Recorded over two nights in July at Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick, Sharon Shannon’s new live album is one big party piece; every one of the 29 tracks on this double-CD set is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Even if you happen to have spent the past three years in Timbuktu, there’s little here that you won’t have heard before; the majority of the material was originally released half a decade ago. No matter – it’s a party, right?
Here’s Roesy belting out ‘Trailin The True Star’; there’s Damien Dempsey with his Dublinese rap pastiche ‘I’ve No Alibi’. Banjo player Gerry O’Connor revives his glorious instrumental ‘Time To Time’, from the 1992 album of that name; Mundy offers up impassioned renditions of ‘Mexico’ and ‘July’ and ‘Galway Girl’, getting some of the loudest cheers of the night. Jon Kenny is there, too, having fun with cowboy balladry Irish style on ‘The Donegal Kid’. The Brennan sisters harmonise on the old Luke Kelly hit ‘Hand Me Down Me Bible’, Dessie O’Halloran sings ‘Say You Love Me’ and ‘Courtin’ In The Kitchen’ with his trademark quaver, and the whole gang joins in on ‘Ring Of Fire’ for the finale.
And there at the centre of it all is Sharon Shannon, playing old favourites like ‘Coridinio’ (the bouncy Portuguese dance tune that back in the early 1990s was referred to by all and sundry as “the Sharon Shannon”) and ‘Music for a Found Harmonium’ with nary a hint of jadedness. From the pure joy and vigour in her playing, you’d think she picked these tunes up yesterday; the grin on her face is virtually audible through the speakers.
If you want to see that grin for yourself, check out the simultaneously released DVD of the show, with bonus features that include soundcheck footage, a Jon Kenny stand-up routine and interviews with guests, fans and Sharon herself.