Hill of Thieves [CD]

After five years experimenting with top rock and pop producers, engineers and songwriters for Warner Music, and six years of carving herself out as a Folk/Pop crossover artist with indie label Rough Trade, Cara Dillon has landed with her seminal recording, 'Hill Of Thieves'.

Having watched this artist with interest over the past couple of years, I was interested to see where exactly she was going to go from 2006's hopeful, genre hopping 'After The Morning'. Label letdowns and a lacklustre promotional campaign hindered this record's success, leaving it with an ill-deserved fate as one of those albums that Could Have Been Big.

Dillon and her musical partner and husband Sam Lakeman, let down one too many times by industry promises, clearly spent the next couple of years rethinking things and cutting free completely. Now in the driver's seat (on her own label, Charcoal Records), Cara Dillon emerges as a master of her genre with this sublime effort.

Each of the eleven songs seem at home in their sonic surroundings - whether this be on a bed of many layers of acoustic guitar (The Hill Of Thieves), between a haunting vocal and harmonic piano overtones (The Parting Glass), or carved out of the silence, acapella (Fil, Fil A Run O). Lakeman's confidence and astute judgement as a producer must not go unnoticed here.

Guest vocalist Seth Lakeman is sure to generate extra interest in the album, and he is careful here to duet with his sister-in-law, rather than compete with her, as he seemed to do when part of her live band six years previous. The result of this vocal partnership is the wonderful Spencer The Rover.

On finer examinations, slight flaws come to the fore - Jimmy Mo Mhile Stor suffers slightly from overproduction, with an overdose of guitars and mandolin, an intro that recalls the opening of a cheesy children's animation, and harmonies that seem somewhat superfluous. However, there's no denying the interpretation is both cool and relevant, and might have been masterful with the backing of simply one guitar.

That being said, this is an album of hits, if traditional songs can be named so. The musicianship is superb, the vocal performance second to none, and above all, the sentiment is heartening: music existed before the industry machine, and as the machine presently crumbles amid the growth of new media technology, real, organic music will survive in this timeless, undated form.

The album highlight is undoubtedly The Parting Glass, a reading of an old favourite which has to be heard to be believed. It will now go into the vault with Black Is The Colour and The Streets Of Derry as traditional songs Dillon has rendered untouchable. (Well, that is pretty much a wholly subjective statement, yet I had to say it all the same.)

On a final note, the album obviously attempts to awaken some nostalgia for the golden age of Irish folk in the 1970s, with bouzouki/guitar/pipes collaborations to rival the work of Planxty or the legendary pairing of Paul Brady and Andy Irvine. When the album is released in January 2009 it will be down to the folk music community to decide whether the album has some of the magic of those which inspired it or whether it comes off as a sentimental and pale imitation, though I doubt that anyone will settle for the latter.

This is an amazing album from Cara Dillon, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves great singing. I was fortunate to acquire it during the fall tour, and I've been playing over and over since then. Cara Dillon is one of the greatest singers that I've ever heard, period. This year of 2008 has been a great one for fans of Cara Dillon with extensive touring and the release of the the REDCASTLE SESSIONS DVD (which I HIGHLY recommend, by the way Cara Dillon - The Redcastle Sessions). Cara opens 2009 with a gem of an album. And she did all this with wee twin boys to look after!

HILL OF THIEVES is a brilliant album right from the opening title track, an original song by Cara Dillon and husband Sam Lakeman with a killer riff on low whistle that somehow manages to fit perfectly with the other songs, which are traditional. The magic of this album comes of course from Cara's singing, but also from the outstanding supporting musicians and, very importantly, the superb way in which these songs are arranged by the husband and wife team of Lakeman/Dillon. Their work makes these traditional songs so 'immediate' and 'contemporary' while preserving their timelessness. The very catchy "Spencer the Rover" is a noteworthy example of this, plus the harmonies between Cara and brother-in-law Seth Lakeman are jaw-dropping! Cara's beautiful singing to Sam Lakeman's excellent piano accompaniment in the haunting "She Moved Through The Fair" and the resplendent "The Verdant Braes of Skreen" give me goosebumps (and sometimes misty eyes). Cara's songs of emigration always get to my emotions, and "The Parting Glass" - a song that's over 300 years old - is so heartbreakingly performed. "False, False" is another favourite; I just cannot imagine a song being sung more perfectly in both technique and emotion. Cara and company also give us great craic in the upbeat "Johnny, Lovely Johnny"; "Jimmy Mó Mhíle Stór"; and "P Stands for Paddy" which give the album an emotional breadth.

I think this is going to be a classic! You will NOT regret purchasing this album.

I bought this (pre-release) CD at a Cara Dillon concert in October and it's really superb. The title song is co-written by Cara and Sam Lakeman,all other tracks are traditional songs arranged by Cara and Sam. My favourite track is Spencer the Rover,but all are excellent - so much so that I've been playing it daily.