Description
Maireid Sullivan – Dancer
CD review by Tony Smith
TN333-23 – $30
TN180 Sep 26
This 1996 Lyrebird Music album of eleven tracks is a nice mix of songs.
There is a good balance between traditional songs and originals by Maireid Sullivan.
‘Medley: Eriskay Love Lilt and An’ Dro (instrumental)’, ‘Waly Waly’ and the ‘Connemara Cradle Song’ are traditional pieces.
‘Sally Gardens’ has lyrics by W.B. Yeats and an interesting and surprising instrumental lead-in.
‘She Moved Through the Fair’ by Padraic Colum is pretty much in the canon.
This rendition makes a haunting finale.
For these songs, Sullivan and her collaborators Steve Wilson, Donal Lunny, John Norton and Matthew Arnold did the arrangements.
The remaining songs have lyrics by Sullivan.
These include ‘Colour Me’, ‘Feeling Wings’, ‘Dancer’, ‘Bringing It All the Way Home’, ‘I Believe in Love’ and ‘Time’.
Of the originals, the upbeat ‘Bringing It All the Way Home’ followed by ‘I Believe in Love’ make an excellent pairing.
Besides Sullivan, there are some accomplished musicians on this album, including Matthew Arnold (violin, viola and backing vocals), Gary Costello (double bass), Dicky Deegan (Uilleann pipes and whistles), Doug De Vries (guitar, banjo and cavaquinho), Kavisha Mazella (vocal harmonies), Dominic McAlinden (bodhran and percussion), Peter Neville (conga, percussion and vibraphone), John Norton (guitar dobro, bouzouki and oud) and Steve Wilson (guitar and e’bow).
Special guests include Andy Irvine (mandola and harmonica) and Donal Lunny (bouzouki, guitar, bodhran, keyboards and vocal harmonies).
Lunny produced the album, which was recorded and mixed by Doug Brady.
Andrew Horne mastered the CD, which was recorded at Studio RB-X in Richmond, Victoria.
The lyrics to ‘Time’ are perhaps the most interesting of Sullivan’s compositions.
It concerns something deep within us that makes us enjoy music.
‘Time beseeching time/ sleepers deep within the mind/ old music calling to race memory/ alive down deep inside/ so unto Brid queen of song/ from race memory we pass through you …. Feel the tunes of yore/ through Bardic tales and Bardic lore/ old music calling to race memory’.
Genuine folk song has that spiritual connection with an ancestry we do not always understand.
Maireid Sullivan displays a fine strong voice with good control and her timing is excellent.
She conveys feelings very well and the fact that she could attract support from such outstanding musicians of international repute is in itself a grand recommendation.
Overall the quality of this album is such that they should all be proud of their contributions, but Maireid Sullivan especially so.
Ed. Maireid Sullivan has four albums available for sale from the Trad&Now Website, all of which can be heard on Trad&NowLive! from time to time.
“She sings with a voice filled with passion, mystery and wisdom. She sings of creating a better world, shaping our tomorrow. Reaching for the music of the spheres, with nature as an anchor, she reminds us that life is a dance and we are the dancer.”
