Name: Beyond the Bellows and the Bow
Artist: The Queally Sisters
Year of Publication: 2019
Source: https://thequeallysisters.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-bellows-and-the-bow
Description: A first-album effort from sisters Aoibheann and Pamela Queally from Kilmaley, Co. Clare, on fiddle and concertina.
In Detail: The first track is a reel set. The Lads of Laois is a solid introduction to the album, into Dinny O'Briens, and completed with a bright reel called Pat Touhys; played at a steady pace, ornamented relatively sparsely.
The second track is another safe set - the commonly-heard Sean Ryan's Jig, into an upbeat setting of Jackson's Jig, and finished off with a nice jig called "Short Grass", with subtle guitar accompaniment.
The third is more reels - a choppy, appealing version of the Honeymoon Reel that complements both instruments nicely, into Martin Rochford's, and topped with "The Leading Roll"; a Liz Carroll tune; all accompanied with ceilí-band style keyboard accompaniment that gives the impression of a Siansa set. The reels are well-matched; while Martin Rochford's is a fairly forgettable reel on the whole, the Leading Roll is certainly not, and the transition works nicely.
The fourth track begins with an air on solo concertina, called "Singing Stream", and bounces into a well-known southern barndance called "Miss Galvin's". The air is a fairly plaintive rendition initially, with some harmonics thrown in later on. Airs on reed instruments rarely have the impressiveness of a well-played wind or string instrument, as they lack the ability for sliding and subtle dynamics, and this rendition is no different, and suffers for this, and for being four-and-a-half minutes long. Given the limitations, it is well played. The transition is well-done however, and keyboard accompaniment is nice, but the rhythm almost gets away from them at times, which is arguably the only time on this album that this argument could be put forward.
The fifth track is more reels, and starts with the indomintable Master Crowley's, into a nice tune called "Sweeney's Buttermilk", and finished up with "Maghera Mountain". Again the pace is steady, and the use of ornamentation relatively judicious. What is worth a remark is the tight sound that wouldn't go amiss in a duet competition. Indeed, if were one were told that this were a field recording at a regional Fleadh, one would not disbelieve it, save for the lack of background sound.
The sixth track is back to jigs, with Seanduine (Burnt Old Man), into the interestingly-named "Champagne Jig goes to Columbia", and finishing up with "Malcom's (sic) New Fiddle". Spelling mistakes aside, it's a well put together set that decides not to push the boundaries of pace or ornamentation, but doesn't suffer for it. Soft guitar accompaniment helps, if nothing else, to distinguish it from the previous set.
The seventh track returns for a fourth reel set, with well-known reels The Roscommon and Beare Island, followed by Mulqueen's Reel to finish the set. Well-chosen reels, and the reels flow together fairly comfortably. Subtle accompaniment on guitar (and what sounds like barely perceptable harp), once again adds more of a distinguisihing than noticeable addition to the track.
The eight track is more reels - the bog-standard Pidgeon on the Gate on fiddle with guitar accompaniment, leading into a nice version of "Sweeney's Dream" with the concertina.
The ninth track uses Caitlín Nic Gabhann's gorgeous waltz "Sunday's Well", and runs it into Inis Bearacháin, a bright jig. The tune choice is top class, and the accompaniment probably the best on the album.
More reels on the tenth track. Flax in Bloom has more melody instruments than previous tracks; leading into "Pride of the Bronx" and finishing with "Hanley's". It comes across as a bit of an open session of a track, but is diverting nonetheless
The eleventh track heralds the first hornpipe, and it's a four-minute rendition of the Groves Hornpipe. Subscribing to the notion that hornpipes should be relaxed affairs, this track is practically horizontal.
The twelfth track leads out with Mick O'Connors Reel (in about as low a key as they could muster), followed by that reel "Tribute To Larry Reynolds", which seems to sound magnificent in any setting, followed by "Over the Bog Road". Guitar accompaniment again; and very much like some previous tracks.
Some lovely jigs in the thirteenth track, which leads out with "9th of July", before going into "Paddy Fahey's", and ending with "New House". The minor jigs are a welcome change at this point in the album. The accompaniment is suitably subtle, and the pace is once again quite steady. Ornamentation, like other parts in the album, is fairly
The final track is, fittingly, a return to reels. The inescapable Dr Gilberts kicks it off, followed by an upswing into Jimmy's Return, and finishing up with Miss Thornton's. It's a nice track in it's own right, but notes aside it's pretty much what we've heard earlier on in the album.
What's Good: This is an inherently listenable album, put together by two talented and able musicians who clearly have a broad knowledge of tunes, and a good understanding of style and the music they are replicating. Some of the sets are simply sublime, and the tunes chosen are a mixture of sessions staples and wonderful complementary tunes. It's a good album to learn from as well - a lot of the reels in particular are played at a really steady pace.
This is also a good one to listen to if you want to hear how things should be played for a Fleadh Cheoil. There are clear key changes; the reels complement each other, the pace and rhythm of the sole hornpipe is textbook, and the rhythm is mostly flawless. You'd probably need to add more variation in some tunes, but other than that, you'd be hard-pressed revising the format any more perfectly.
I suspect that many session musicians will sing the praises of this album, quite loudly. It's fairly unpretentious, has excellent tunes, and is reel-heavy. This is definitely an album for session musicians, and I look forward to their next effort!
What's Bad: There is very little on the album that warrants open criticism. It is a fairly consistent, simple, relatively unadorned album. It is noticeable that they have an insistence on drawing between the lines, and this is clear from beginning to end. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as they are clearly talented and able musicians, and there's definitely a gap in the market for this kind of album that maintains rhythm better than similar efforts of 40-50 years ago, but one would wonder what they could achieve with something a tad more daring.
Eight reel sets out of fourteen tracks may be a bit much for some. I felt there were perhaps more opportunities to vary that were lost here. I count no fewer than twenty-three reels - with ten jigs, one air, one hornpipe, one waltz and one barndance completing the complement.
Rating: 8.5/10
Have an album you want reviewed? Please email [email protected]
Artist: The Queally Sisters
Year of Publication: 2019
Source: https://thequeallysisters.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-bellows-and-the-bow
Description: A first-album effort from sisters Aoibheann and Pamela Queally from Kilmaley, Co. Clare, on fiddle and concertina.
In Detail: The first track is a reel set. The Lads of Laois is a solid introduction to the album, into Dinny O'Briens, and completed with a bright reel called Pat Touhys; played at a steady pace, ornamented relatively sparsely.
The second track is another safe set - the commonly-heard Sean Ryan's Jig, into an upbeat setting of Jackson's Jig, and finished off with a nice jig called "Short Grass", with subtle guitar accompaniment.
The third is more reels - a choppy, appealing version of the Honeymoon Reel that complements both instruments nicely, into Martin Rochford's, and topped with "The Leading Roll"; a Liz Carroll tune; all accompanied with ceilí-band style keyboard accompaniment that gives the impression of a Siansa set. The reels are well-matched; while Martin Rochford's is a fairly forgettable reel on the whole, the Leading Roll is certainly not, and the transition works nicely.
The fourth track begins with an air on solo concertina, called "Singing Stream", and bounces into a well-known southern barndance called "Miss Galvin's". The air is a fairly plaintive rendition initially, with some harmonics thrown in later on. Airs on reed instruments rarely have the impressiveness of a well-played wind or string instrument, as they lack the ability for sliding and subtle dynamics, and this rendition is no different, and suffers for this, and for being four-and-a-half minutes long. Given the limitations, it is well played. The transition is well-done however, and keyboard accompaniment is nice, but the rhythm almost gets away from them at times, which is arguably the only time on this album that this argument could be put forward.
The fifth track is more reels, and starts with the indomintable Master Crowley's, into a nice tune called "Sweeney's Buttermilk", and finished up with "Maghera Mountain". Again the pace is steady, and the use of ornamentation relatively judicious. What is worth a remark is the tight sound that wouldn't go amiss in a duet competition. Indeed, if were one were told that this were a field recording at a regional Fleadh, one would not disbelieve it, save for the lack of background sound.
The sixth track is back to jigs, with Seanduine (Burnt Old Man), into the interestingly-named "Champagne Jig goes to Columbia", and finishing up with "Malcom's (sic) New Fiddle". Spelling mistakes aside, it's a well put together set that decides not to push the boundaries of pace or ornamentation, but doesn't suffer for it. Soft guitar accompaniment helps, if nothing else, to distinguish it from the previous set.
The seventh track returns for a fourth reel set, with well-known reels The Roscommon and Beare Island, followed by Mulqueen's Reel to finish the set. Well-chosen reels, and the reels flow together fairly comfortably. Subtle accompaniment on guitar (and what sounds like barely perceptable harp), once again adds more of a distinguisihing than noticeable addition to the track.
The eight track is more reels - the bog-standard Pidgeon on the Gate on fiddle with guitar accompaniment, leading into a nice version of "Sweeney's Dream" with the concertina.
The ninth track uses Caitlín Nic Gabhann's gorgeous waltz "Sunday's Well", and runs it into Inis Bearacháin, a bright jig. The tune choice is top class, and the accompaniment probably the best on the album.
More reels on the tenth track. Flax in Bloom has more melody instruments than previous tracks; leading into "Pride of the Bronx" and finishing with "Hanley's". It comes across as a bit of an open session of a track, but is diverting nonetheless
The eleventh track heralds the first hornpipe, and it's a four-minute rendition of the Groves Hornpipe. Subscribing to the notion that hornpipes should be relaxed affairs, this track is practically horizontal.
The twelfth track leads out with Mick O'Connors Reel (in about as low a key as they could muster), followed by that reel "Tribute To Larry Reynolds", which seems to sound magnificent in any setting, followed by "Over the Bog Road". Guitar accompaniment again; and very much like some previous tracks.
Some lovely jigs in the thirteenth track, which leads out with "9th of July", before going into "Paddy Fahey's", and ending with "New House". The minor jigs are a welcome change at this point in the album. The accompaniment is suitably subtle, and the pace is once again quite steady. Ornamentation, like other parts in the album, is fairly
The final track is, fittingly, a return to reels. The inescapable Dr Gilberts kicks it off, followed by an upswing into Jimmy's Return, and finishing up with Miss Thornton's. It's a nice track in it's own right, but notes aside it's pretty much what we've heard earlier on in the album.
What's Good: This is an inherently listenable album, put together by two talented and able musicians who clearly have a broad knowledge of tunes, and a good understanding of style and the music they are replicating. Some of the sets are simply sublime, and the tunes chosen are a mixture of sessions staples and wonderful complementary tunes. It's a good album to learn from as well - a lot of the reels in particular are played at a really steady pace.
This is also a good one to listen to if you want to hear how things should be played for a Fleadh Cheoil. There are clear key changes; the reels complement each other, the pace and rhythm of the sole hornpipe is textbook, and the rhythm is mostly flawless. You'd probably need to add more variation in some tunes, but other than that, you'd be hard-pressed revising the format any more perfectly.
I suspect that many session musicians will sing the praises of this album, quite loudly. It's fairly unpretentious, has excellent tunes, and is reel-heavy. This is definitely an album for session musicians, and I look forward to their next effort!
What's Bad: There is very little on the album that warrants open criticism. It is a fairly consistent, simple, relatively unadorned album. It is noticeable that they have an insistence on drawing between the lines, and this is clear from beginning to end. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as they are clearly talented and able musicians, and there's definitely a gap in the market for this kind of album that maintains rhythm better than similar efforts of 40-50 years ago, but one would wonder what they could achieve with something a tad more daring.
Eight reel sets out of fourteen tracks may be a bit much for some. I felt there were perhaps more opportunities to vary that were lost here. I count no fewer than twenty-three reels - with ten jigs, one air, one hornpipe, one waltz and one barndance completing the complement.
Rating: 8.5/10
Have an album you want reviewed? Please email [email protected]