Mick O'Brien & Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh: Kitty Lie Over

MICK O'BRIEN & CAOIMHIN O'RAGHALLAIGH: KITTY LIE OVER

Mick O'Brien: uilleann pipes, tinwhistle

Caoimhin O' Raghallaigh: fiddle, tinwhistle

As I have written here before, I do not give the 5-star rating lightly. Very few CDs on my site have gotten it. But I had to add this album of pipes, fiddle and whistle playing to that very select group, for it's one of the most beautiful recordings of Irish traditional music you are likely to hear. Piper Mick O'Brien probably needs no introduction, his excellent 1996 solo CD "May Morning Dew" remains a favorite. Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh, a bit more of a well-kept secret, is a talented player with a subtle and soulful touch, qualities which are further amplified here through the interaction with O'Brien's masterful playing, and through the strikingly beautiful combination of fiddle and pipes pitched in B or Bb, with only the accompaniment of drones and regulators. O'Raghallaigh's reedy fiddle sounds like another set of pipes at times. Many of the tunes they explore together are well-known, but they always have their own way with them, just a few different notes here and there that will send chills down your spine. And always there's that gorgeous sound, it will haunt you.

Rating: *****

Price: $19.99