Celtic Rose

I did a fair amount of salivating over the last Hayley Griffiths album, "Silver Screen", a classical crossover album of original material that went on to win a slew of awards.

Now, despite her Englishness, Ms Griffiths has released an album of Irish music. Of course, when you realise that she's spent a fair amount of time touring in Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance, as well as currently appearing in Ragus, it all makes a lot more sense. And it's another goodie, especially to a Scotchman like me, who can trace three quarters of his family back to Ireland.

Now, if you'd asked me to listen to this twenty years ago, I would have shot you down with a bullet belt of Motorhead, but I'm an old man now, who spends most of his time wallowing in fake nostalgia, so anything that my parents would have loved is the kind of thing that has me breaking doon in tears, in a welter of Celtic maudlin.

So when I hear the clear and pure tones of Ms Griffiths giving it laldy on 'Wild Mountainside' (the token Scotch tune), I turn into a big girl, thinking of my mammy and my Auntie Famie, mourning time I never appreciated the first time round. And by the time I've worked my way through 'Danny Boy', 'You Raie Me Up' and 'I Know My Love', you could wipe me up with a box of hankies.

Being a big jessie aside, this is a stunning album, chock full of beautiful arrangements, from a fabulous singer. If the last one won every classical award under the sun, this should mop up the Celtic ones with ease.