Karan Casey
Click on one of the above
titles to head straight to the review.
Vertical VERTCD 064; 41
minutes; 2003
The County Waterford-born
singer Karan Casey originally made her name with Solas, her silkily pure vocals
providing a lissom and integral counterpart to the band’s sometimes frenetic
approach to traditional music. Her debut album, 1997’s Songlines was
recorded while she was still a Solas member and it was only with its successor,
The Winds Begin to Sing, released four years’ later, that she really set
forth on her solo career. 
The Winds was produced by Capercaillie’s Donald
Shaw and consisted predominantly of traditional songs, though Karan returned to
her jazz inclinations with Strange Fruit, while also employing the
writing talents of the pairing known as “The Gaelic Hit Factory”, John Spillane
and Louis de Paor.
Distant
Shore functions
on almost identical principles, except this time the traditional ditties take a
back seat in favour of songs from the likes of Billy Bragg (the title track)
and the Irish songwriters Ger Wolfe, Matt McGinn and, again, the “Hit
Factory”. Now therein danger lies since
Karan made a name for herself as a remarkable interpreter of traditional songs,
suiting her somewhat fragile tones to the material. This approach remains
effective on Mary Brookbank’s The Jute Mill Song, but when she sings the
chorus line of Ewan MacColl’s The Ballad of Tim Evans, it’s difficult to
believe that she really means “Go down, you murderer, go down”.
Nevertheless,
solid musicianship from participants such as fiddler Dezi Donnelly,
banjo-player Dirk Powell and concertina-player Niall Vallely, married to exceptionally
sensitive production guarantees Distant Shore’s overall success.
However, in choosing to sing Lord MacDonald’s in Scots Gaelic as a duet
with Karen Matheson there is a lingering sense that Karan Casey might just have
sailed a little too close to the Capercaillie wind.
Vertical VERTCD 070; 50
minutes; 2005
Karan
Casey doesn’t just wear her heart on her sleeve, rather it sits there throbbing
and pounding, suffusing her songs with a vigorous, blood-red sense of purpose.
The woman from County Waterford with the golden voice has so far produced three
previous impressive solo albums, not counting her work with Solas, but Chasing
the Sun represents a massive leap forward.
It’s not just the finely-tuned
settings of Karan’s voice against the sparse backdrop of guitar, bouzouki or
mandolin, supported by Ewen Vernall’s utterly understated bass-playing which
puts this album on a higher level than her previous releases. There’s the
subtle injections of Niall Vallely’s concertina for starters and a sensitive
use of overdubbed vocal harmonies.
Rather,
and key to it all, far more than any of its predecessors, Chasing the Sun
successfully marries a mix of traditional, but ever lyrically-pointed, songs,
such as the epic unaccompanied ballad Jimmy Whelan, with contemporary
material that reflects Karan’s rising status as one of Ireland’s most
politically-charged singers.
Her own
compositions reveal increasing confidence and incisive political awareness, not
least in When Will We All Be Free, which attacks Ireland’s current
policies on immigration. Above all, however, the songs are invigorated by her
gorgeous, sensual, utterly knowing voice.
Both reviews
by Geoff Wallis were originally written for Songlines magazine – www.songlines.co.uk.
For more information about Vertical Records visit www.verticalrecords.co.uk.