The Path of Stones

A member of Solas, Usher's Well and the crack trio of McCusker, McGoldrick and Doyle, as well as an assured musical partner to the like of Martin Hayes, Mary Black, Linda Thompson, Joan Baez and many more, John Doyle releases his third solo album for Compass Records. Its title is drawn from the poetry of Yeats, and it is composed of ten self-penned songs and adaptations from the tradition, kicking off with ‘The Rambler from Clare’, its words written during the 1798 Irish rebellion, and concerning enforced emigration, one of the keystones in Doyle's sung repertoire, reflecting one of his major preoccupations as an artist.

McCusker and Goldrick are guests on the album, as is Dervish's Cathy Jordan and old-time musician Rick Epping and fiddler and cellist Duncan Wickel. The title-track, however, features Doyle alone with his tenor voice and guitars, while Cathy Jordan adds her voice to Doyle's on the sweetly lyrical ‘Lady Wynde’, and the narrative-driven ‘Teelin Harbour’, following the fate of fishermen threatened by a violent storm. Throughout, Doyle's instrumental dexterity, the signature of his touch on guitars, fiddle, keys, bouzouki, harmonium and vocals, ensures the sure footing on The Path of Stones is his alone.