Blackthorn: Irish Love Songs [Import]

Susan Mckeown (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: World Village USA
• ASIN: B000EMGCWO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,058 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The many faces of love, as life-affirming bliss, soul-killing obsession, or bitter-sweet renunciation, as undoing, plaything, goad, or inertia, provides the focus of this album. To create the traditional yet subtly exotic textures in the arrangements, the Irish-born contralto traveled between her adopted home of New York City, Ireland, and the Basque Country and Asturias in Spain. Periodically shadowed by Róisín Chambers' warmly idiomatic mezzo, McKeown is accompanied by South American harp, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, flutes, and Dana Lyn's droning, Scandinavian-flavored fiddle and viola, plus supportive bass and percussion. On "Paudeen's Woman," a tale of a woman maddened by jealousy, the frisky-sour rhythmic itch of the trompa, a Spanish mouth harp, seems to drive the singer to the brink of murder and beyond. Singing primarily in Gaelic, McKeown weaves a potent spell, eloquently describing 12 facets of an emotion as old as the ages but as new as the next sun. But not every tune deals with passion between adults; the charming children's song "Déirín Dé, Déirín Dé" recalls the selfless, indulgent affection of a parent watching over a child at play. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spare but not sparse: vocals more than music, June 15, 2006

By 

John L Murphy "Fionnchú" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blackthorn: Irish Love Songs (Audio CD)

Poised work from this veteran Irish-born, American-based singer. Songs are drawn from past traditions yet this album does not sound traditional, hovering instead between "world music, contemporary female vocals, and Irish-inspired (rather than Irish-bound) settings. Mixing her own voice with varied regional styles and musical support, McKeown's blend works best with she sings against Roisin Chambers' countervocals. or--as on the final and three strongest three tracks--innovative backing such as Basque musicians give (an immediately distinctive dirge-like medieval mood) or a Paul Simon/Graceland type of African fusion, or instrumental accompaniments that provide depth for her songs to sink into.

A whole album with the Basque musicians here occasionally featured would work well for McKeown. Heard on a few tracks here with bassist Lindsay Horner, who has backed McKeown on past albums, and other musicians, the sound still is generally more spacious and open, as unlike many other Irish singers, she prefers to understate the music rather than sing on top of it. Tom Munnelly's sleeve notes are superb, by the way, and credit too to the handsome graphics, the printing of lyrics in Irish alongside the English, and a classy sense of a production well polished without edging into slick pop or New Age vapors.

If you seek graceful female Irish vocals that are not sean-nos/old style, not swamped by layered synthesizers, free of reverb and echo and harps, eschewing leprechauns and elves, this may be a fine choice for you. It is not lulling, but its tnese moments are fewer than its placid ones. Still, the album does not put you to sleep! Hints more than hammers of instruments, the shifts in McKeown's voice, and the subtle but changing arrangements all attest to the care that's gone into "Blackthorn." Although the pace of the album does mean some of the earlier songs tend to blend into each other a bit too smoothly and blandly, overall this is an assured recording of the many shades of love won and lost.