Published on Apr 4, 1999
A few months ago, we took a look at the first disc in Rounder’s
Celtic Fingerstyle Guitar series, featuring some of the
finest acoustic guitar work I had heard in a long time. For some
reason, though, I found myself constantly locking in to only the
first disc
Ramble To Cashel, and I never really got around to listening
to
The Blarney Pilgrim, the conclusion of the two-disc
series.
After just one listen to this disc, I was kicking myself hard.
Not only is this disc an excellent collection of guitar work, but
it’s even better than the first volume in the series – and that was
going to be a difficult disc to top.
The same group of guitarists who performed on
Ramble To Cashel perform on this album, taking traditional
Irish and Scottish music and pouring it into their instruments.
What comes out is not merely Irish or Scottish music; it’s
wonderful guitar arrangements that transcend any ethnic boundaries
one might want to place on them.
The work of two guitarists in particular I’d like to point out.
These are the works that, when I heard them, made my jaw scrape the
floor. First, Duck Baker’s performance on the medley “Miss Forbes
Farewell / Poll Halfpenny” completely blows me away. Not having the
video that this CD is the companion of, I have to guess that Baker
is performing this song on a 12 string guitar. The fingerpicking on
the six-string is impressive enough, but Baker adds an incredibly
bass-rich tone to this song by switching to the 12-string that
makes this track one of the best in the entire collection. (Maybe
the next time, they’ll do a CD of fingerstyle guitar on only
12-string guitars. I’d buy it!)
The second guitarist is Pierre Bensusan, who throws in
flourishes that one would never have expected in his three
selections. On tracks like “Sheebeg An Sheemor” and the medley of
“The Pure Drop/The Flax In Bloom,” Bensusan brings out all of the
beauty of these songs with the richness of his work on the acoustic
guitar – incredible!
This is not to say that the performances of the other guitarists
– Pat Kirtley, Martin Simpson, Steve Baughman, Tom Long and El
McMeen – is any less good. Each guitarist demonstrates similar
amazing skills on the six-string to create music that is guaranteed
to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face, whether you have
any Celtic blood in you or not. (The only minor criticism: the
microphones for Long’s performances were very sensitive; if I’m
hearing right, I can hear him breathing, especially on the
otherwise outstanding “Jenny Picking Cockles”.)
The Blarney Pilgrim is one of the best guitar albums I have
ever listened to, and will amaze you with its technical beauty. I
don’t think, though, I could watch the videos without wanting to
smash my own guitars, knowing I’d never be as good as these
guitarists.