Customer Reviews

Wired

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Hold the presses on 2005's folk album of the year! Mancunian wizard of flute, whistle and uilleann pipes Michael McGoldrick has produced another brilliant solo album. "Wired" is a rich fusion of styles including jazz, funk and World-beat. Yet it retains an essentially Irish core. This may be McGoldrick's special gift to traditional music: to have somehow liberated the inherent funk, the sheer wild syncopated bliss of Celtic music for a 21st century audience. (That my teenage daughter anticipated the album as much as her 50-something father is testament to this.)

Of course McGoldrick is not alone in this venture. Band mates from Capercaillie are there - especially Donald Shaw, who produced the album, co-wrote a number of tunes and plays a range of keyboards. Asian spice is supplied by Parv Bharat's scintillating tabla and James Mackintosh's burbling udu. Plus there's an uncredited (sampled?) Asian singer on "Sophie's". This is a stand-out track, a fascinating fusion of many music styles that somehow coheres. It bodes well for the role music might play in bringing disparate cultures closer togther.

Jazzy touches also suffuse the album, with Neil Yates' trumpet and flugelhorn and Signy Jacobsdottir's marimba surprisingly at home amongst the folk fiddles of Dezi Donnelly and John McCusker. Bridging all styles superbly is Ewen Vernal's upright bass. But of course it's McGoldrick's kaleidoscopic playing that gives the album its strongest colours. Whether on slow and soulful wooden flute ("Strange Journey"); frenetic low whistle ("The Jolly Tinker"); or blazing pipes ("The Sporting Days of Easter"), he seems at the height of his powers. This album is both a gem and a joy.

This is a bold piece of work. With the first listening, I felt it was a bit silly and at times bordering the "New Age" but as with any great music, several listenings are reqiured. Sure the playing is top notch, but I expect that from Michael. What really stands out here is the sound of the album, the play list and ultimately the mood that is created. Sonicly this album is in many ways on par with Bob Dylan's amazing "Time Out of Mind", a true studio masterpiece.
With "Wired" McGoldrick has raised the bar of what "Celtic" based music is capable of being and sounding like. Far more sophisticated and mood inhancing then Afro Celt, and just as burning but more adventurous then Lunasa could ever be. I wouldn't want all of my Celt music to sound this way, I'm still a sucker for the trad, but this is a must have album for any audiophile or Celt fan.

Michael McGoldrick's CD Fused captured my imagination completely. From that set, "Windbroke" climbed to #1 in my personal top ten followed by "Sully's No. 37/Lucy's Reel" which was nearly as strong. It took awhile for me to become aware of "Wired" and then to order it, but what a great set! Michael's lovely flute plays seductively with a traditional Irish flavor on "Gaelic Gavotte" & "The Hillsbrook Reels (Spike Island Lassies/Skyedance/Marry Harrier's Reel/Lady Gordon)." "Famous Last Words/Through the Roof" recalls the great energy that made "Fused" such a favorite. It soars mid-track to stratospheric heights. "Sophie's" veers to the softer side displaying its lovely melody. "Cochran's Mill/The Road to Corrandulla/Glenuig Bay" is another sweet track that bubbles with delightful energy. "The Jolly Tinker/Edinburgh Rock" has some electric flourishes; but the star is McGoldrick's flute that trills up & down the scale like a loosed electron. "Wired" is another exquisite set from this musician who seamlessly blends the past & the present into an amazing musical hybrid. Enjoy!