Cherish the Ladies
Woman
of the House
Rounder 11661-7063-2; 52 minutes; 2005
Another label change for the Irish-American
band also sees more personnel changes with Connemara-born piano accordionist
Mirella Murray and Belfast fiddler Roisin Dillon joining Kildare singer and the
only remaining original members, the US pairing of whistle and flute player
Joanie Madden and Mary Coogan on an assortment of guitars, mandolins, etc.
Add to that
brew a massive guest list which includes Kate Rusby, Eddi Reader, Karen
Mathieson, Phil Cunningham and Flook’s John Joe Kelly and you’d probably expect
an exciting confection. Some of the instrumental tracks do sparkle, but are
swamped by anodyne arrangements elsewhere, particularly a teeth-clenchingly
awful version of Bogie’s Bonnie Belle which contains more cheese than a
delicatessen.
This review by Geoff Wallis was written for Songlines
magazine – www.songlines.co.uk.