For those of you who haven't seen So's Your Mom, a Philadelphia-area folk group, you're missing a real treat. From Ireland and Elsewhere is an accurate representation of their music. It's a combination of several of your old favorite Irish songs, plus some wonderful original songs written by Brian Donnelly and Jack Bartley. Because the mix includes as many slow ballads as it does fast, driving tunes, listening to the CD made me so thirsty for a Guinness, I had to go down to the local pub for a draught as soon as the CD was over.

This is remarkably well done for a locally recorded, engineered and self-produced CD. After having seen this group perform (well, five of six of them), I was prepared for a CD that was a shadow of a performance at best, or a boring, dry, poorly produced recording at worst. However, Brian's vocal energy comes through as if it were a live performance, as do the guitar and tin whistle. The overall effect is one of sitting in a quiet pub (i.e. no margarita blender at the bar), with Brian's brogue adding such a charming touch, you'll think the pub's in Ireland.

My first thought as I looked through the list of tunes was, "Haven't some of these all been recorded too many times already?" How many copies of "Star of the County Down" do I want to own? And yet, no one in an audience ever seems to get tired of that song, mostly because everyone does it a wee bit differently. So's Your Mom's slow but driving rendition is one you'll want to keep, as are other favorites, such as "She Moved Through the Fair," "Down By the Glenside," "Water is Wide" and "Yesterday's Men."

Worth the price of admission, though, is the original tune, "Michael." It's a poignant tribute to the father of a friend. It's got the bittersweet words, the tune that lingers on in your mind, and the catchy chorus that has you singing along by the end of the third verse. "Distant Shore" is another original song written by Bartley and Donnelly showcasing their talents as collaborators. When I asked Jack how that relationship works, he said one or the other puts together most of the tune, then takes it to the other for comments and criticisms, which is probably why one name appears first on some tunes, and the other name appears first on other tunes. Jack says their creative process is a lot like the Lennon/McCartney arrangement, except without all the millions!

The tune list provides a number of selections devoted to all the common Irish themes -- unemployment, immigration, the war-zone of Belfast, revolution, broken hearts and lost loves. The liner notes that accompany the tune list provides a teasing insight into the band's personality as well -- one almost gets the impression they like drinking and arguing as much as they like playing together. However, the result of all that drinking and arguing is a collection of arrangements that are carefully planned, impeccably tight and have the band's own personality and interpretation included in each song.

The supporting cast is wonderful. Vince Brennan adds all sorts of wonderful licks on mandolin, both harmonies and melodies at all the right places. Susan Bartley's viola adds a subtle undertone to Wendy Fuhr's violin, both contributing to the fullness of the band's sound. Manny Krevat adds the bottom on bass, and Cheryl Prashker adds all the right punctuation on her collection of percussion instruments.

I also asked the band where the name came from -- it's a great story about trading insults between brothers. And certainly, when Arthur Guinness, John Jameson and the Clancy Brothers are listed in the acknowledgements, you'd expect exactly what you get -- a down-home, traditional ceilidh!

[ by Alanna Berger ]
Rambles: 12 January 2002