Customer Reviews

Bones

5 star:		(4)
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Susan McKeown is, without a question, one of the most innovative young artists recording in Ireland today. In "Bones" she teams up with the lads from Chanting House to create an album which is destined to become a classic of Irish contemporary music. The great irony here is that so few people outside of Ireland know of McKeown. Like Paul Brady, Van Morrison, and Mary Black, McKeown has a talent for piecing together shards of Celtic tradition together with rhythm and blues elements. She also has a very sophisticated way of - inhabiting - a song. She saturates traditional lyrics in Gaelic and English with tremendous emotion, but she is never merely sentimental. Scoop up this CD before Susan McKeown is discovered by the masses and be the envy of your friends!

This is one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard: passionate, fascinating, beautiful, and troubling. It ranks right up there with Joni Mitchell's "Blue" in terms of emotional complexity and depth. Why isn't McKeown recording original material anymore? Though her traditional Celtic recordings are (of course) impeccably done, I can't help but find them boring by comparison. Once when McKeown was signing records after an event, she seemed almost to be steering fans away from purchasing this album. Please! It's the best one! I hope Susan McKeown will eventually tire of exploring traditional song and start taking real artistic/personal risks again.

My wife and I caught Susan in concert at the North Texas Irish Festival and what a talent she is. Her range and styles provide the listener with some awesome entertainment. Songs like "My Mother" off the "Mother" album, "Snakes" from this album, and the unrecorded rendition of the 1939 classic of "Blue Moon" as an Irish Jig showcase her talent and help define her as a rising star to watch.

Susan McKeown is my step-cousin's husband's sister and I have been enjoying "Bones" since before it was available in America. What can I say? I was amazed and moved by the entire CD. My particular favorites are "Albatross" and "Snakes". This is great music to listen to after a hard day or when you simply need to relax. Don't miss it! Note to Stephen: Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me this music so long ago. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed it!