ANDREW MacNAMARA: NO COMPROMISE
I have been a big fan of Tulla, East Clare, box player Andrew MacNamara's music ever since I first heard it when he was a member of Skylark. This is MacNamara's second solo release and his playing here is as good as ever. But.... what's with the sudden infatuation for the Hammond organ among Irish traditional musicians? It's on the Kelly brothers' new CD too, but somewhat buried in the mix thankfully. On "No Compromise," however, we are "treated" to the full force of its well-known effects, which, to say the least, sound pretty out of place to my ear. Fortunately, it's not on every track. Otherwise, the accompaniments by Brendan Hearty (guitar), James Delaney (keyboards), Tommy Hayes and Jimmy Higgins (percussion) are very nicely done. There is a lot of great playing on this CD, but I am just having a hard time getting passed the staccato blues effects on "Mist Covered Mountain" and other Hammond organ intrusions.
Rating: ***
Price: $18.99
