SHARON SHANNON, MICHAEL McGOLDRICK, DEZI DONNELLY, JIM MURRAY: RENEGADE
Sharon Shannon: accordion, tinwhistle
Michael McGoldrick: flute, tinwhistle, vocals, percussion
Dezi Donnelly: fiddle
Jim Murray: guitar, bass, vocals
etc, etc....
Following in the footsteps of “Tunes,” this time with the great Dezi Donnelly on fiddle, Shannon and company have also pushed the envelope a little further out on this one. The playing is superb, although more reined in than on "Tunes" where Mr. Gavin was doing his thing, and the tunes, many of which composed by Shannon just before the album was made, are often catchy. But the accompaniments, relying on an assortment of samplings and percussion, and the arrangements, which feature an array of brass instruments, are very much in the vein of what could be heard on Shannon's recent solo recordings, and not exactly like what one would expect on a album of traditional music, which this is not of course. There is also some singing here, notably by McGoldrick and by Murray, who perform one song each with good results, as well as one track featuring pop musicians 2Play aka Wessley Johnson and Roachie aka Clinton Outten. It’s a bit different, but not bad at all. Overall, there is less of that a-bit-too-happy, circus-music-like quality which seemed to permeate some of Shannon’s earlier projects. It’s not “pure drop” traditional music, but it’s well crafted and played, and it works.
Rating: ****
Price: $27.99
