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Eamonn Cotter – Traditional Irish Music From County Clare
- Mary O’Neills/ Sean Sa Cheo
- The Old Grey Goose
- The Stoney Steps/ Sunshine Hornpipe
- The Cottage in the Grove/ The Ladies Pantalettes
- Easter Snow
- Lady Gordon / Lord Gordon
- I Buried My Wife/ Paddy Fahy’s Jig
- Bridie’s Joy/ The Widows Daughter
- Galway Bay/ The Acrobat’s Hornpipe
- Bruach na Carraige Baine
- The Wind That Shakes The Barley/ Sailing Into Walpole’s Marsh
- Bimid ag Ol/ The Gallowglass/ Biddy the Bold Wife
- Thomond Bridge/ The Souvenir
- The Mountain Top/ Ormond Sound/ The Dogs Among the Bushes
Press Reviews
Folk Roots
From County Clare comes as, complete a flautist, as you’re likely to hear in the shape of Eamonn Cotter. He is probably best known as the flute player with the band Shaskeen, which he joined in 89, and after several recordings with the band, this is his first solo album. All the tracks are traditional and include such favourites as The Sunshine Hornpipe, The Acrobat and The Souvenir. Personal standout tracks, however are the slow airs Easter Snows and Bruach na Carraige Baine. If you are apprehensive about listening to a whole album of flute music: don’t be. This is a delightful album of traditional Irish music with no gimmicks, played by a master of his craft. Alan Brown
Irish Music Magazine
When listening to his debut solo album the Clare style is especially noticeable on Mary O’Neill’s and The Stoney Steps. Easter Snows highlights his slow air playing, a seldom exposed item in the repertoire. Eamonn himself breathes magic into every flurry and quaver and his tasteful playing makes this CD a feast of riches to be sampled again and again. John O’Regan
Folk Roots
Eamonn Cotter is a musician well steeped in the music of his native County Clare . His crisp flute playing has lift and drive, yet he can play an air with all the grace and care they need. A nice selection of reels. Jigs, hornpipes and slow airs makes for some very enjoyable listening and should be an inspiration for up-and-coming fluters. Joe Crane
The Irish Times
Eamonn Cotter will be best known as a member of Shaskeen and shows himself here to be a solo flute player of the highest order. One of Cotter’s many talents is to sensitively exploit the mood of a particular tune, memorably on the reels, Lady Gordon’s/Lord Gordon’s and on two very different airs, Easter Snows, mellow and impeccably phrased and Bruach na Carraige Baine, reedy and plaintive. Nuala O’Connor
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Eilis Kennedy – Time to Sail
Press Reviews
Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2 presenter 18.9.02
I think this is one of my albums of the year so far, because it’s got some of the finest versions I’ve ever heard of Crazy Man Michael, Lord Franklin and the Nic Jones song, Canadeeio. I want to play now what I think bar Sandy Denny’s version of Who Know Where The Time Goes. I think this is 100% gold.
BBC Radio 2 Folk Web Site
Kerry-born Éilís (say Aylish) Kennedy comes of an Irish family where both music and the Gaelic language were part of everyday life, a happy fact reflected in this debut album. Time To Sail was recorded in her home town of Dingle and features, apart from her own pure, natural voice, a ton of top Irish artists including Máire Breathnach (fiddle, viola), William Coulter (guitar), Virginia McKee (clarinet), Bruce Abraham (slide guitar) and Séamus Begley (vocal).
Subtle and lush arrangements woven around traditional songs in two languages are the order of the day. Most of the ten tracks have been round the block many a time but Kennedy reworks them with a freshness that belies any qualms of pastiche. The Factory Girl, bouncing along on Gregg Sheehan’s funky percussion, dives into two slide guitar and kalimba-drenched barn dances; gorgeous layers of cello and clarinet drive away any echoes of Sandy Denny in Crazy Man Michael and Who Knows Where The Time Goes; Black is the Colour’s characterful phrasing and spooky slide guitar/woodwind soundscape prevents it neatly from stepping on Cara Dillon’s justly acclaimed version. Of the less familiar material, two Gaelic songs in particular tug the heartstrings – Amhrán na Leabhar (The Song Of Books), an 18th century poet’s lament for the loss of a boatload of beloved books to the sea and a song of loves’ tribulations, Tá Mé ‘mo Shuí.
Whatever it is, that indefinable quality that raises one singer above the many in these days of talent glut, Éilís has it. A great debut from a major new talent, Time To Sail is making big waves on both sides of the pond. Let’s hope some UK gigs are in the offing – I hear she’s really stunning live. Mel McClellan – November 2002
Live Ireland Web Site Nov 02
What a discovery Eilis Kennedy is! We have been stunned by her debut album, Time To Sail.
Eilis lives in Dingle, Co. Kerry and runs a music bar with her husband John. Also a high school teacher, Eilis is currently on a career break. We are the lucky ones.
This album showcases a major new voice in Irish traditional music. Some of the country’s best musicians have gathered around to appear on this album. The guest list includes the likes of Maire Breathnach, William Coulter, Seamus Begley, and Bruce Abraham on a great slide guitar.
There are more. Here’s the point. This woman can sing. Really sing! A lot of the female voices currently heard in Irish music are very similar, and they must be listened to closely to hear any difference. The great ones–Triona and Maighread ni Dhomnaill, Cathie Ryan, Maranna Mc Closkey and Fionola o’ Sciochru can be identified by voice in a storm! Different. Clear. Strong.
And, now, we add Eilis Kennedy to that very special list. This is a wonderfully produced album, with a really striking cover. Lovely. Also on offer here is the definitive version of “Franklin”, the song about the 19th century explorer, Lord John Franklin, lost in a polar expedition in 1845. We heard Altan and others do this, but Eilis’ version stopped us dead in our tracks.
A gob- smacking stunner. Great other tunes–uptempo, ballads, airs, a really lovely mix. Get your mitts on this one! and be prepared to listen and fall in love.
This is an incredible new talent on the international scene following recent tours with William Coulter. WOW! Bill Margeson
Pay The Reckoning Web Site Review
A major new talent emerges!
Kennedy’s debut is a thoughtful, intelligent and well-balanced collection of songs (and the odd tune), delivered by a singer whose control, phrasing and ability to communicate are a delight and whose backing musicians provide tasteful and sympathetic arrangements which complement her approach perfectly.
Kennedy evidently has an affection for the material which emanated from the folk revival in England in the 60s and 70s, as four of the tracks on offer attest. Her version of Sandy Denny’s often-covered “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” in our opinion manages to surpass the fragile beauty of the original. Her rendition of “Crazy Man Michael”, another song which will be forever associated with Denny from her performance on Fairport Convention’s “Liege and Lief”, is yet another case in point.
However Denny is not the only troubadour of that era to inspire Kennedy. She manages to knock us for six with a poignant reading of the classic “Canadeeio” (which puts the versions by both Nic Jones and Bob Dylan in the shade). And still she finds time to resurrect, dust down and polish to a high lustre “Lord Franklin” – a song which John Renbourn and Jacqui McShee placed their stamp on many years ago.
Elsewhere you’ll find yourself tapping your foot along to the sparse (but dramatic!) “Factory Girls” – a nod to the song tradition “across the pond”. And you’ll be captivated by the Australian song “Andy’s Gone”.
Her version of “Black Is The Colour” invites comparisons to the recent revival of the song by Cara Dillon. The critics went wild over Dillon’s rendition on its release. However they hadn’t heard Kennedy at that stage and we respectfully suggest that anyone who rates highly Dillon’s reading of the song ought to give Kennedy a listen. Perhaps they’ll agree with us that Kennedy’s version is a much more characterful rendition.
Three songs in Irish complete the set. “Nead na Lachan” is a jaunty jig which serves as a great introduction to the album. “Amhran na Leabhar” and “Ta Me ‘Mo Shui” on the other hand are much more complex and moving numbers which show off Kennedy’s voice to great effect.
A mighty album, then! One which will find its way to your CD player time after time and whose nuances and subtleties will become more revealed on each playing.
Net Rhythms Web Site
I know next to nothing about Éilís, aside from the facts that she hails from Dingle in County Kerry and that Time To Sail is, astonishingly, her début album. It is a very fine collection, mixing traditional and contemporary material in a thoroughly engaging manner and with an equal affinity for either category of song.
Admittedly, the track-list contains some over-familiar titles — Lord Franklin, Black Is The Colour, Canadee-I-O and two associated with Sandy Denny (Who Knows Where The Time Goes?, Crazy Man Michael) — but it’s to Éilís’s credit that her versions of the vast majority of these turn out to be among the finest available (notwithstanding my personal hobby-horse about some spurious words in CMM); and I’d even rate Éilís’s version of Black Is The Colour (which closes the album in fine style) above Cara Dillon’s then-matchless reading of only a year or so ago.
Éilís is an exciting singer, who is clearly inspired by the texts she sings. She has a real flair for communicating expressively but not over-ornately, and possesses an enviable control of phrasing and dynamics. Her degree of accomplishment is uniformly impressive, on slower and faster material alike — her lightness and vocal control on the jig-paced opener Nead Na Lachan and the energetic Factory Girls contrasts well with the emotional impact of the Henry Lawson setting Andy’s GoneA-Droving, forinstance.
All of which makes it all the more surprising that her name was not previously known to me. She manages to be both moving and tasteful in her interpretations, and to this end she is aided considerably by her choice of supporting tone colours and accompanying musicians, which includes Máire Breathnach (fiddle), Virginia McKee (clarinet), William Coulter (guitar), Barry Phillips (cello) and Bruce Abraham (slide guitar).
This is a superb album, with a well-defined character and a stamp of real lasting quality, and a credit to all concerned. David Kidman
Folk Roots Magazine
Eilis Kennedy from Dingle Co Kerry is a quietly growing presence on Irish singing circles. Her debut album Time To Sail unveils a massively underrated vocal talent with a quiet mastery of her craft. Her voice is a thing of gentle sublime beauty, the like for which mothers would be sold and kings ransoms exchanged.. Her sweet, clear, and flowing tones make short work of demanding songs in both English and Gaelic. The material chosen includes some demanding songs from traditional epics Amhrán Na Leabhair and Ta Mé Mo Shuí, Canadee I O and Lord Franklin both hallowed pages from the Nic Jones and Martin Carthy songbook and Sandy Dennys seminal Who Knows where The Time Goes. While some of these approach standard status , Eilis not only handles these songs with care but also infuses them with a fresh buoyancy and relevance. . Two classic examples are Who Knows Where The Time Goes, a hard choice baring in mind the mighty shots Sandy, Judy Collins and Mary Black have had at this simple yet sublime allegory to Trevor Lucas. With William Coulters steel string guitar and Barry Phillips mournful cello, Eilis supple voice exhibits a steely yet reserved emotional strength. Likewise, Ta Mé Mo Shuí is equally minimalist in approach with her vocal performance shining in the quiet majesty of comfortable songs and arrangement. Its not all heavy weather though as Nead Na Lachain skips merrily along on waves of enthusiasm and a feisty percussive treatment of The Factory Girl mixes afro-American idioms with Irish vocal nous. Exhibiting a sense of restraint and care she brings a freshness to her performances suggesting comparisons with Kate Rusby, Bill Jones or closer to home Mary Black or Cara Dillon. Time To Sail is a work of gentle yet firm vocal majesty and adroit choice of material a sweetly beguiling affair the like of which falling in love with is not only just possible but inevitable.
The Irish Times December 2001
Without a lick of paint or a blast of fanfare, Eilis Kennedy ( one time member of the Melting Pot from Baile na nGall) has released a spectacular solo debut. Kennedy, a singer whose vocals need neither searchlight nor scaffolding to bore holes into the soul, belongs to a select company of singers (alongside Karan Casey and Virginia Rodriguez) possessd of the finesse of a seamstress and the precision of a neurosurgeon. Tá Mé ‘Mo Shuí straddles the folk/trad divide effortlessly, Kennedy’s guileless vocals hammocked by Barry Phillips’ perfectly-judged cello. Her re-working of The Factory Girl , funkily imbued with a new-found hip-swivelling optimism, gels startlingly with a pair of barndances that lift and seperate the sentiment and rhythms as though they were genetically engineered for one another. A magnificent collection. “. Siobhán Long, The Irish Times
Irish Music Magazine
Every once in a while, an album comes along which heralds a potentially, major yet underrated vocal talent. My first exposition to Eilis Kennedy and her debut album Time To Sail was through hearing Nead na Lachan sail through the radio waves, her clear sparkling voice and a clever arrangement made me want to checked out this Dingle based native. Now having listened to Time To Sail several times, my thoughts are unchanged Eilis Kennedy is an untapped major vocal talent waiting for the moment to shine. Why? For starters, she has a soft yet lyrical voice, which clearly sails through the albums ten, tracks and is equally at home with traditional and contemporary material. Some of the latter chosen is quite daunting including Sandy Dennys classic Who Knows where the Time Goes, Fairport Conventions Crazy Man Michael and Nic Jones s Canadee -i-o.
In the case of Who Knows where the Time Goes where lesser hands would have made a histrionic meal, Eilis interprets Sandy Dennys wistful allegory to her then lover Trevor Lucas with a quietly impressive authority and Canadee -i-o emerges as a fresh delightful performance. Where Eilis Kennedy scores is in the subtle arrangements framing her sparkling vocal chords and a tasteful choice in material. Time To Sails success is due to taste on all fronts- a gorgeous record no more no less.
Hot Press
Currently on furlough from a teaching career, this fine singer has taken her time in releasing her debut album. It has been quite a while in the planning, but is well worth the wait. An engaging mix of the traditional and comtemporary, it showcases to strong effect a warm voice and also a talent for picking damn good songs. The opening track Nead Na Lachan sets the tone; bouncy and full of movement, it demonstrates an easy relationship to rhythm. The real test of an album such as this
£14.99 -
John Regan & Paddy Glackin – Let Down the Blade
The Golden Keyboard / The Bellharbour Reel
The Maid at the Spinning Wheel / A Visit to Ireland
The Queen of the Fairies / Victoria Hornpipes
The Flax in Bloom / Colonel Rodney
The Tailor’s Twist / The Friendly Visit
Billy McCormack’s / The Ship in Full Sail
The Greencastle Hornpipe / The Kildare Fancy
The Maid at the Well / The Knocknagow Jig
Tom Ward’s Downfall / The Piper’s Despair
The Road to Ballymac / The Policeman’s Request
Sliabh Russell / Bimis ag Ol
Spillane the Fiddler / President Garfield
Scotch Mary / Farewell to London
Buttermilk Mary / The Knights of St Patrick
James F. Dickie / Drops of Brandy
The Laurel Bush / The Sligo Lasses
The Waltz from “Coppelia”
Mulqueeney’s Hornpipe
Miss Langton’s / The Copperplate
Press Reviews
Folk Roots Aug/Sept 2000
John Regan is a north Sligo button box player who moved to Dublin some years ago and bumbed into players like Mary Bergin and a young Paddy Glackin.
Paddy joins John for five tracks and Mary Corcoran’s solid piano underpin a regular but lively selection of reels, jigs and hornpipes that will appeal to his fans.
Joe Crane
The LivingTradition May/June 2000
Back when I’d aspirations to play the button box, I used to listen to as much of John Regan’s playing as possible. My playing didn’t improve but I liked his style, and still do. He partnered fiddler Paddy Glackin on the first ever Comhaltas concert tour of Britain, back about 197O~ Somewhere, I’ve a tape of him playing in the square in Listowel in 1972; no audience, just playing for the love of it. He seemed to drop out of earshot for a long time but he certainly didn’t rust away, because he’s as good as ever I remember him. This is good Sligo-style accordion, crisp and driving, without over-ornamentation. There’s obviously influence from Joe Burke, but Regan’s his own man all the time.
The 19 tracks are a balanced mixture of reels, jigs, and more hompipes than you’d normally expect. Most are familiar, some less so. Besides solos, John plays 5 duets with Paddy Glackin, and accordion duets with each of his young sons, CoIm and Donal. Most tracks have Mary Corcoran’s sensitive and unobtrusive piano accompaniment, a welcome change from some of the piano drivers I’ve heard. A happy combination is of strathspey and slip jig; unusual, but it works. ‘James F Dickie” just slides into a Donegal version of “Drops of Brandy”. The surprise of the album is a duet with Donal on piano on Delibes’ Waltz from “Coppelia”. I’m usually scornful of “cross-over” but if this is what it’s about, then I’m all for it. I suppose it’s evidence that good music is universal and timeless.
The inlay notes are concise and adequate, with the sources of each tune, and tributes to many other musicians, from Patsy Tuohy to the current crop. Definitely one for the more discerning accordion fan.
(By the way, I finally gave up on the box. I realised that nof only did the left hand not know what the right hand was doing, it didn’t even know what it was doing itself.) Mick Furey.
Irish Music Mag
From John Regan, one of the finest accordionists over the past 20 years, comes a new recording that will delight those who have enjoyed his tasteful and relaxed approach to music. Featuring plenty of well known tunes alongside ones of rarity, John Regan strikes a lovely balance on this recording with sets such as The Flax in Bloom/ Colonel Rodney, showing the flowing and unforced quality which is such a hallmark of his playing. Featuring piano accompaniment throughout from the able Mary Corcoran, this album also sees a guest appearance by fiddler Paddy Glackin who joins John for many a fine set. Similarly to Brian Rooney’s album, John plays the great jig, Buttermilk Mary and what great spirit there is in this playing. Another track of note sees John joined by his son, Colm, for a beautifully measured set of unusual reels, The Road to Ballymac/The Policeman’s Request. A most welcome addition to the collection of accordion albums, which like most others, is continually growing. Oisin MacDiarmada. Dec/Jan 2,000
The Irish Post
Irish music is simple. You get three good musicians, pick a couple of dozen tunes from the traditional repertoire of 6,000 pieces and press the record button.
Don’t add anything fancy, mind. Just use a top-class accordion player, (John Regan), a top-notch fiddler (Paddy Glackin), and one of the finest piano accompanists around (Mary Corcoran from the Templehouse Ceili Band).
What you end up with is a memorable traditional album with no frills, just plenty of great music. Let Down the Blade opens with a haunting reel, The Golden Keyboard, composed by Galway man, Martin Mulhaire, who has spent most of his life in New York. This well structured tune has shades of that great Irish set piece, Drowsy Maggie about it, but is altogether less jaunty, giving the melody an added poignancy. Played on the button accordion by John Regan you can almost hear the strains of the immigrant in the Bronx wafting through the air.
John Regan is originally from north Sligo, but moved to Dublin in 66, which accounts for the inclusion of jigs such as Sliabh Russell and Bimis ag Ol on the album, two favourites of pipers and fiddlers in the late 60s/early 70s, but not heard so often these days. John’s sojourn in Dublin however has given him an eclectic repertoire from which to choose. Everything from the definitive Michael Coleman version of the huge reel Tom Ward’s Downfall to the welcome inclusion of that Scottish traditional oddity the Strathspey.
There is one delightful aberration on Let Down the Blade — The Waltz from the ballet, Copelia by the 19th century composer Leo Delibes. From The Geese in the Bog to Swan Lake in one ethnomusicological leap! But I tell you what — it’s a great version and the most ballet I’ve listened to all year. Bravo, as they say at Covent Garden, both to Copelia’s Waltz, and to the whole album. Malcolm Rogers, Dec/Jan 2,000
The Irish World
Of all instruments used in traditional music, the accordion is probably my least favourite, but even so, in the hands of John Regan, and his sons Colm and Donal, it creates quite an effective sound. With fiddler Paddy Glackin and accompanist Mary Corcoran on hand to lend their two-pence worth, there is plenty of music on this 19-track album to fill the ear.
The tracks include, hornpipes: Queen of the Fairies/Victoria/The Tailor’s Twist/The Friendly Visit, Spillane the Fiddler/President Garfield’s, jigs, The Maid at the Spinning Wheel/The Knocknagow, and reels like, Miss Langton’s/The Copperplate, most with the bouncy nature that the accordion offers.
Both Colm and Donal Regan currently hold All-Ireland titles on the box, and the duets with their father make this album a family affair. L.A.Livingston
£14.99
