Customer Reviews

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I first heard Karan Casey's wonderful clear voice on "Celtic Solstice". I quickly recognized the clarity, purity, and beauty of her voice. You will love the beauty of her voice in "She's Like The Swallow", "Shamrock Shore", "The Fair-Haired Boy", and "One, I Love". Even though her voice is very light, it has a lot of strength, especially in "Ballad of Accounting" and "The Digger's Song". Her wonderful voice expresses the lyrics very well and does very well in expressing the Irish spirit. There are love songs like "Roger the Miller", "One, I Love", and "The Laboring Man's Daughter". There also are songs like "Shamrock Shore", "The Fair-Haired Boy", and "The Digger's Song", which express Ireland's desire to end tyranny and win freedom. The music is very smooth and gentle, with violin, flute, and excellent percussion in "The Digger's Song". "The Wondering Song of Aengus" (a.k.a. The Golden Apples of the Sun) is adapted from a poem by the famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats. I better liked the version she sang on "Celtic Solstice", but even so, it has perfect arrangements, just like the rest of the songs. Lovely as the music is, she sounds really great in a capella! In the end, I would definately say that Karan Casey is a grand singer. I think of her as one of Ireland's finest singers, along with Maire Brennan and Noirin Ni Riain.

I first heard Casey's voice on one of those compilation cds of celtic music that are so common. It was, "One, I Love". I listened to that track repeatedly. She's got such a clear and emotional voice. This cd is highly recommended.

During a promotion for a concert I was giving for someone else in October, we played a brief clip of "martinmas time" (my group, the Celtic Music Society of Montgomery, was bringing Casey in four months later). By the time I got back to my desk, we'd sold 6 tickets.

Casey has studied jazz, and it shows. These are not staid, "safe" renditions of traditional songs-- these songs really move along, with fire, a little swing, bounce and joy. "Roger the Miller" with its mockery of a young man who got greedy when he beheld his fiancee's riches makes me smile every time I hear it.

I love her version of "Creggan White Hare"-- though I first learned it from Andy Irvine and Dick Gaughan, I think her cover is even more memorable. Casey's voice takes you on a journey through her songs. She has a light quality to her voice-- a bit like Triona O'Domhnaill (Bothy Band, Relativity, Nightnoise) rather than someone like June Tabor-- and it makes the more serious songs very fresh. It's just impossible not to care about the narrator when she sings!

A really terrific CD.

What more can I say other than I like this CD. It came in the mail today and I've listened to it 3 times and I must admit Karens voice and choice of songs is first rate. I personally list Connie Dover and Loreena McKennitt as the very best female celtic singers in the world today. And while I wouldn't quite place Karen at par with them, she certainly is a close second. Roger the Miller and The Creggen White Hare are my two favorites, however every song on this CD plays well.

Karan Casey, former lead vocalist of Solas impresses with her maiden solo outing. Her stunning vocals and musical aesthetic are of the lineage of Lal Waterson and June Tabor with a related darkness of hue and depth. Not for those seeking warm fuzzy idyllic reverie but those welcoming the kind of vocals that are deeply wrenching and shot through with poignance. One can only look forward to Casey's output in the years to come. C'est Magnifique

I first heard Karen Casey, along with the rest of Solas, at Cedar Culture Center in Minneapolis. She was simply fantastic with Solas. Now she has stepped out on her own and she has made a CD that is simply fantastic. I loaned it our secretaries in my office and they simply wouldn't stop playing it (or give it back!). It's rare that you feel you get your money's worth on a CD, this is cerainly an exception. It is the kind of CD that you can simply let go from star to finish and don't feel you have to skip to one of the 'good' songs.

I discovered this album by accident and can't get enough of it. Karen's voice has an immediacy and direct touch with a variety of emotional undertones that just gets better with repeated listening. Using quality headphones or excellent wide range speakers the backing players support and weave through the lyrics. Not an easy feat considering Karen's excellent voice dynamics. Eagerly purchased by several of my friends who desperately wanted something that touches their private emotions. Emotions which are intelligent, immediate, intense, varied and appear real. So as a group of muso's, we just cannot see why the album has not recieved more recognition in this part of the woods. Looking forward to the next creative effort, but phew, its difficult to imagine a more complete musical experience.

Karan Casey's voice is wonderful, and the mix on this record goes from rollicking to lyrical, where Karan Casey especially shines. You'll never read Yeats the same way after hearing her rendition of "The Wanderings of Aengus." Bravo!

I heard this CD while browsing at a store and decided to give it try. What a worthwhile purchase! Karan's voice is phenomenal and will bring goosebumps to your skin. Shamrock Shore is a chilling and yet somehow uplifting masterpiece. I also love Roger the Miller, She is Like the Swallow, and The Creggan White Hare. I am anxiously awaiting Karan's next effort!

If you can't get enough of Karan Casey on her two disks with Solas, this is CD should help ease the trouble. Casey's voice is wonderful, and she can handle a great range of material well. The album includes traditional folk tunes, a few a capella pieces, and a truly "rocking" (if that's the right word for a folk song) version of The Ballad of Accounting. I was also happy to see that most of Solas appears on the album as well, so the accompaniment is wonderful. The only clunker is a famine ballad called Shamrock Shore--and even this song isn't so bad, it just suffers from sincere but bad poetry. Overall, this CD is great.