 | | Reviews | | |  SHARON SHANNON & FRIENDS
Libertango
Independent Records IRL001
Following 2000's Diamond Mountain Sessions Sharon Shannon releases another of her 'and Friends' albums and once again subsumes her own star into the general glitter. A generous and prolific collaborator with a truly open approach to music, her presence on these recordings is so self-effacing that the overall effect resembles a sampler CD.
That said, Libertango is a great listen full of diverse but complementary material. The late Kirsty MacColl's dreamy latino title track, originally released on 1997's Each Little Thing), is reprised with studio additions. Sinead O'Connor is at her quirky vocal best on a brain-hooking ancient religious chant and the traditional Anachie Gordon. Particular highlight is the Irish/Egyptian An Phailistin (Palestine) sung by Roisin Elsafty and written by her mother Treasa Ni Cheannabháin and Donal Lunny. Kerry singer Pauline Scanlon's All the Ways you Wander is a treat and the only dud is a rather torpid version of Fleetwood Mac's Albatross. Superb musicianship obtains throughout and a bit of careful listening identifies Sharon's brilliant accordion, fiddle and low whistle (notably on a chirpy set of Tommy Peoples tunes) and reminds us what a great player she is.
The first single release from the album brings together its top and tailers - The Whitestrand Sling, a brass-laced slow reel by Galway composer Peter Browne and its radical reworking, What You Make It (da, da, da, da), lyricized by Malawian rap artist Marvel and with BVs by UK soul singer Lady K. Conventional, Sharon Shannon? No chance.
Mel McClellan - October 2003
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Folk & Acoustic
