O’Neill's Tunes

Starting life as a book, it was inevitable that Dan Walsh would end up recording his dream project, O’Neill's Tunes. Walsh's background in tenor-banjo playing leading into five string gives him an advantage when playing these melodic tunes from the classic songbook of Irish traditional dance music.

The music itself is as expertly played as you would expect from the renowned Walsh and he keeps it simple with just banjo accompanied by acoustic guitar. It's a wise decision to leave things minimally adorned, such is their melodic strength, and it gives the album a cohesion that keeps ultimate focus on the spirit of the music. That's not to say the songs blend into one; the O’Neill songbook contains some 1,850 pieces, which Walsh has studied intensely and picked from. Listening to ‘Comb Your Hair and Curl It / Swaggering Jig’ shift into the soft, acoustic guitar intro to ‘Contradiction Reel’ is a pleasure. And the shifts in the pace of the music are deftly managed. Such is the quality that these 15 songs fly by and it is tricky to pick highlights. That being said, the playful rhythm of ‘Crabs in the Skillet / Miss Crawford’ is particularly pleasing. Ultimately, it's difficult to find fault with anything about this splendid set.