dog, although this Gerry does his own fiddle here too.

It's all a bit confusing, but stick with it. In fact, suck like glue to it. We have here three of Gerry's own compositions, but the rest of the material mostly takes Irish session tunes to their virtuoso limit.

There's fantastic support from Brendan O'Regan (ubiquitous composer/ producer) on bouzouki, Damien Evans on bass and Tommy Haves on drum.
All also stupendously brilliant.

If you need a banjo CD in your collection, make this the one. Caroline John

paythereckoning.com
As the title suggests, this album marks a return to his roots for Gerry "Banjo" O'Connor, following his recent more experimental forays into other musical forms. His peregrinations appear only to have whetted his appetite for the oul' stock as the opening track, The Bag of Spuds/The Copperplate, is a blue riband example of fiercely ornamented pure drop playing and sets the tone for the remainder of the CD.
O'Connor is without doubt Ireland's leading exponent of the tenor banjo. If Barney McKenna is Ireland's answer to Earl Scruggs - i.e. both represent the first great popularisers of the banjo within Irish and American old-timey/bluegrass respectively, then O'Connor is Ireland's answer to Bela Fleck - i.e. the musician from the next generation who based his music on the foundations established by the past masters, but took the music further into unbroken ground, creating a personal musical universe out of imagination, instinct and peerless technique.
Having blazed trails into virgin territory, O'Connor's latest musical adventures are centred on the music of his native Tipperary and hence the album's dedication to Paddy O'Brien, Sean Ryan and Tom Billy Murphy. The result is proof that there's as much good music in O'Connor's own back yard than in the whole wide world.
We mentioned technique earlier. O'Connor's technique has been much-analysed - even by himself in a number of tutorial CDs and DVDs. O'Connor allies stock-in-trade Irish banjo adornments - picked triplets, etc. - to techniques from the five-string world - cross-picking, playing in high positions, etc. In the process he has opened up a new range of expressive potential. Yet while he has mastered this mesmeric fusion of techniques, he's content to give the music room to stand on its own; notably on a few occasions he lets single notes ring out on the third part of "Banish Misfortune" where the temptation of many a lesser player would be to crowd the phrases in question with ornaments.
On "No Place Like Home" O'Connor proves yet again that when it comes to the tenor banjo, he's in a class of his own. There are other young turks who promise to take the banjo off on other tangents and create their own unique musical visions. However when the history of the Irish banjo is written, O'Connor will surely warrant a chapter to himself as the first great innovator.
O'Connor is joined by Brendan O'Regan (bouzouki, mandolin, guitar), Tommy Hayes (bodhran, percussion) and Damien Evans (bass). Together the four musicians box and coax like exhibition prizefighters; the sound is tight and cleanly arranged, yet brimming with the infectious sense of danger and fun that comes from the spontaneous instincts of players at the top of their tree.

.Irishmusicreview.com
No Place Like Home still reveals a tantalising talent forging his own paths regardless. Geoff Wallis

The Wall Street Journal & Irish Echo

(6) NO PLACE LIKE HOME, by Gerry O'Connor.

Born in Garrykennedy, Tipperary, and now living in Dublin, Gerry O'Connor took a little flak last year over what some thought was an over-the-top comment made by me for the back of this album: "Even if Earl Scruggs and Béla Fleck switched from five-string to four-string banjo, I'm still not sure they could ever match the magic of Gerry O'Connor on the instrument." I stand by that assertion, and here's
the proof: a magnificent third solo CD (O'Connor's "Time to Time" came out in 1991, "Myriad" in 1998) from the best tenor banjoist ever to play Irish traditional music. Possessed of a towering technique, O'Connor slightly downplays the dazzle on banjo in order to heighten more the innate beauty of the melodies, including three he composed.
Nevertheless, his picking remains potent and precise. "Iniscealtra/Town Teine/Ormond Sound," reels written by his former mentor, legendary Tipperary button accordionist Paddy O'Brien, display O'Connor's unique gift for exquisite detail and inventive ornamentation. And his down-in-the-holler renditions of "Billy in the Lowground/The Temperance Reel," where he adds his fiddle to the second tune, would give any bluegrasser a run for his money. Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo


The Living Tradition Nov/Dec 04
We're talking world-class banjo here, but without the World Music feel. Gerry's third album harks back to his Time To Time debut, taking Irish session tunes to their virtuoso limit. The line-up is pared down to old stalwarts Tommy Hayes on drum, Brendan O'Regan on bouzouki, and Damien Evans on bass. Gerry does the honours on banjo and fiddle: for a banjo-player, he's a great fiddler. There are three of his own compositions on No Place Like Home, but the eight other tracks are almost entirely traditional material. This is a very different beast from Myriad, Gerry's second album, which was more about his own compositions and pushing the banjo envelope: No Place Like Home celebrates Irish music, and the mind-bogglingly brilliant playing is almost a by-product.

Lowlights are non-existent on this album. The Bag of Spuds is worth its weight in gold, and The Copper Plate also enjoys Gerry's Midas touch. Tom Billy's Jigs are a pair of absolute gems: you won't hear better. Thomond Bridge Hornpipe starts a selection of Tipperary tunes, justifying the album title and bringing Gerry's fiddle to the fore. The showpiece Colonel Frazer is taken at a very leisured pace, leaving plenty of room for expression, even on a banjo: this is one of my favourite tracks.

Alright, so there's a bit of African rhythm and Latin flair thrown in here and there. And there's a fair helping of American Old-Time: but most of that's just stripped-down Irish anyway. The Old-Time standard Billy in the Low Ground is a simple beauty, followed by some flawless picking on the American cousin of The Teatotaller. The title track is another of Gerry's Bluegrass-tinged tunes, with the electric bouzouki wailing away like the coyotes in the Texas desert. The jigs Banish Misfortune and Trip to Killarney could have been cloned from the Connaughtman's Rambles set on Time To Time: they have the same strong beat and Eastern swing, but the rest of No Place Like Home is much closer to Ireland. Track 9 is a trio of reels which all appear to be O'Regan compositions: the melodies are totally trad, but the arrangement rocks. Banjo don't get no funkier. Two more top-flight O'Connor tunes finish the CD: a sensuous slow drag called Ruby's Birthday, and the pulsating powerhouse Really Green Reel.

Any recording by Gerry "banj" O'Connor is worth hearing. This one is worth hearing again and again. Treasure it, but don't hoard it: let your friends hear it too. Anyone who doesn't want a copy of this CD is either insane or deaf. If they're deaf and they play banjo, give them two. Available on prescription. Alex Monaghan