All I ever ask of Ronan Tynan is that he sings me an Irish song, and that is exactly what he has done with his latest recording, aptly titled Sing Me an Irish Song. He admits it wasn't easy to narrow down the list to end up with just 14 of his favorite Irish songs. Considering the wealth of material he had to pick from, I am surprised he was able to stop there.

In previous reviews I made it clear that my admiration for this Irish tenor is boundless. How can an island as relatively small as Ireland continue to pump out such musical talent? In addition to Ronan, talents such as Celtic Woman, the Irish Tenors, Celtic Thunder and the High Kings provide me with hours of pure listening enjoyment.

Ronan's choice for his favorite Irish songs is a mix of easily recognizable songs and a few I've never heard. He opens with "Ride On" and then he does "Sing Me an Irish Song." It's easy to understand why "Grace" is on many lists of favorite Irish songs; it tugs at the heartstrings more with each listening. "Only Our Rivers Run Free" is a song I heard for the first time just a few years ago (OK, I'm not actually Irish). As is true with so many Irish songs, it's about Ireland's struggle to overcome British rule. Ronan says the "strength of the imagery and the musicality make this song an everlasting memory in Irish music and folklore."

Some of the other songs include: "The Town I Loved So Well," "Will You Go Lassie, Go," "The Homes of Donegal" and "The Parting Glass." The CD ends with the all-time favorite "Danny Boy."

Given my admiration for Ronan, I almost hate to write this, but I think he could have done somewhat better. By that I do not infer that his voice is lacking in any way; rather it is with the tempo. I don't know if the blame lies with the conductor of the RTE Concert Orchestra or the producer.

When I reviewed his recent CD Ronan & Billy Live, I said the spontaneity of his interaction with a live audience in a non-studio setting added a sense of liveliness to the recording. There are five songs in Ronan & Billy Live that are repeated in Sing Me an Irish Song. If you listen to the song on one CD, then listen to it on the other, the difference is very noticeable. Ronan allows the tempo to drag to such a degree that it almost ruins the piece. For example, in the former CD, "Fields of Athenry" is 5:45, which includes one minute of banter between Ronan and Billy for a total song length of 4:45. The same song in the latest recording, sans banter, is 6:09.

Maybe because the Ronan I've come to love so well sings with passion and power, it seems to me his latest effort is more mellow than I was expecting. When I loaded the CD into my iTunes, it listed the genre as "easy listening" -- not exactly what I was expecting from a compilation of anybody's favorite Irish songs -- and I'm the first to admit that's just my opinion.

But it's also my opinion that any recording by the world's foremost Irish tenor is well worth listening to over and over. I look forward to Ronan Tynan's next recording. In fact, I wouldn't mind if he came back to the Lancaster, Pa., area for another live concert.

As far as I know, Sing Me an Irish Song is available only on Ronan's website.

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