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Avg: 4.0 (27 ratings)
- Date Released: April 13, 2004
- Genre: International
- Style: Celtic/British Isles
- Label: World Village / IODA
A wonderful interpreter of traditional Irish song’s finest album.
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We Say...
Born in Dublin, Susan McKeown’s singing career didn’t seriously get underway until she formed the band Chanting House with Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan. She gradually established herself as a wonderful interpreter of traditional song with a keen interest in setting the music to modern styles. This is her finest work, gently blending the Irishness at the album’s core with exhilarating bursts of other musical styles. Tartit, a group from Mali, feature on the Irish/African “Oro Mhile Gra (A Thousand Time My Love)”; Mexican mariachi trumpeters light up an extraordinary version of “Eggs in Her Basket.” Most devastating of all is “When I Was on Horseback,” a heartbreaking song about a funeral procession featuring the eerie fiddle playing of the great Johnny Cunningham. Recorded just before Christmas, 2003, it was to be the last time Johnny ever picked up a bow — he collapsed and died later that day, giving an already moving album even more poignancy.
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They Say...
Every song on Susan McKeown's album Sweet Liberty is credited to "Traditional" as author, which is frequently the case with her recordings. But McKeown's approach to this material, which she has gathered from friends and from old books and recordings (as recounted in her notes), is often anything but traditional. "Oró Mhíle Grá (A Thousand Times My Love)" is a collaboration with Ensemble Tartit, a singing group from Mali, and its combination of Celtic and African elements makes for a stirring hybrid. On "Eggs in Her Basket," McKeown is accompanied by the Mexican group Mariachi Real de Mexico, again adding an unusual interpretation to a traditional Irish tune. But even when she is using musicians who perform in a more familiar Celtic style, such as Flook, the Anglo-Irish quartet that backs her on the leadoff track, "The Wee Birds All Have Come and Gone/Fisherman's," McKeown makes her versions of the songs distinctive by her combinations of different compositions, her striking arrangements, and her haunting voice, which at times recalls Sandy Denny's (and therefore also that of Denny sound-alike Natalie Merchant, whom McKeown has accompanied in performance). Sweet Liberty is traditional enough to please fans of Celtic music in its oldest forms, but it also suggests new directions for the style, and it serves as a showcase for an impressive singer.
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| 01. |  |
The Wee Birds All Have Come And Gone/Fisherman's
|
3:02 |
|
| 02. | |
Shamrock Green |
5:51 |
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| 03. | |
Johnny Scott |
6:40 |
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| 04. | |
Oró Mhíle Grá / A Thousand Times My Love
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4:28 |
|
| 05. | |
Sweet Liberty/Promenade |
6:07 |
|
| 06. | |
Eggs In Her Basket
|
3:56 |
|
| 07. | |
Fair Annie |
3:31 |
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| 08. | |
Caledonia |
3:50 |
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| 09. | |
The Winter It Is Past |
6:24 |
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| 10. | |
When I Was On Horseback |
4:23 |
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10 Total Tracks, 48:12 Total Length
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Credits
- Johnny Cunningham - Fiddle // Charlie Giordano - Accordion // Joanie Madden - Whistle (Human) // Joanie Madden - Low Whistle // Susan McKeown - Arranger // Susan McKeown - Arranger // Susan McKeown - Arranger // Susan McKeown - Vocals // Susan McKeown - Vocals // Susan McKeown - Vocals // Susan McKeown - Producer // Susan McKeown - Producer // Susan McKeown - Producer // Susan McKeown - Liner Notes // Susan McKeown - Liner Notes // Susan McKeown - Liner Notes // Susan McKeown - Bodhran // Susan McKeown - Bodhran // Susan McKeown - Bodhran // Rick Rowe - Mastering // Oliver Strauss - Mixing // Oliver Strauss - Drum Loop // Lindsey Horner - Bass // Steve Byram - Artwork // Steve Byram - Design // Sarah Allen - Arranger // Sarah Allen - Flute (Alto) // Ismael Casillas Torres - Trumpet // John Francis Bourke - Photography // Brian Finnegan - Flute // Brian Finnegan - Arranger // Dee Armstrong - Fiddle // Aidan Brennan - Guitar // Donogh Hennessy - Arranger // Donogh Hennessy - Whistle (Human) // Tartit - Arranger // Ed Boyd - Guitar // Ed Boyd - Arranger // John Joe Kelly - Arranger // John Joe Kelly - Bodhran // John Spurney - Piano // John Spurney - Harmonium // Jason Marcucci - Engineer // Fadimata Walett Oumar - Vocals // Fadimata Walett Oumar - Soloist // Fadimata Walett Oumar - Tinde // Mohamed Issa Ag Oumar - Guitar // Fatoumata Haidara - Choir, Chorus // Fatoumata Haidara - Handclapping // Pete Deboer - Engineer // Devon Moore Curtin - Photography
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