Karan Casey sings for Solas, one of the hottest young Irish folk bands of the last five years.
Her solo debut is a wonderful album, a program consisting primarily of traditional material presented with minimal arrangements that show off her crystalline voice to best advantage.
The instrumentation is not always strictly traditional -- that's an electric guitar providing cloudlike washes of chordal harmony on "She Is Like the Swallow" -- but the overall feel is very much in the folk idiom.
Despite the intrinsic lightness of her voice, Casey manages to deliver a blistering rendition of Ewan MacColl's acerbic "Ballad of Accounting," and she sings about the jilted "Roger the Miller" with deceptive sweetness.
She also brings new energy and insight into such chestnuts as "Shamrock Shore" and "One, I Love." Her excellent backing musicians include members of Solas, notably flutist Seamus Egan, who also provides excellent production.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roger the MillerTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | She Is Like the SwallowTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 3 | Ballad of AccountingEwan MacColl | Karan Casey | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Shamrock ShoreTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Martinmas TimeTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | An Buachaillin BanTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 02:39 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 7 | The Creggan White HareTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | The Song of Wandering AengusTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | One, I LoveJean Ritchie | Karan Casey | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | The World Turned Upside Down (The Digger's Song)Leon Rosselson | Karan Casey | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 11 | The Labouring Man's DaughterTraditional | Karan Casey | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 20 MB |
| 43 mins | 100 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 243 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Aharon | Arranger, Cello, Dumbek, Fretless Bass, Guitar (Bass), Piano, String Arrangements, Synthesizer |
| 2 | John Anthony | Arranger, Bodhran, Cajon, Djembe, Drums, Drums (Bass), Engineer, Guitar, Hi Hat, Hi String Guitar, Knee Slaps, Percussion, Timpani, Tom-Tom |
| 3 | Daryl Burgess | Djembe |
| 4 | Karan Casey | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 5 | John Doyle | Arranger, Guitar, Vocal Harmony |
| 6 | Séamus Egan | Arranger, Bodhran, Flute, Mandolin, Producer, Tin Whistle, Whistle (Instrument) |
| 7 | Colm Henry | Photography |
| 8 | Earle Hitchner | Liner Notes |
| 9 | Steve Holloway | Drums (Snare) |
| 10 | Winifred Horan | Arranger, String Arrangements, Violin |
| 11 | Lindsey Horner | Bass |
| 12 | Chico Huff | Bass |
| 13 | Ewan MacColl | Composer |
| 14 | Mick McAuley | Whistle (Instrument) |
| 15 | Elizabeth O'Reilly | Paintings |
| 16 | Joan Pelosi | Design |
| 17 | Rick Ridpath | Engineer |
| 18 | Jean Ritchie | Composer |
| 19 | Leon Rosselson | Composer |
| 20 | Paul Smith | Assistant Engineer |
| 21 | Traditional | Composer |
| 22 | Robert Vosgien | Digital Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |