Brendan Ring
Troublesome Things
Own
label - BPR001CD; 38 mins; 2001
To put the record state, just in case anyone
reading this review is under any misapprehension, the album’s excellent cover
is not a portrait of the uilleann piper and low whistler, but an oil painting
by Anthony Ruby (The Soul of Man). Fortunately, there’s a picture of
Brendan on the case liner to prove it!
The Troublesome Things of the title, taken
from a little-known poem by Thackeray, can hardly be a more appropriate comment
on the uilleann pipes (ask any piper about the effects of humidity on reeds,
for instance), but Brendan Ring proves himself an undoubted master of their
complexities on this welcome release. 
Perhaps best-known for his appearance on John
Spillane’s The Wells of the World album, Brendan has been a key figure
in the Cork traditional scene for some time. There’s a strong Corcovian
presence on this album too, not least in the wonderfully clear engineering and
co-production from Ray Barron (wizard mandolin player with Two Time Polka), and
other notables contributing include Gerry McKee (bouzouki and guitar) from the
sadly defunct Nomos and John Neville (guitarist with North Cregg). Other
contributors include percussionist Mel Mercier and singer Rachel Healy.
Brendan’s unusual in playing a set of pipes of his
own construction (in concert pitch, by my reckoning) and extracts a glorious
ringing tone (no pun intended) from his chanter, using the regulators sparingly
to produce simple but effective harmonies which are heard no better than on the
well-known jig Brian O’Lynn. This runs into The Lisnagun Jig, one
of several of Brendan’s own compositions featured here, while another two,
The Robbery of Chester Jail/Rí Ring’s, demonstrates not only his complete
inheritance of the tradition, but also, via his notes, a rather dodgy bloodline,
albeit described with characteristic humour:
These tunes were written for two of my wilder
ancestors. One my great-great-grandfather Horatio Nelson Tivvy, a native of
Cork city, became governor of Chester jail and absconded with all the prisoners’
possessions, never to be seen again. The
other, known as ‘Rí Ring’, from Coolivarne, County Cork, led a
rather colourful life, having been wanted for various Whiteboy offences,
including the shooting of a bailiff, he reportedly also shot his way out of
jail.
(Whiteboys, by the way, were members of an
eighteenth century Irish agrarian organisation formed in response to perceived
grievances against the peasantry who committed their vengeful acts at night
wearing white shirts.)
Several of the piping tracks are recorded
unaccompanied, but one of the exceptions is a madcap romp through Madame
Bonaparte, recorded live at The Lobby Bar with John Neville in manic
accompanist mode.
Some might be disappointed by the length of Troublesome
Things, which trots home in a mere thirty-eight minutes, but this is such a
clear case of quality overriding quantity that nobody should feel short-changed
by this excellent independent release.
This review
by Geoff Wallis was originally written for Musical Traditions – www.mustrad.org.uk.
Troublesome Things can be purchased directly from Brendan
Ring – brendan.ring@wanadoo.fr.