You can go over to Bandcamp and hear why this would be an exciting thing. Of course, to me, two things stood out: 1.) it's Fred Morrison; 2.) I now have my very own recording of "Kansas City Hornpipe." But this was the reaction before I even listened to the CD. Even if you are not a fiddler who has been coveting "Kansas City Hornpipe" for a year and more, there is a rather immeasurable lot to like about this album. In no particular order:
- The variety. The collection never gets wrapped around one flavour--an impressive feat when you consider that there is only one lead instrumentalist. But there are border pipe tracks a-plenty, set off among whistle tracks, and my crown jewel above on the uillean pipes, of course.
- The musicality. It is Fred Morrison after all--and live at that! A contagious delight in the tunes looses very little, I think, in this case, by being encased in the (metaphorical) amber of a recording. The music itself is alive, the musician just happens to be whirled along with enjoying the fun, and the listener is just as compelled.
- The musicianship. That man can play the pipes, to say nothing of the whistle. And the backing musicians (especially a guitarist at the speed of Track 10) might not be entirely human.
- The tunes. Everyone is bound to have different favourites here, and I would hate to distract too much from others' potential choices by rambling on about my own subjective likes. But did I mention "Kansas City Hornpipe" was part of the album? Of course, being a pushover when it comes to slow airs, I was particularly struck by "Passing Places," as well. If the album never stagnates in its sound, it never does in style either. You can have the firecrackers of an insane "Sleepy Maggie," the bleak, wistful phrasing of "Passing Places" and the very. . .well, downtown, swing of "Downtown," all under one roof.
- I meantersay, it's just a grand album all-round.
