Customer Reviews

Steam

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I bought this CD a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left the CD player in my car since I got it. John Williams is one of the best Irish accordionists out there, but this CD is more than a collection of tunes highlighting his virtuosity. The creative arrangements on the sets and the rhythmic interplay between John and his accompanists is reminiscent of the energy from the first Solas album. Best tracks are the first and last reel set, and the slow piece " Miss Hamilton."

This is not just another bunch of jigs and reels. Many Irish instrumental recordings seem to be displays of speed and virtuosity that can become boring to listen to. The musicians here are as good as the best, but on this CD they are exploring the depths of the music, not showing off. Listening to Steam, I found a new perspective on the meanings that can be found in these tunes, and hear something new each time I replay it.

"Fire in the kitchen" is a phrase the Irish use to describe a particularly remarkable performance or musician; On "Steam," the newest release from Irish-American accordion virtuoso John Williams, the glowing embers of divine musical inspiration and sublime elegance are visible far beyond Williams' Chicago skyline. Though Williams may have spent a great deal of his career being mistaken for his movie score composer and classical guitarist namesakes, his accomplishments and wide-ranging abilities place him in the pantheon of today's most important Traditional Irish musicians. Williams has certainly not missed a beat since his departure from Irish-American supergroup Solas, and the myriad of talents he displays on "Steam" suggest he may have been underutilized in that ensemble. While those familiar with Williams' fluid but dramatic style on the button accordion and Anglo concertina will be thrilled enough by his showing on those instruments, many might be surprised that he shows equal virtuosity on the Irish flute, whistles, and bodhran. On "Billy Brocker's/The Old Dudeen/The Night We Had The Goats", Williams moves his fingers deftly around a variety of high and low whistles, with Paul Donnelly's driving bodhran as sole accompaniment. Irish living legends Liz Carroll and John Doyle add timbral complexity and driving rhythm to Williams' flute on "Johnny O'Leary's/Patrick Maloney's Favorite", while he enriches the color of other sets with a lone whistle or two. But it is indeed on the accordion and concertina where he leaves his most indelible mark. Williams is one of those rare players whose sense of inner passion for and unity with the music is always evident in his soulful yet unabashedly energetic style of playing, be it a whirling dervish of a reel, a pulsating jig, an austere march, or an evocative slow air. Quite often, the conrtasts can be jarring. Williams zips across the box with ferocity on the disc's first two rousing sets (reels and jigs, respectively), then turns on a dime into first a few slow reels and then a slow air-like harp transcription with astounding beauty and grace. Throughout the Irish tapestry that is "Steam," Williams weaves together traditional tunes, plus a few new compositions, into well-constructed and creatively orchestrated sets. They range from the rousing, pub-session atmosphere of "John Brady's/The Hawk From Dundalk" to the intimate, sparsely accompanied "Up In The Garrett/The Old Tipperary". Though Williams' heartfelt and marvelous playing is more than enough to make this disc essential, it doesn't hurt that he has surrounded himself with a who's who list of legendary musicians, Irish and otherwise: Carroll, Doyle, Seamus Egan, Dennis Cahill, guitar innovator Dean Magraw, and Pat Metheny Group alum Paul Wertico, among others. The recent resurgence of traditional Irish music has much more than Riverdance to thank for its existance; artists like John Williams have brought it back in to the general public's consciousness through, as written in the liner notes, "talent, grit, and empathy with the music." Hardly anywhere are these displayed more elegantly than on "Steam".

With a great mix of classical Irish tunes, John Williams puts on a virtuoso performance on this CD. The music feels and sounds like it comes right from the heart of Ireland and from the soul of Williams, whose talent looms large. This is great morning music and can put you in the right frame of mind to face the day, the weather, or the in-laws. It's great to listen to anytime, though, and particularly with tea or punch or a pint. The first cut, 'The New Custom House,' sets the tone for what is to come on the collection, though the melancholy mood of such pieces as 'Miss Hamilton' presents a counterpoint.

John Williams has acquired a certain voice. With this recent release on Green Linnet he speaks eloquently on the profound musical relationship connecting Irish-American musicians to their heritage; the living traditional music of Ireland. The Irish not only brought their music with them to America in the course of at least two major periods of emigration but to a great degree preserved and embellished it here. Particularly in Chicago and New York Irish music flourished as it fell largely out of fashion in Ireland, associated for a while with famine and heartbreak. In the last third of the twentieth century a generation of gifted young Irish musicians began reclaiming their musical culture and found a significant portion of it alive and intact in Chicago. They have, as we do, emigrants including John Williams' immediate ancestors to thank for keeping the music playing. Today we can thank John himself for in every sense continuing the tradition.
In this important CD he as surrounded himself with many of the best Irish musicians living in America, notably fiddler Liz Carroll and Seamus Egan of "Solas" (on banjo here) both important participants in the musical Irish-American dialogue. Other essential collaborators include an array of excellent guitarists well versed in the style, which for guitarists is a delicate balance of technique and sensitivity . John Doyle, Randal Bays, and Dennis Cahill are each significant artists in their own right, and with clean performances by Jim DeWan and Dean Magraw "Steam" could be recommended as a collectable example of Irish guitar playing. Interesting and subtle contributions from bassist Larry Gray and appropriate tasteful percussion touches from Paul Wertico enhanced a few tracks without distracting form the mood and tone of the project. And in a brilliant duet with John on penny whistle, Californian Paul Donnelly displays the skill and precision on the bodhrán worthy of high esteem and respect afforded him today on the West Coast.
All that noted, it is the playing of John Williams that makes this work remarkable. Thousands of choices and small considerations made in the course of this production have resolved to an artwork rather than simply a recording of several good players going through their practiced routines. It's a neat trick to say something refreshing and creative in the dialect of one's father. John Williams somehow does it effortlessly, on button accordions, concertinas, various whistles, and even the bodhrán. With "Steam" he says a great deal about the music Ireland and America. He makes his point.

I am a buttonbox player, and
I loved this c.d. would recommend this c.d. worth buying.John Williams is the best player around. Richard

Williams has really outdone himself on this second album. Whilst I found his self titled first album one flat and without energy or atmosphere, Steam has everything that the first one lacks.

This is one of the best traditional Celtic CD's I own. My only complaint, a very minor one, is that the final cadences on a few of the sets are a bit abrupt or awkward. Other than that, every thing from the tune selection to the arraingements is excellent. Everything is balanced between the instruments, and the variety of tunes and instrumentation is wonderfull. John Williams pulls together a star-studded cast for an album that must, IMO be in everyone's Celtic collection.

David