I first aquired this album - on vinyl - in 1977, and it engendered a profound enthusiasm for the work of Donal Lunny which lasts to this day.
The Bothy Band has been the solid benchmark of referral to followers of traditional Irish music for almost forty years now, and this selection of their work remains, for me, THE most inspiring collection of music in the genre.
Lunny's seemingly tactile sense of arrangement and timing confers an almost orchestral depth of drama and sesibility to these already magnificent - at times, ancient - tunes. His compatriot musicians are/were the best that could be found, within the tradition, in Ireland when the Band formed in 1975, and all have - over the years - moved the tradition forward in terms of sheer inspiration by their prolific talent.
For me, the first and the last tracks still render me breathless! The bold thinking behind the arrangement of the "Morning Star" set is a fine example of complex, yet intuitive musicianship.
To use the device of playing "The Fishermans Lilt" - played in the key of 'C'on Pipes and Clavichord - as a link-tune between the great old pipers classic tune, "Morning Star", and the third tune - the dramatic "The Drunken Landlady", is inspired to say the least. THEN - to plunge, headlong back into "The Fishermans Lilt" as a three-round finale - played in 'C' this time round - by the whole ensemble shows off the brilliance and passion of this exciting group.
The three "Slides" at the end have a similar effect on me; just listen to Donal Lunny's intricate bouzouki counterpoint inserted into the last tune of the set - "This is My Love, Do You Like Her" - and how it sets up the inroduction of a strong mono-chord of guitar rhythm from the late Micheal O'Domnhnaill. My only slight criticism of the whole album is that there was no vocal track from the mesmerising voice of this much lamented singer, who died in 2006.
That said - the three vocal contributions from his sister, Triona, infuses this collection with a drama and sensibility that renders this lusterous album, for me at any rate, a timeless, priceless classic.
Howard Osborne - 2011
