I first heard Pauline Scanlon sing in 2002, at the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, where she had come as part of Sharon Shannon's touring band. Impressed by her voice, I interviewed her then, but lost track of her in the years since. I was aware she was releasing albums as a solo artist but didn't have a chance to hear them -- until now, when I discovered a copy of her 2006 recording, Hush, among my things.

It's good. Really good. Scanlon has a sweet singing voice that's at the heart of every track, and I listened to the album over and over with great enjoyment.

She chose 11 traditional Irish songs for this recording, and she's backed by a full band: John R. Burr on piano, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, mandolin and 8-string banjo, Donogh Hennessy on guitars and Hammond organ and Kenny Malone on percussion. Danny Thompson adds double bass on several tracks, Garry West adds bass on a couple more, and Darrell Scott provides vocals and banjo on the duet "The Demon Lover."

Digging through my substantial backlog of music received over the years has revealed quite a few overlooked gems. This is one, a disc I wish I'd found much sooner. Good job, Pauline!

[ visit Pauline Scanlon's website ]