Search - Eileen Ivers :: An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas

Depends what you're looking for

Tom Knapp | Lancaster, PA USA | 12/30/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Eileen Ivers, one of the most innovative fiddlers to come out of the Irish-American music scene in a long while, wanted to create a Christmas gift of an album, one that suggests the sort of friends-and-family gatherings she remembers from her childhood and from stories of her parents' lives in Ireland. This recording suits that aim perfectly, evoking the mood of a group of friends taking turns offering up a song or tune at a casual Christmas party.



But I was expecting a fiddler's album, and I very much wanted to hear Ivers put her very unique stamp on a selection of holiday tunes. You don't get that here; on most tracks, her fiddle is just a background accent, skipping merrily along behind the voices of various guest singers (including, most notably, Susan McKeown on "Don Oiche Ud I mBeithill/One Night in Bethlehem").



The singing is fine, and it all falls together as a pleasant CD for the season. But for the fiddle fanatic who, like myself, is expecting Ivers at her musical best, you'll have to settle instead for a whole lot of fiddle harmonies that only hint at the possibilities.



by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor"

Fiddle yes, Singing no...

M. Davis | Utah | 12/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love Elieen Ivers, but I was turned off by the vocal selections. They're just not up to par with her spectacular and innovative fiddling. There's no reason to pair her amazing talent with the lackluster singing and vocal arrangements. Still a good album, but I wish it was all Eileen and her fiddle."