Customer Reviews

Traditional Music of Ireland

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a beautiful CD, first made in 1976. Kathleen Collins has a fat, lovely tone. Her playing is beautiful, her phrasing exquisite. You can hear traces of Andy McGann, Martin Wynne, and Paddy Reynolds in there.
The tempi are very relaxed. The ornamentation is Sligo but the pace is Galway. However, her approach is so relaxed that the tempi seem slower than in fact they are.
This is a fiddlers' album. Many of the tunes are in Gm-- such as Star of Munster, which is commonly played in Am. She has the right feel and in her hands it becomes dark, lovely tune. Many of the tunes are seldom heard, but all are worth listening to. The accompanying piano seems clunky, but right. It's a joy to hear The Pure Drop without the obtrusive bodhran or basouki.
If you like Irish music and Irish fiddling this is a must have-- as are the CDs by Martin Hayes.

Collins is an excellent Irish fiddler and is one exponent of that distinctive 'Sligo' style heard in the NYC area, like Andy McGann and Brian Conway. Really nice album, and I'm glad it's been re-released. ...

Kathleen plays in the Galway style, definitely NOT in a Sligo style. Although she lived in the states she does not have that fake American/Irish style that is so easy to hear with all of the American players. This is a trad album through and through, with some real gems of tunes. Throw out your Martin "rubber band" Hayes albums and learn from this. You won't go wrong.

It seems to me that the first tract `Reavys; Jenny's Welcome To Charlie' Is titled incorrectly. I defiantly recognizes this first tract to be `Dowd's'. I am sure of this because I fiddle and play Dowd's Favorite and I am very sure of this error to the tune titles. Are there any other errors that can be noted?