The Bonny Bunch Of Roses

A familiar sight at traditional singing sessions as well as on radio and television programmes devoted to the art, Seán Garvey kept his fans waiting a long time for the appearance of his debut solo CD in 1998. Happily, the Cahirciveen native (since transplanted to Bray) has now followed it up with a worthy successor. As before, there are songs aplenty in both Irish and English, delivered in Garvey’s magnificent rich baritone and accompanied by him on deftly finger-picked guitar; he also plays flute on a couple of sets of tunes, and rounds the album off with a beautiful original guitar instrumental, ‘For Rosie and Countess’. The arrangements are kept spare overall, with unobtrusive contributions from Garvey’s two sons – Eoghan on uilleann pipes and Seán Óg on accordion – as well as Mick Kinsella’s lonesome harmonica and concertina, Josephine Marsh’s accordion and Liam Lewis’s fiddle. Extensive liner notes fill out the background behind the material.