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John Carty: At It Again |
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(Shanachie 78054, London-raised and now living back in Roscommon, John Carty could well be considered one of the leading fiddlers of his generation. On At It Again, his third solo album with Shanachie, Carty’s fiddling is bolder and more confident than on his previous work. There’s a strong blast of the Sligo tradition here, with tunes learned from Coleman, “Lad” O’Beirne and Seamus Tansey, and the common reels are balanced out by some lovely, rare finds. Where John is most inspiring is in his knack for variation; even a tune as oft recorded as The Silver Spear is looked at from a new perspective, and I’ve rarely heard anyone medley a tune with itself as effectively as he does on Jim Donoghue’s, the opening track. I had the good fortune to see John in concert recently, and was left with the feeling that he could have played Donoghue’s for another twenty minutes and not been done with his explorations. I was also able to see firsthand how much fun he has with this music; I think much of what he does by way of variation is intended as a little joke, a way to say, “Isn’t it grand that we’re here, and able to play a few tunes?” Fans of John’s banjo and tenor guitar work will be disappointed. The album is entirely fiddle, with accompaniment by Alec Finn, Arty McGlynn, Francis Gaffney, Brian McGrath and John Blake. James Carty joins his brother John on flute for two very nice sets, and the whole thing is crisply recorded and produced, with John Blake in the producer’s chair. A nice piece of work. |
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© Brendan Taaffe, 2005. All Rights Reserved. |
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