Just a quick note to say that I’m enjoying this CD a lot. Doyle is of course the former Solas member (guitarist); this is his first solo CD. There was a little discussion of it in the Clips and Snips Forum because of a stunning song on it, The Dark Slender Boy, which is actually sung by Doyle’s father. On the ITM board, there’s been some discussion of the social and familial aspects of the Tradition. Doyle credits his father for so much of his musical inspiration, and also holds Martin Carthy as a hero.
Doyle has both a sweetness and an anger that make this CD very pleasurable and stirring. The guest artists include Liz Carroll, John Williams, Karan Casey, and Kieran O’Hare. His selections, like those of Dick Gaughan, tell the sometimes harsh stories of working people, but there is a redeeming tenderness underlying this CD.
I’ve had this CD for a while and each listen brings out something new. I’ve already learned “Blue Diamond Mines”, “Wheels of the World” and “Crooked Jack”.The last song was written by Dominic Behan, a fairly good songwriter and a poor snooker player (the Behans lived around the corner from us and our fathers were good friends). Crooked Jack paints a true picture of life on the building sites in england for a lot of Irish. Thankfully my stay was a short one but I have an older friend here in the US who worked for John Lang builders for many years and corroborates songs like these. John’s work is comparable to Dick Gaughan or Dougie MacLean and Luke Kelly couldn’t have done a better job on “North Sea Holes.” I do hope that this is not his only solo venture.
Incidentally, I saw John perform recently with Eileen Ivers’ Immigrant Soul band and his playing is still brilliant although the star of the show that night was drummer Emedin Rivera. If you get a chance go see this band. They’re the new Moving Hearts, for my money.