…did anyone notice that the inschtrument shown on the cover is, in fact, a clarinet?
The worse sin, in my opinion, was the way the music was remastered – the reverb is distracting, and I only listened to the CD once before going back to to the version I made from the old cassette.
I actually searched through image after image of different kinds of flutes before I came to the realization that it is, in fact, a clarinet. I guess I’m a little slow on the uptake.
I found the reverb distracting as well. Sadly I don’t have an old cassette to go back to. But I’m willing to put up with the reverb just for another chance to ogle over the phenomenal playing of Paddy Carty. 
On that note: I was digitising tapes recently. Here’s one track from a night that had Peter O Loughlin and Paddy Canny play as well as Paddy Carty. Towards the end they’re pushed together, Canny and O Loughlin had been playing West Clare music and rhythms all night and when Carty tears off at great speed they need a moment to adjust. They do quickly though.
Here’s one bit, fiddle and the two flutes : Old Bush / Galtee _ Paddy Carty Paddy Canny Peter O Loughlin
Thank You!
You’re welcome.
Here are two more from the same night. One of Carty on his own (on his own, he pretty much played a few of his old reliables that night):
Eileen Curran / Dowd’s Favourite - Paddy Carty
and another of the three men together. Impromptu as these things are, Peter O Loughlin calls to Canny to play Bonnie Kate and Jenny’s Chicken’s but Canny pulls the wrong Coleman set out of the hat and runs with Lord McDonald. Carty joins four bars into into the second pass. Fair play to both fluteplayers doing a great job on Ballinasloe Fair, which is not, as Séamus Ennis might have put it, intrinsically a fluteplayer’s tune.
Lord McDonald / Ballinasloe Fair - Paddy Canny, Peter O Loughlin, Paddy Carty
I’ll leave the files there for a day or two.
Fantastic! More?
I pulled 54 tracks off that tape. Now, that would be over the top wouldn’t it?
To be honest… no! That would be just awesome.
Yes but then again, I did do more than 20 tapes this month alone and I do need to draw a line somewhere.
I have submitted all that and more to Oidhreacht an Chláir archive, all will be available there in a foreseeable future, together with a number of important collections.
I completely understand. I’m just glad it will be available somewhere!
I know, I was messing with you a bit myself. Anyway, I have a lot of Paddy Fahey done but there is some Carty/Fahey stuff I have yet to do. I may come back to that later.
There was one tape from 1962, in Doolin. The ‘Miltown crowd’ dropped in, Clancy was playing and others too. At some point Peter O Loughlin walked in and sat close to the microphone, bringing the flute really up front in the mix. Just amazing how precise, punchy, rhythmic and musical he was as a fluteplayer at the time. Flawless. Anyway, that’s for another day too I suppose.
If I shouldn’t be making these files available publicly, someone let me know and I’ll take them down, but awhile back I posted MP3s privately for friends of a few recordings that may be of general interest to people who appreciate Carty’s playing (Nico I know you already have these, and I’m sure Mr Gumby had them long before I did). The links will take you to a folder where you can download individual tracks. These will disappear in June when Apple discontinues the MobileMe service (and I’ll take them down much sooner than that and delete this post if anyone tells me I shouldn’t be sharing this stuff here).
Session with Paddy Carty, Conor Tully, Paddy Fahy, Frank Hogan, and others:
https://idisk.me.com//bhurley/Public/CartySession/
(as Nico points out this no longer goes directly to the folder but instead to my main public folder…look for the folder called “Carty Session” and you can download the tracks from there).
Paddy Carty and Paddy Fahy (mostly recorded at Moylan’s Pub in Loughrea; the two Paddys would retreat to the back room after the weekly session and play together just the two of them).
https://idisk.me.com//bhurley/Public/Fahey%20and%20Carty/
(as noted above, look for the folder called “Fahey and Carty” and download tracks from there).
Those tracks would all be amazing, Peter. And thanks Brad! I do have them, but it’s good to remember to listen to them. (You might want to check the links though… for me, both links go to your home, not to the specific folders)
Speaking of “pulling out the standards”, I was once listening to the recordings of Carty that I have with my respected outside observer, and after about the 6th track of Carty playing The New Policeman, she had to ask to listen to something else. And I had to learn the tune.
Thanks Nico – I couldn’t figure out how to make links point directly to folders; it doesn’t seem to work anymore (it used to). I went in and deleted some other stuff that’s definitely not for public consumption. 