Track Listing: 1. Reels: The Singing Kettle / Sean Ryan's 2. Jigs: Michael Coleman's / The Rose of Lough Gill 3. Reels: The Sailor's Cravat / The Maple Leaf 4. Song: The Flower of Magherally-o 5. Hornpipe: The Groves (4 parts in the key of F) 6. Jigs: The Rambles of Kitty / Paddy Fahy's / Paddy Fahy's 7. Reels: The Humours of Tooma / The Wheels of the World 8. Polkas: The Peeler's Polka / Joe Bane's / Dick Tobin's 9. Song: The Generous Lover 10. Reels: Paddy Fahy's / Paddy Fahy's (in the keys of C & F) 11. Jigs: The Goat in the Garden / Sean Ryan's 12. Reels: McCollum's / The Gosling (composed by P. O'Brien, Offaly) 13. Song: The Shooting of Molly Bawn 14. Jigs: The Cat in the Corner / Paddy O'Brien's Ramble 15. Hornpipes: Murdoch Henderson / The Low Level 16. Reels: Bill McEvoy's / Paddy Fahy's 17. Reels: The Silver Spire / Sean Ryan's Click on underlined titles to hear MP3 sound bites

We are delighted to announce our release of this fine from a master of the accordion.

The Sailor's Cravat
WCM0001
Paddy O'Brien
with
Tom Schaefer: (Fiddle)
Paul Wehling: (bouzouki)
Erin Heart: (vocals)

Copperplate is pleased to announce the release of a tremendous new CD from one of the world's finest Irish musicians, the legendary- Paddy O'Brien.
Paddy and friends have delivered what can only be described as brilliant traditional Irish tunes in an album titled:''The Sailors Cravat" featuring Paddy on accordion,
Paul Wehling on bouzouki, Tom Schaefer on fiddle and Erin Hart on vocals.

Paddy O'Brien is regarded by serious players and collectors of Irish traditional music as one of the tradition's most important repositories; in a career that spans
nearly forty years, he has collected more than 3,000 compositions-jigs, reels, hornpipes, airs, and marches, including many rare and unusual tunes.

A product of County Offaly in the midlands of Ireland, Paddy traveled the countryside as a young man to spend time with older players, absorbing music and the accompanying oral tradition. His early influences came from many players he met in sessions, including Joe Delaney and Dan Cleary of Offaly, Donegal fiddler John Doherty, Paddy Fahy, Eddie Kelly from Galway, Frank McCollum of Antrim, Seán Ryan from Tipperary, and Johnny Henry from Mayo, among hosts of others.

In the 1950s and 60s in Ireland, the radio also played a large part in the stimulation of interest in traditional music; he listened diligently to programs like Céilí House, and A Job of Journeywork, produced by Ciarán MacMathúna.

His collection, all the more remarkable because it is stored in his head, is the result of many years of careful listening, diligent practice, and sharing tunes with people for the sake of the music itself.

The CD features 17 traditional jigs, reels and hornpipes arranged with the care and consideration that only Paddy could give them. Beautiful and heart warming tunes that will please anyone who loves Irish Music!

More info at www.paddyobrien.net

Press Reviews


Sing Out
Award-winning two-row button accordionist Paddy O'Brien, aside from being a much-admired virtuoso with a career spanning nearly four decades, is also a noted one-man repository of Irish traditional music, much of which was picked up from living masters during his travels. For the current outing, he has gathered tunes from a variety of sources, ranging from sprightly instrumental jigs, reels, polkas and hornpipes to unaccompanied sean-nos (ancient style) inflected vocal airs. He favors moderate tempos and lightly marked rhythms that allow the overly blithe melodies, most also graced by a melancholy tinge, to shine forth unimpeded. O'Brien is particularly well-partnered, with Tom Schaefer's weightless yet unfailingly precise fiddle alternately doubling, following, or discreetly augmenting the themes in response to his lead, while Paul Wehling's bouzouki provides them both with an ornate yet tastefully restrained launching pad. But Erin Hart's singing is another soft revelation. Her dusky, ripely female voice nimbly negotiates dauntingly complex airs, like "The Flower of Magherally-O" and "Molly Bawn Or The Shooting of His Dear," spinning out long-breathed ornamental phrases even as a formidable musical intelligence tells her when to leave well enough alone. - Christina Roden

Trad Magazine, France.
Paddy O’Brien is internationally recognized as a master of the diatonic accordion, but also as an authority on Irish music . A native of Co. Offaly but living many years in Minneapolis (USA), he surveyed his country from end to end, and dug up a host of old tunes. It is rumored that over his forty-year career, he has amassed nearly four thousand tunes. Joe Delaney, John Doherty, or Paddy Fahy are some of his sources of inspiration. A member of Chulrua and the Doon Ceili Band, he is back here with a new offering for us, “The Sailor’s Cravat.” Only this time, he chose American musicians, although the singer has Irish roots. Tom Schaefer (fiddle) and Paul Wehling (bouzouki) accompanying him on seventeen selections in the best vein of the tradition: reels, jigs, hornpipes and polkas interspersed with three beautiful songs performed by Erin Hart. We recognize her version of The Flower Magherally-o, borrowed from the repertoire of CathalMcConnell and Altan. There are also several reels by Paddy Fahy on fiddle and diatonic accordion which blend perfectly, as well as another piece found on Altan’s new album: The Wheels of the World. And to top it off, the recording features two airs from the hand of Paddy himself: The Gosling and Paddy O’Brien’s. Although this album was recorded in the United States with American musicians, it’s like the heart of the Emerald Isle. — Phillippe Cousin

Folkworld 46
Button accordionist Paddy O'Brien is a Jack of All Trades. Hailing from County Offaly in the midlands of Ireland, Paddy first played in public with céilí bands and in sessions. In 1978, Paddy came to the US to record an album with fiddler James Kelly and guitarist Dáithí Sproule (see review below). Paddy settled in Minneapolis in the mid-1980s. He currently tours and records with Irish traditional trio Chulrua,[35] and The Doon Céilí Band.[33] In a career that spans nearly forty years, he has accumulated some 4,000 compositions, stored entirely in his head. The "Paddy O’Brien Tune Collection Vol. 2", which includes 500 tunes, has been released in 2011.
This time he teamed up with fiddler Tom Schaefer and bouzouki player Paul Wehling, though it is essentially an accordion album. The trio plays the jigs and reels, including the one who gave the album title, the "Sailor's Cravat" reel, an old tune you can already find in O'Neill's tune collection. He relies heavily on tunes by fiddlers Paddy Fahy and Sean Ryan, with the latter he toured way back in the 1960s, some tunes have never been recorded before or even heard publically. Thrown in for good or whatever measure are two sets of hornpipes, a set of polkas and three a capella songs sung by Paddy's wife Erin Hart: the well-known "Flower of Magherally" and "Molly Bawn," the story of the latter being a good choice for this crime writer. Off the beaten track is the "Generous Lover," I only heard once in my life on "The Leitrim Equation" album. © Walkin' T:-)M


Irish Music Magazine August 11
Not to be confused with his namesake from Tipperary, Paddy O'Brien from Offaly is a button box player with a long and varied musical career. After playing with Dublin's famous Castle Ceili Band, he fell in with John Kelly Jnr and Daithi Sproule for a while, recording a couple of albums with them, before settling in America. As the box player with Chulrua, Paddy has toured widely in the USA and beyond. On this album, he's joined by Mid West musicians Tom Schaefer on fiddle, Paul Wehling on the ever popular bouzouki, and Erin Hart who sings 3 songs here. Squeezing 17 tracks under 50 minutes, Paddy mostly pairs up the tunes. He's chosen a number of Paddy Fahy's and Sean Ryan's compositions, better known as fiddle tunes, but given a great workout on the button box. The pair of Fahy reels is a fine example, box and fiddle working as one. Unusual tunes abound here; The title reel is closely related to The Humours of Ballyconnell, as well as The Maple Leaf, The Rose of Lough Gill, The Goat in the Garden and three pugnacious polkas Paddy picked up in America. Along with a few familar favourites, Paddy adds two of his own compositions; a quirky little jig, and a Fahy style reel called The Gosling.
Erin Hart is an American with Irish roots, and happens to be married to Paddy. She sings three unaccompanied ballads with a strong voice and stateside acccent. The Flower of Magherally O and Molly Bawn are well known, The Generous Lover less so, and all three come from the canon of 19th century Irish minstrelsy. Despite occasional florid language, these are dark songs in tone and content; forbidden love, death, betrayal, all th efun of the ballad tradition - and Erin's crime novels, for that matter. Alex Monaghan


www.liveireland.com
The Sailor’s Cravat is next from the legendary Paddy O’Brien. Paddy is well-known and loved as being not only a tremendous button box player, but also as a human jukebox. The rumors as to how many tunes he carries in his head and can play instantly, range up to 1,000 and more. That’s right, Buck-o. 1,000. A lovely guy now living in Minnesota and a massive fan of the Minnesota Twins baseball team, Paddy is one of the most well-regarded musicians and fountainheads of Irish music in the business. Years ago we did an article on him for Irish Music Magazine and it just gets better and better. He is joined on this album by Tom Schaefer on fiddle, Paul Wheling on bouzouki, and Erin Hart doing some lovely vocals. (Erin Hart is a terrific singer and one to watch in the future.) There are 17 cuts on this album, and every one is tasty. Our pal, Mary Caraway, is the co-host of A Feast of Irish Folk, Chicago’s best traditional Irish music radio program. Along with radio partner Erik Carlson she is a massive fan of Paddy and his music. She gave us the head’s up on this album raving, “It’s incredible!” She is right. It is a winner. There are certain artists from whom we just come to expect excellence, and Paddy O’Brien is one of them. Great stuff. Bill Margeson