Kevin Burke is a familiar presence in Irish traditional music.
By Daniel Neely
I gave a spin this week to “The Pound Ridge Sessions,” the new album from fiddle legend Kevin Burke and guitarist John Brennan. It’s a different album than I’d normally listen to because it’s one that draws heavily on rock music as an influence. The danger with this kind of approach is a result that lacks depth and relies on cliché to make up for a lack of credibility. So as I listened I was on the lookout for the small details that would spoil the “rock” for me, but at the end of my first listening I felt strangely contented with what I’d hear. Indeed, in the second and subsequent spins I felt there was something compelling and “real” about the way this album unfolded because it continued to draw my attention each time around.
There are few in traditional music who don’t know Kevin Burke. From his work with the Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival, to his various duet collaborations, and his solo work, his is an extremely impressive resumé. Add to this accolades that include being a 2002 National Heritage Fellow and being TG4’s Gradam Ceoil “Musician of the Year” for 2016, you have a very sharp picture of a man who has lived a rich, expansive life in trad music. And yet while his Irish music bona fides are unimpeachable, Burke has an extensive curiosity and understanding of other musics, and it’s this interest he’s exploring here.
Brennan, on the other hand, comes from the world of rock and roll. He grew up in San Diego, traded his surfboard for a guitar when he was a teen, and grew up working as a session musician in Los Angeles. Among those he’s played with over the years include the Eagles (yes, those Eagles), Graham Nash, and John Whelan. Longtime readers may also remember he also produced and played on Loretta Murphy’s CD “Beyond the Watery Lane,” which I reviewed here back in 2012.
In addition, the album also includes some choice guests well known in the traditional music community, including Winifred Horan (fiddle), Nuala Kennedy (whistle & vocal), Eamon O’Leary (vocal & bouzouki), Shelia Falls Keohane (fiddle), Mike McGoldrick (uilleann pipes & low whistle), & Johnny Connolly (button accordion). Guest musician who might perhaps not be so well known to the trad community but who carry weight in rock circles include keyboardist Lou Bellofatto (Steeplechase), alto sax player Al Garth (Eagles, Loggins & Messina, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), and legendary jazz bassist Mark Egan (bass), all of whom etch out a space here.
https://youtu.be/XPFZpZI0Sts
The album has lots of compelling tracks that work in terms of the direction they’ve set out upon. “The Tempest,” which they say they’ve set in a SoCal jazz/rock/blues fusion style” works very well. Burke and Falls Keohane’s fiddles play as if one, and Brennan’s layered guitars – sometimes doubling the melody, sometimes laying down the groove – give it engaging support. “Jessica,” a beautiful Allman Brothers instrumental, features Horan, and is another lovely track. Burke and Brennan have done well reinventing this one and it’ll intrigue folks who know the original. A track I particularly like is “May This Be Love,” a Jimi Hendrix tune on which Burke and Brennan take lead and to which they’ve added McGoldrick’s pipes and low whistle. McGoldrick’s contributions really adds some pleasing textures and his work really shines here.
The song “London Town” (which features Burke on lead vocal) is interesting because it’s reflective tone about the immigrant experience in London reminds me in some ways of Mick Curry’s “Murphy Can Never Go Home,” but its warm nostalgia and optimism also reminds me of Andy Irvine’s “O’Donohue’s.” The lyrics are very nice, and fit well with track’s style, which takes a very “Irish rock” turn that I found surprising and well done.
“The Pound Ridge Sessions” is an album for folks who love traditional music, but also who love the sounds of classic rock and perhaps more modern Irish rock, too. Brennan brings a guitar lover’s sensibility to this recording. His sound is big, lush, and dripping with tone throughout, and it recalls the standard bearers of rock guitar history in a recognizable way. But Burke’s fiddle playing is, of course, iconic and his deep understanding of music history articulate very well with what Brennan brings to the table. It was a somewhat risky experiment as fusions go because the danger is cliché, but the results avoid this, while all the while being accessible and easy to listen to. It’s great stuff that will surely grab the ears of more than a few! Learn more at www.loftusmusic.com.
