Just bumped into this.
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/music/
John S
That’s a real treasure trove. Thanks Ross, for putting these online!
I agree. It opened my eyes (and ears) to Seamus Ennis - the four tracks of his piping are better than anything I’ve heard to-date on the commercially available recordings. I particularly like Lord (Duke?) Gordon and the way SE hits the 3rd octave D just before changing to the Merry Blacksmith.
Hey , yes , those are nice recordings of Ennis , thanks for posting them … everything Ive heard commercially of Ennis has sounded technically great but rather rushed … I like these more relaxed versions of his playing.
I was listening to Liam O’Flynn’s tribute to Seamus Eniis at Patrick d’Arcy’s site the other day, and he mentioned that Ennis recorded the Pure Drop and the Fox Chase all in one go.
andrew
Andrew
These two albums were my first Ennis acquisitions. Unfortunately, they put me off SE and discouraged me from buying other SE albums for years. About 6 months ago, someone put me onto the Ross web site and it really opened my eyes (and ears). Since then, I’ve started to see what all the fuss is about.
BTW, if you haven’t already listened to it, I would encourage you to listen to the 2-part Seamus Ennis tribute on uilleannobsession.com
Come on PJ, credit, where credit is due: It was Peter Laban who beat Seamus’ ability into you.
Frankly, I started with the Fox Chase and the Bonny Bunch of Roses, and I’ve never heard anything but mastery. I can’t wait to get Return from Fingal.
Truth be told, it was a combination of a few things: Peter held me down while Eric and Ausdag went to work on me with the copper pipes and baseball bats. JES and djm just egged them on, but I suppose they deserve some credit. 
You’re right, it really was a team effort. As long as you learned your lesson!
I definitely hear more now, than when I first started listening and/or playing.
My problem with The Pure Drop and The Fox Chase is the sound quality on the CDs. The tone often reminds me of the ‘beep’ on a PC. Not Ennis’ fault, and presumably the records didn’t sound like that.
Andrew