KAREN CASEY

The Winds Begin To Sing [Shanachie]

Second solo album from the acclaimed vocalist with Irish American trad supergroup Solas, The Winds Began To Sing continues the journey Karen Casey began with her 1997 debut, Songlines. As a collection of both original and traditional songs and airs it's a tour-de-force but her exquisitely refined, gently moving voice and the sympathetic treatment given to the material makes it much more than the sum of its parts.

Casey brings emotional depth to standards like, 'The King's Shilling' and 'The Liberty Tree' but the carefully chosen material goes beyond purely Irish sourced songs. Casey is equally adept and convincing on English folk standards such as June Tabor's 'Where Are You Tonight I Wonder' and Dick Gaughan's 'The Snows They Melt The Soonest'. Solas bandmate John Spillane supplies the music on 'You Brought Me Up' and the bi-lingual 'Buile Mo Chroi', the latter featuring some tricky syncopated percussion and Dezi Donnelly's superb fiddle playing.

As well as being a renowned traditional singer Waterford native Casey studied classical music at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and also studied Jazz at Long Island University. Her jazz leanings come to the fore on a poignant reading of Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit'. Backed only by Donald Shaw's sparse keyboard lines, the song's chilling subject matter i.e. the murder of Southern Blacks by the Klu Klux Clan is eerily brought to life.

Other highlights here include the epic Scottish ballad 'Eppie Morrie' made famous by Peggy Seeger and Ewen McColl, and the Iarla O'Lionaird sourced 'Weary From Lying Alone'

Throughout The Winds Begin To Sing Casey is backed by a stellar cast of musicians including Ted Barnes, John Doyle and the great Robbie Overson who wrote and arranged several tracks as well as supplying his distinctively rhythmic acoustic guitar playing.

Colm O'Hare