Cathy Jordan, from Ireland's County Roscommon, is best known as the dynamic singer of the Irish band Dervish, with whom she has toured extensively and released some of my favorite CDs of all time. However, in 2012 she released something a bit more personal and introspective, and much less boisterous. All the Way Home harkens back to her childhood and the songs she and her family and friends sang on holidays and social occasions.

"I had a happy childhood ... with acres of farmland as my playground and dogs, cats, calves, lambs, chickens and ponies to play with," she says in the liner notes. "Singing sessions were a regular occurrence in our house ... (and) these singing sessions and songs provided the soundtrack to my life for many years."

It is an utterly lovely album, quiet and contemplative, with Cathy's voice (almost) always in the forefront. Musical arrangements in the songs are subtle, providing a framework for the songs but never dominating the sound. There are also a couple of instrumental tracks, including the lively "Jordan's Jig," written for this project by guitarist Roger Tallroth, who also produced this album.

Each track comes with a brief explanation of its importance in the liner. For instance, "The Bold Fenian Men" was a song Cathy's mother would sing "while sweeping the floor or putting down the dinner." "The Road I Go," a song written by Cathy with her friend Brendan Graham, was "inspired by my leaving home for the first time." "Eileen McMahon" was a song she heard her father sing "hundreds of times," while her sister liked singing the amusing "Ould Ballymoe," and "The Banks of the Foyle" was a favorite of her Uncle Paddy. The exultant "All the Way Home," another song cowritten by Cathy, sums up her life of searching for something before finally figuring out it "was under my nose all along."

Although not a Dervish album, a few of the boys from the band lend some music to the proceedings, along with several other performers who joined Cathy in the studio. Besides Cathy on vocals, autoharp and percussion, the musicians here are Roger Tallroth on 12-string, 6-string and tenor guitars, cittern and backup vocals; Gustaf Ljunggren on 6-string and lapsteel guitars, ewi, clarinet, piano, mandolin, mandolin, banjo and backup vocals; Lars Andreas Haug on tuba; Anna Houston on cello; Liam Kelly on flute; Olov Johansson on nyckelharpa; Seamie O'Dowd on fiddle; Rick Epping on concertina and harmonica; Andy Irvine on mandocello and bouzouki; Michael McGoldrick on uillean pipes; and Erik Lidbom on snare drum, plus Eddi Reader on vocals on "Eileen McMahon" and "The Family" on backing vocals: Richard, Brendan, Gerard, Paidric, Rose, Siofra, Andrew, Eamon, Ben, Maria, Deia and Felip.

My review of this album is long overdue. Anyone who loves Dervish -- and anyone who loves music either loves Dervish or hasn't heard them yet -- should sit a spell with Cathy and relax into this soft, gentle and deeply personal album.

[ visit Cathy Jordan online ]