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Old 03-17-2012, 11:14 AM   #1036 (permalink)
Trollheart
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Shadow hunter --- Davy Spillane --- 1990 (Tara)


For the last album to be reviewed as Irish Week comes to a close, I'd like to turn to one of our most accomplished and respected traditional musicians. Davy Spillane is one of the premier oileann pipes players in Ireland, and while that may not mean a lot to many people, it's quite an accomplishment, as oileann pipes are notoriously hard to master. A founder member of Moving Hearts, Davy has played with such luminaries as Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison, Mike Oldfield and Kate Bush. He has also composed, or played on, many film soundtracks including Eat the peach, Wuthering Heights, Rob Roy, Dancing at Lughnasa and Michael Collins. This is his second solo album.

Low humming bodhran played by Christy Moore opens the album with “Introduction --- Lucy's tune/Indiana drones”, joined by Davy's pipes and quickly then slide guitar played by Anthony Drennan in a blues style which then slips very quickly into Irish trad, the pipes joining in with fiddle and accordion as the whole thing basically rocks along, a certain sense of Mike Oldfield/Paul Simon about the composition, and a great opener. Davy swaps his pipes for a low whistle to take us into “Carron streams”, a slow, atmospheric piece built on humming keys and fretless bass, Drennan's slide guitar again adding a touch of blues rock to proceedings. About halfway in it gets a little more bouncy, with spacey, Peter Gabrielesque keyboards and some nice acoustic guitar from Drennan.

Things hit back into high gear then for “Watching the clock”, with a long oileann pipes intro then electric guitar coming in, congas taking the percussion in what sounds like a reel of some sort, though as I mentioned on the review of Planxty's album yesterday I really don't know a jig from a reel. Certainly lively though, becoming very guitar-centric, and takes us into “Walker of the snow”, a beautifully laidback piece of music with electric guitar, dobro and mandolin, with the first vocals of the album, supplied by Sean Tyrrell. Davy uses both oileann pipes and low whistle on this tune, on the latter of which he performs a lovely solo halfway into the song.

Low whistle and fretless bass drive “Hidden ground”, with some very effective electric guitar and a nice drumbeat held by Paul Moran, with some delicious piano adding to the mix, courtesy of James Delaney, then “The white crow” comes in on gentle congas and dobro, until Martin O'Connor's accordion takes over the tune, joined by Davy's oileann pipes and Christy Moore's bodhran. Next up is a fast, almost frenetic jig (maybe) which goes under the title of “Moyasta Junction” and is carried on fiddle and guitar, the former breaking out in a sort of Chicago blues vein before the fiddle brings things back to an Irish trad style, the song seeming to get faster as it goes along, then in total contrast “Journeys of a dreamer” slows everything right back down with lovely low whistle from Davy, with Anthony Drennan joining in on the electric guitar while James Delaney lays down a soothing keyboard melody against which the song plays, and everything picks up again for another reel (?) as Davy goes back to his oileann pipes for “One day in June”, more great accordion from Martin O'Connor and bodhran from Christy as Kevin Glackin cuts in with the fiddle and Drennan's guitar keeps the rock element firmly alive among all the trad.

“Equinox” opens on oileann pipes and acoustic guitar with some electric too, nice measured drumming and some splendid fretless bass from Tony Molloy, lovely bit of piano there in the background and a special little mandolin solo from Drennan, the whole piece somehow acquiring a sort of Pink Floyd feel, then the final track is the only other one with vocals, again supplied by Sean Tyrrell. “The host of the air” is based on the poem by William Butler Yeats, carried on ethereal keys and mandolin, the latter of which is also played by Tyrrell. Very atmospheric, very eerie, without question carried on Tyrrell's strong yet matter-of-fact vocal, and appropriately enough, ends on a small oileann pipes solo from Davy.

As I mentioned before, trad is not my thing, but I'm not churlish enough to discount it as a music form. After all, this kind of music has been around for centuries longer than any other, and it has a lot to say to us about a time long ago when things were simpler. The musicians who play in the trad scene have nowhere to hide --- not that they need to --- as most of it is played acoustic, much without any sort of percussion and often no keyboards or even piano, so everyone has to know their instrument inside out and be able to play solo if needed, or as part of a group. In an acoustic setting, one person playing out of tune or time can upset the whole performance.

Davy Spillane is without question a master of his chosen instrument. Here he can make it do anything he wants to, and has created, along with those who helped him on the album, a recording that seamlessly meshes traditional, folk and rock themes to great effect. It's certainly no surprise he's as highly regarded as he is.

TRACKLISTING

1. Introduction --- Lucy's tune/Indiana drones
2. Carron streams
3. Watching the clock
4. Walker of the snow
5. Hidden ground
6. The white crow
7. Moyasta Junction
8. Journeys of a dreamer
9. One day in June
10. Equinox
11. The hosts of the air
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