FLAC / Lossless / Log 100%/ Cue
Label/Cat#: Shanachie ?– 78044
Country: Ire
Year: March 13, 2001
Genre: celtic
Format: CD,Album





1Who Put the Blood4:19
2The King's Shilling4:20
3Weary of Lying Alone4:10
4Éirigh Suas a Stóirín3:27
5Eppie Morrie4:00
6Strange Fruit3:07
7Where Are You Tonight I Wonder4:50
8Buile Mo Chroí4:25
9You Brought Me Up4:43
10The Snows They Melt the Soonest3:42
11The Liberty Tree5:03




The revival of traditional Irish and Celtic music continues strongly after more than a decade. While some veteran performers like the Chieftains have been at the heart of the scene, a respectable number of younger performers have been taking up the cause, plunging into traditional styles with sometimes astonishing musicianship, and often taking it in new directions. Clannad and Enya have mixed Celtic and New Age, while others have mixed Celtic and rock and even hip-hop, and still others stay with traditional acoustic instrumentation while bringing a lot of other influences into their repertoire, doing distinctly non-traditional material. Among the very brightest lights on the Celtic scene is the band Solas, who emerged in the mid 1990s, lead by Seamus Egan, known for bringing jaw-dropping instrumental prowess, a remarkable understanding of traditional music, and a degree of eclecticism within the acoustic paradigm that sets their music apart.

Through their first years of existence, Karan Casey was Solas' prominent lead vocalist. Recently, she departed amicably from the group to take on the duties of raising a family, and to launch her own solo career at somewhat less hectic pace. She has just released her first post-Solas CD, called The Wind Begins to Sing, and it gives us a chance to hear one of the finest voices in Irish music doing a fine collection of songs that reflect her diverse interests, including jazz.

Karan Casey, now 32, was born in a small town in County Waterford, Ireland, where she says that as long as she can remember, she was surrounded by music and singing, and always encouraged to join in. She received formal classical training, and also struck up an association with the Foran family, known for their traditional folk-singing. But at the same time, she was also drawn to jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, spending many an hour listening to their recordings. While she does not often perform in a jazz style, Ms. Casey nevertheless feels a profound influence by the jazz singers in her phrasing and vocal technique. She finds what she calls a "strong similarity between traditional and jazz idioms."

But, that influence is subtle for most of this album, which is actually her third solo recording, following her outstanding 1997 solo debut, Songlines and a children's album released last year. On The Wind Begins to Sing, she is joined by Donald Shaw, of the durable Scottish band Capercaillie, who served as producer of the album and played keyboards. Other regulars include bassist Ewan Vernal, and guitarists Robbie Overson and John Doyle. But the personnel varies from one track to the next, ranging from an Irish-sounding string band to some starkly instrumented pieces backed only by Shaw's synthesizers. The result is a memorable album that combines Ms. Casey's superb vocals with interesting songs that often tell stories, sad ones, for the most part, with some steeped in the old traditions when songs took the place of television and movies in telling tales of sex and violence. In fact, that is one of the more striking parts of this CD: hearing Ms. Casey's remarkably pure, appealing vocals singing lyrics that are sometimes a bit gory.