Last year, I reviewed the 2007 album The Whiskey Never Lies by Sligo Rags. Now, I've stumbled upon an earlier release, The Night Before the Morning After.

If nothing else, the earlier album proves the later was no fluke.

The band at the time of this recording was Michael Kelly on fiddle and vocals and David Burns on guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals -- both of whom I'm happy to say are still active Rags, so please check out their website (the link is down below) -- plus Gordon Rustvold on bass guitar. They're joined by Dan Wilder on several tracks, adding accordion to the mix.

The album has 16 tracks, most of which are traditional: "From Clare to Here," "The Jolly Beggar," "Jackie Tar/Harvest Home/Banish Misfortune," "The Irish Rover," "Dirty Old Town," "Little Beggarman/After the Battle of Aughrim/Angus Campbell," "The Star of the County Down," "Arthur McBride," "The Flowers of Edinburgh," "The Foggy Dew," "John Riley," "Johnny McGory," "Ordinary Man," "The Minstrel Boy," "The Mermaid/Sailor's Hornpipe" and "Red is the Rose."

The band from southern California puts a bluegrassy spin on their arrangements, and the album is a lot of fun. I don't know what their more recent recordings sound like, but you can't go wrong with this album that's nearly two decades old. Be sure to check them out!

[ visit Sligo Rags online ]