It was a lamentable day when Silly Wizard broke up. Fortunately for the Scottish band's fans, the musicians in that benchmark Celtic band didn't stop making music. One of the best releases to come out in the aftermath was Dublin Lady, which coupled former Wizard frontman Andy M. Stewart with Irishman Manus Lunny, who plays guitars, bouzouki and bodhran, and sings a little, too.

Guest musicians are Phil Cunningham (also from Silly Wizard) on accordion and keyboards, Aly Bain (Cunningham's current touring partner) on fiddle, Sean og Potts on uilleann pipes and whistles, and Kathy Stewart (backing vocalist on Silly Wizard's last studio release, A Glint of Silver) on harmony vocals.

The album sets its tone with the first track, a Stewart original called "Take Her in Your Arms." Not sure what to do about that unconquered romance? Stewart has the answers right here, and his advice, via no less a luminary than your very own father, will soon set things right. (The only complaint I have about this one is one line, "He met her at a disco in a dive in San Francisco," which spoils some of the traditional Scots flavor. Some musicians have altered the lyrics thusly: "He met her in a tavern which was dark as any cavern," and that works just fine for me.)

Don't get too comfortable in that upbeat swing; Stewart follows the first lively song with "Where Are You (Tonight I Wonder)," another original. This one's a lament, and if you've lost a True Love lately, I'd listen to this one with a few pints under your belt. Next up, "Dublin Lady," a sad John Connolly tune featuring the vocal skills of Stewart and Lunny on alternating verses. The two men's voices and vocal styles are so very different this duet shouldn't work, but it does, admirably well.

Stewart didn't let his pen rest long, however. Track 4, "Freedom is Like Gold," is an angry Stewart crusade for individual, racial and national independences.

There are a couple of traditionals next, the lovely "Bogie's Bonnie Bell" and the farcical "Dinny the Piper," a humorous tale sung largely a capella (there's a pipe drone and a bodhran rhythm in the background) and followed by the pipe solo "Amhran na Tae." Stewart's "Heart of the Home" is perfect fare for romantic couples. That brings us to the best song on the album, the traditional "The Humours of Whiskey." These have got to be some of the best, most cleverest lyrics ever written about the remarkable personal and social benefits of poitin (pronounced "poe-cheen"), which is Irish whiskey illegally distilled. (Until recently, that is. In recent years Ireland revoked its centuries-old ban on the stuff, and my constitution is still reeling with, um, gratitude.) Good luck memorizing the words to this one. And try not to worry why the musicians start sounding a touch inebriated towards the end.

A pulsating rendition of the traditional Scots song "Tak' It, Man, Tak' It" ends the album with an ode to temptation, theft and larceny ... what grand fun!! Get this one. Really, I insist. Buy it, man, buy it.