Solas celebrate their 10th anniversary with this spectacular Philadelphia concert CD/DVD featuring all past and present members, including Seamus Egan, Karan Casey, Mick McAuley, John Doyle and the rest. The collection features 17 tracks that truly celebrate all that's best about Solas. The sprightly take on Woody Guthrie's 'Pastures of Plenty', with Casey's voice at its most assured, gets the show off to a rollicking folk-rock start and it barely lets up over the next 75 minutes.
Nestling comfortably among zestful renditions of tunes like 'Morning Dew' and 'Who's In The What Now' there are superb songs by underrated Antje Duvekot whose haunting 'Black Annis' and the reflective 'Reasonland' suggest a real songwriting talent on the loose. There's magic in the interweaving of melody and rhythm in tracks like 'Highlands of Holland' and the unstoppable 'Flowing Bowl' medley, and the exquisite musicianship of Seamus Egan on flute is at its most evocative on the original slow air 'Lament For Frankie', a moving tribute to the late Frankie Kennedy of Altan.
Despite their American base, Solas eschew the usual shallow Irish-isms of bands like Leahy, and offer a noble and exhilarating take on the Irish tradition while adding a respectful contemporary tinge in both style and choice of material. Reunion is best taken as a complete concert experience and one to revel in at that. It's not often that Irish music sounds like this much fun.