Paul McGlinchey: Unearthed

PAUL McGLINCHEY: UNEARTHED

Paul McGlinchey: flute

Brid Harper: fiddle

MacDara O'Raghallaigh: fiddle

Stevie Dunne: guitar, banjo

Ryan Molloy: piano

Seamus O'Kane: bodhran

Paul McGlinchey is from Omagh Co. Tyrone and is a three-time All-Ireland Senior flute champion. Like with many flute players from the northern part of Ireland it seems, his flute playing has a great "full-steam-ahead" power and excitement to it. The urgency can be heard even when McGlinchey plays a slow air, as on the "Anachuin" track. For the most part, McGlinchey performs rather well known tunes, although always with his own little twist in them, and he throws in a few seldom heard ones as well, for instance Vincent Broderick's "The Rainbow's End." Adding to the strength of the recording is the appearance, on one track each, of fiddle players Brid Harper and MacDara O'Raghallaigh, both tremendous musicians with All-Ireland and Fiddler of Dooney titles to their credit. On the minus side, the recording quality could have been better, and the accompaniments are not always to my liking. Stevie Dunne is a capable guitarist, but some of his chord choices do not agree with me ("Patsy Hanley's")--he is quite an agile player on the tenor banjo, though. I also found Ryan Molloy's syncopated piano style a bit distracting over the course of the album. Still, McGlinchey's passionate playing is well worth hearing--or is that unearthing...

Rating: *** 1/2

Price: $19.99