Sing Out, Rob Weir

     Karan Casey's latest solo venture is a thing of rare beauty. It should also dispel any lingering notions that the Celtic genre can contain her. There are but two traditional songs on the eleven-track CD, and she draws from an eclectic group of songwriters for the rest. She opens with a cover of Billy Bragg's "Distant Shore" that is as fragile as antique crystal. Casey's wispy vocals dance in mirror lockstep with James Grant's acoustic guitar, while producer Donald Shaw's accordion fills the background. Casey maintains this quiet balance, even as electric instruments enter the mix. To signal her intent to offer a varied brew, Casey follows by finding the seam between Irish and bluegrass music on a cover of Tim O'Brien's "Another Day," O'Brien himself lending backing vocals. Shaw once again keeps the instrumentation in subdued check, though everything from bouzouki to Wurlitzer organ is feathered into the score. Casey later returns to Appalachian stylings on "The Jute-Mill Song," and her own "Quiet of the Night" would be more at home at a hazy, mellow piano bar than a peat-smoked Irish kitchen dance.

Casey does not abandon her roots, however. On "Lord MacDonald's" she keens and croons in the finest traditional style. This piece is a stunner, with Casey's tongue-twisting lead gorgeously backed by Capercaillie's Karen Matheson, Dezi Donnelly's flying fiddle notes, and tasteful percussion from James Mackintosh and Signy Jacobson. As good as this is, Casey surpasses it on "Bata is Bothar," in which she uses a tape delay to echo her own vocal and uses the cadence of the Gaelic language as its own percussion. It is one of two songs written by John Spillane and Louis de Paor. The other, "Song of Lies," is as heartbreakingly beautiful as "Bata" is exciting. Special kudos go to Donald Shaw for his production work on this album; it is among his best work in years.