Customer Reviews

Sharon Shannon

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Sharon Shannon is one of the most phenomenal players to come out of Ireland in recent times. Her accordion playing is without par. This, her first album, may be her best. It's certainly the closest to pure traditional music that she's come out with.

She does an excellent job of combining many sorts of traditional music, such as playing the cajun tune "The Happy One-Step" with a traditional Irish slide. One of the album's highlights is the spirited rendition of "Tune for a Found Harmonium" written by Simon Jeffes, for the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. After Sharon played this tune, it was picked up by many other traditional players, being recorded by Patrick Street, for example.

There's no bad track on this album. Pick it up, and you'll find it difficult not to fall in love with Sharon's accordion playing.

Nice reissue of Shannon's groundbreaking 1991 solo album... As a relative newcomer on the Celtic trad scene, this sweet-toned accordionist/fiddler was in the midst of gigging with singer Christy Moore and the rock-oriented Waterboys when she took some time off to record this nice set of instrumental tunes, along with more dazzling guest stars that you could imagine... The material ranges from traditional reels and such, to bouncy (not-too-poppy) crossover material, and one or two nice surprises of non-Celtic origin. If you like instrumental albums, this one is pretty hard to beat.

Modern Celtic instrumental music. Has some good examples of what I call "Stutter step" in the accordian early in the album. She mixes traditional instrumentation with non-traditional instrumentation, and keeps the composition traditional feeling. Some of the songs, as a result, approach a jazz or rock feel.