THE BORDER COLLIES (of Ireland): UNLEASHED!
Having heard months ago of this new band brought together by the great singer and flute player from south Sligo Colm O'Donnell, it was with much anticipation that I waited for the arrival of their brand new CD, and I wasn't disappointed. The "Collies" (they are even given names like Fido and Shep on the band photo), adding banjo, piano-accordion, guitar, bouzouki, and bodhran to O'Donnell's flute and whistle, deliver crisply played, lively dance music, with impressive solos by Theresa O'Grady (banjo) in particular, as well as beautifully crafted accompaniments to the songs. O'Donnell's voice is one of the best in Ireland today--I've been known to joke and say that he could be singing "Feelings" and I'd listen to every single note and word--and his material here is well chosen. Only the final track, a rendition of McConnell's "The Tinkerman's Daughter", with Garry O'Briain on guitar, sounds a bit out of place. Similarly, O'Donnell's daughter Siobhan is an impressive singer herself, but one would have wished to hear her on a slightly more original number than "Wild Mountain Thyme." Minor complaints indeed, for the most part this is a most enjoyable album, which is also very well produced by Dervish's Brian McDonagh.
Rating: ****
Price: $24.99
Contents:
1. Reels: Martin Wynne's / The Abbey Reel / The Cloone Reel
2. Song: Here's a Health to the Company
3. Reels: John Brennan's / Mick O'Connor's / The Duke of Leinster
4. Jigs: The Scotsman Over the Border / Willie Coleman's / Tom Billy's
5. Song: Dilin O Deamhas
6. Jigs: Sport / The King of the Pipers
7. Song: A Lover's Heart
8. Jigs: The Man in the Bog / The Luathradain's Jig
9. Song: Wild Mountain Thyme
10. Reels: Paddy O'Brien's / The Whistling Postman
11. Air: With a Love that's True
12. Reels: Sailing into Walpole's Marsh / Cregg's Pipes / Gan Ainm / Draggin Across the Road
13. Song: The Tinkerman's Daughter
