Great Review for a great cd in todays Irish Times

Martin Donohoe · Post by **Martin Donohoe** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:46 am

Great Review for a great cd in todays Irish Times ,Its makes great reading ,nice photo as well and the CD is just lovely Listening . http://www.piperbrian.com/home.html
Newspaper Link
http://www.ireland.com/theticket/articl ... 03745.html
Playing the piper
CD Choice: Trad
BRIAN McNAMARA AND TIM COLLINS Reed Only Drumlin Records
The pairing of pipes and concertina makes a particularly sweet encounter on the cannily titled Reed Only from Leitrim piper Brian McNamara and Sliabh Luachra concertina player Tim Collins. This is one of the most refined, high-stepping collections of tunes to seep into the ether this year, a snapshot in time of two musicians at one with their music.
McNamara's distinctively restrained yet staccato piping style marked him apart on his previous solo recordings (A Piper's Dream and Fort of Jewels). Now he's wed it with Collins's self- effacing, fluid concertina lines, with spine-tingling results. The "big" hornpipe, Johnny Cope, is a model of ensemble playing, with concertina and pipes intertwining seamlessly, augmented by a judicious infusion of Michael Rooney's ever-genteel harp.
McNamara's disciplined playing shines further on the air, Ag Taisteal na Blárnan/Travelling Through Blarney, where he exercises the full capacity of chanter and drones without ever exhausting their potential or exploiting the pathos of the tune.
What's particularly striking throughout Reed Only is how the dance music of Sliabh Luachra in all its ferocious glory contrasts headily with the more self- possessed Leitrim repertoire, with neither style overwhelming the other. In fact, McNamara and Collins manage to retain their local accents while at the same time engaging in the kind of scintillating musical tête à tête that keeps the listener hanging on their every note.
Collins' modesty is writ large on the jig set bookended by the lustfully titled Fasten the Leg In and the ever-magical Tell Her I Am. His concertina traces hairlines in the tune, and his choice of Pádraic O'Reilly's piano and Mick Conneely's bouzouki as playdates captures the mood of this three-piece suite with bullseye accuracy.
This is music of our time, still rooted in a past that's laden with treasures, some of them happily unearthed and spit-polished after languishing for too long in the wings. A reedy interlude that unfurls itself with unhurried gracefulness - a perfect recipe for longevity. www.piperbrian.com
SIOBHÁN LONG

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:15 pm

Pretty wordy review, but I listened to some samples on <A HREF="http://www.claddaghrecords.com/www/prod ... Claddagh's website</A> and ordered it last week. Hopefully it will be here in a day or two. My biggest concern was that the pipes not get swallowed by the free reed sound, as happened IMHO on the Vallely's Callan Bridge. The samples for this CD sounded like there is good separation. Brian is too good a piper to want to miss anything he puts out.

djm

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:15 pm

Is there a track list available for this? I couldn't find it on the Claddagh site, nor on Brian's site.

thanks,

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:58 pm

No track list?

djm · Post by **djm** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:21 pm

I don't see one listed, yet, but its still a very new album. I'll post it once I get the CD.

djm

daveboling · Post by **daveboling** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:19 pm

djm wrote:Hopefully it will be here in a day or two. My biggest concern was that the pipes not get swallowed by the free reed sound, as happened IMHO on the Vallely's Callan Bridge.
djm

I wouldn't be too worried. I heard Tim play with Michael Cooney at the SE tionol this year and he has a fine ear for balance between pipes and concertina. Unless the recording engineer has a tin ear, the fine playing of both of these guys will come through.

dave boling

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:58 am

BrianC wrote:Is there a track list available for this?

Listening to it as I type. Here's your track list.

1. Reels: Aggie Whyte's Reel / The Small Hills of Offaly / The Widow's Daughter
2. Jigs: The Ballinacourty / Snug in the Blanket
3. Hornpipes: The Good Natured Man / The West End
4. Reels: The Wexford Lasses / Biddy From Muckross / Spike Island Lasses
5. Air: Ag Taiseal na Blárnan (Travelling Through Blarney)
6. Reels: The Nine Pint Coggie / Sailing Into Walpole's Marsh / The Beauty Spot
7. Jigs: Petticoat Loose / Cró na nGabhar
8. Reels: The Boys on the Hilltop / The Cashmere Shawl / The Sunny Banks
9. Jigs: Fasten The Leg In / Westering Home / Tell Her I Am
10. Hornpipe: Johnny Cope
11. Reels: The Lady's Cup of Tea / The Basket of Oysters / The Kerry Lassie
12. Jigs: The Wearied Lad / The Humours of Rahey
13. Air: The Bright Lady
14. Jigs: The Return to Burton Road / Do You Want Anymore? / The Humours of Glen
15. Reels: John Kelly's Concertina Reel / Our House at Home / The Ballynacally Reel

Additional Musicians:

Michael Rooney: Harp
Alec Finn: Bouzouki & Guitar
Mick Conneely: Bouzouki
Pádraic O Reilly: Piano

djm

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:03 am

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Piano! Why does he do that?

But it won't stop me buying the record, Brian's piping is transcendental, and Tim Collins's solo album is also a casket of jewels.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:25 am

"Casket" being the operating word here?

djm

halfirish · Post by **halfirish** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:03 pm

I, and others, had the privilege of attending a couple of workshops with Brian last year in Manchester. He's one of my most admired pipers and an inspiration to all piping students. His playing style is unique and pipers at all levels can gain so much from listening to him and watching what he's doing.

As a piper and a concertina player myself I'm looking forward to getting my hands on that CD.

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:49 pm

djm wrote:
BrianC wrote:Is there a track list available for this?
Listening to it as I type. Here's your track list.

1. Reels: Aggie Whyte's Reel / The Small Hills of Offaly / The Widow's Daughter
2. Jigs: The Ballinacourty / Snug in the Blanket
3. Hornpipes: The Good Natured Man / The West End
4. Reels: The Wexford Lasses / Biddy From Muckross / Spike Island Lasses
5. Air: Ag Taiseal na Blárnan (Travelling Through Blarney)
6. Reels: The Nine Pint Coggie / Sailing Into Walpole's Marsh / The Beauty Spot
7. Jigs: Petticoat Loose / Cró na nGabhar
8. Reels: The Boys on the Hilltop / The Cashmere Shawl / The Sunny Banks
9. Jigs: Fasten The Leg In / Westering Home / Tell Her I Am
10. Hornpipe: Johnny Cope
11. Reels: The Lady's Cup of Tea / The Basket of Oysters / The Kerry Lassie
12. Jigs: The Wearied Lad / The Humours of Rahey
13. Air: The Bright Lady
14. Jigs: The Return to Burton Road / Do You Want Anymore? / The Humours of Glen
15. Reels: John Kelly's Concertina Reel / Our House at Home / The Ballynacally Reel

Additional Musicians:

Michael Rooney: Harp
Alec Finn: Bouzouki & Guitar
Mick Conneely: Bouzouki
Pádraic O Reilly: Piano

djm

You da man! Looks like a nice set of tunes there - one that will get me to order it straight away.

Thanks, djm.

Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa · Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:14 pm

Brian McNamara, Tim Collins and Michael Rooney played together at Irish Arts Week last week. They played at the Saturday Festival (now named the Andy McGann Festival) and they (McNamara and Collins) played at one of the concerts during the week. They were very tight and must have impressed the crowds as they sold out the supply of CDs that they brought for the CD table.

Neil

Brazenkane · Post by **Brazenkane** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:27 pm

Roger O'Keeffe wrote:AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! Piano! Why does he do that?

But it won't stop me buying the record, Brian's piping is transcendental, and Tim Collins's solo album is also a casket of jewels.

a "Casket" huh?

lol

this recording is incredibly sublime! period!

Roger O'Keeffe · Post by **Roger O'Keeffe** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:44 am

Once again, my humour as perceived by Americans, is entirely involuntary

. I'm not actually as clever as I'm sometimes credited with being. It even took me a while to remember that what you guys call a casket is what we call a coffin.

I was simply using the term in what I would regard as its primary sense, cf. http://www.rosiespitutorials.com/caskettut.htm

Reminds me of the time (over 35 years ago, when the jive talk was hip) when I was discussing with some Americans the fact that they constantly needed to find new synonyms for words that they fear might be offensive, such as "negro" or "coloured person", both of which were once regarded as perfectly respectful. I concluded my point by asking "why can't you just call a spade a spade?", which caused about five minutes' laughter before someone kindly explained why what I had said was so funny

.

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:01 am

I resemble that remark

PD.

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Great Review for a great cd in todays Irish Times

Great Review for a great cd in todays Irish Times

Irish Arts Week-last week in East Durham