JAMES KEANE & FRIENDS: LIVE IN DUBLIN
Back in 1998, box player James Keane, a New York resident for many years, paid a visit to his old Dublin playing grounds and performed at Whelan's on Wexford Street. Good thing James slipped a cassette to the soundman and decided to release the recording, this is one making a case for Irish music being at its best when played outside the constraints of the recording studio. Backed by Garry O'Briain on mandocello and guitar, James plays with the kind of energy and luxuriant ornamentation which made the title of his 1980 LP "Roll Away the Reel World" so appropriate. By all accounts, this concert was a well attended social event, and James had no trouble bringing on stage former colleagues from the old days of the Castle Ceili Band, his brother Sean on fiddle and flute player Mick O'Connor, with Kevin Conneff adding bodhran for good measure. All this makes for a 73-minute CD packed with one great tune after another, many of them reels indeed.
Rating: ****
Price: $16.99
