Some years ago, upon the recommendation of another, I picked up the Karan Casey album, Songlines. I enjoyed the album immensely, thought her voice beautiful, lyrical. I've long been a fan of British and Irish folk music and Casey's voice is particularly distinctive. Not to sound trite, her music has an innocent, angelic quality.

On a recent trip to a store specializing in Irish music, I looked up "Karan Casey" in their extensive stacks and came upon this CD. I've now been listening to the album for a couple of weeks and I think it even better, more mature, more emotionally evocative than her earlier work.

Among the most haunting tracks is "Song of Lies," which I play again and again, savoring the poetry of its lyrics, the simplicity and beauty of her interpretation.

If you were to buy one and only one CD this year, you'd not go wrong making this one your choice!

Karan Casey, with classical training in Irish music and a huge vocal range, sings Irish traditional songs and contemporary ballads with simple accompaniments, often using traditional Irish instruments--the bodhran, the fiddle, the low whistle, and the concertina--and sometimes including instruments from other countries, the bouzouki from Greece and the berimbao from Brazil. With a light, "innocent," and almost whispery soprano, she imbues her often mournful songs with an honest passion that is rare in contemporary folk singing. In the title song, her choice of accompaniments--the low whistle, the electric bass, and drums--creates such an insistent beat and ominous background that when she plaintively sings of being "washed up on a distant shore," the reader's sympathies are fully engaged.

All of the songs here are laments, tragic narratives, or songs of hard work and the hope of survival, and all are in minor keys. Though some songs are in faster tempos and may have syncopations, these are not "uptempo" in mood. Casey stresses the displacement of the Irish, the poverty, and the need to "stay strong." In various songs she emphasizes a life "full of hope but prone to grief," states that "them that works hardest are the least provided," and says, "We won't worry about the government, worry about the way to go." "The Ballad of Tim Evans" tells about a man executed for murdering his wife and child, though he was innocent. "The Four Loom Weaver" tells of having "nowt to eat...I feel in my heart I'll soon starve." And both "Distant Shore" and "Bata is Bothar" deal with the unhappiness of immigration.

Casey's voice is at its most versatile in "Lord MacDonald's," sung in Gaelic, as in rapid tempo her voice lightly dances up and down her range in a song with few pauses, the Gaelic refrain combining with drums for dramatic power. In the unusual love song "Quiet of the Night," a mournful tune with a double bass, she becomes a person who decides to stay strong, a woman who "love[s] you in my heart because you let me be," a particularly affecting concertina solo adding to the drama. This magnificent voice singing heartbreaking songs reflects the Irish melancholia one so often sees in the country's poets. Here Karan Casey becomes a poet in song. Mary Whipple

This is surely as good as folk music gets anywhere. Karan Casey's third solo album since leaving Solas is another of exquisite beauty and fine taste - for those familiar with her fine previous albums, expect the same pleasures here. Songs are from traditional and modern sources, including one written by Karan herself. Scottish band Capercaillie members Donald Shaw, Mike McGoldrick and Ewan Vernal are among the many talented session musicians. The backing is sweet and complementary, precisely matching the rise and fall of Karan's tender poetic voice with keyboards, guitars, fiddle, whistle, concertina, mandolin, banjo, vocals and various types of percussion. There's a variety of lyrical themes throughout the album. Billy Bragg's "Distant Shore" tells of crossing the sea to escape everything except memories, and there are love songs like "The Song of Lies", "The Curra Road" and "Quiet of the Night", as well as ballads like Ewan MacColl's "Ballad of Tim Evans', "The Four-Loom Weaver" and "The Jute Mill Song". Two are sung in Gaelic. Karan has a way of getting deep into the soul of the music which will in turn reach deep into the heart of every listener. Thoroughly captivating. Full marks again.

I know that it's probably the most abused and overworked term in music reviews, but this is a beautiful CD.

Karan is one of those Irish women that God has blessed with a voice that can stop a concert hall crowd dead in their tracks.To use an old cliche, Karan Casey has a voice like an angel- except that this angel is really hip and has a powerful and compelling social conscience! Although the overall feel is deeply traditional, the whole album has a completely modern esthetic.

Her band is great. And Dirk Powell adds understated but effective banjo on several tracks. Tim O'Brien contributes outstanding vocals and mandolin.

Both of them are featured on Karan's version of Tim's song "Another Day ". It's simply the most profound and compelling song that I've heard in many years.

A great project- thoughtful and moving.

Celtic Music Society of Montgomery says:

Karan Casey's second solo album since moving on from the group Solas is a haunting, insinuating addition to your Celtic library.

It's deceptively quiet, even the Billy Bragg title song, which is a heartfelt ballad of homesickness in the person of an immigrant-- "washed up on a distant shore, can't go home anymore"-- with a lilting, soothing melody. Her inflections are subtle but powerful, so that when she adds on a trill or a grace note it changes the whole meaning of a phrase.

For this album, Karan included guest artists from scottish gaelic tradition (Karen Matheson from Capercaillie, for one) and Tim O'Brien from American bluegrass. It all blends into an album that has an overall mood of wistfulness.

What is deceptive is that many of the songs are in fact peppy and upbeat. "The Ballad of Tim Evans," for example, seems at first another ballad of a criminal, but the chorus "go down, you murderer" sneaks under your skin and stays there. The point-of-view is anti-death penalty but it's quiet enough to let you make up your mind, and the use of an electric piano in the background gives the tune an odd, jazzy, modern feeling.

Karan's voice is instantly recognizable and unforgettable, while powerful it has a girlish quality like Nanci Griffith's that lend all the songs, even the happy ones, a sense that we are just a step away from heartbreak.

There are some wonderful new songs on this album-- "The Curra Road" is a lovely pastoral bit of nostalgia from Ger Wolfe, and one of my personal favorites is Karan's own composition "The Quiet of the Night," an odd love song whose chorus says "I love you in my heart, because you let me be."

But in this busy world, that is as strong praise as any I've ever heard, and combined with the pensive, minor-key melody, it creates a beautiful mood of peace and determination.

"The Four-loom weaver" is one of the fastest songs on the album-- it may be about a man on the brink of starvation, but the melody is quick-- conveying anger and despair at once-- and it's just a great tune.

No, this is not the same kind of "pub music" you may have heard with some of Solas, but it has a gorgeous purity that makes it a must for any follower of Celtic music.

...