Chuck Lipsig penned this review.
Sometimes, genius is made more apparent when paired with excellence. Eileen Ivers is one of the finest Celtic fiddlers out there. But it’s one thing to sound good as a soloist; it’s another to be paired with a fine musician, such as accordion-player, John Whelan, and then outshine the partner — without overwhelming the duets.
That’s exactly what Ivers did, near the start of her career, on Fresh Takes. In the lead track, “Castle Kelly,” both the musicians are fine, but when Ivers goes off on lightly jazzed musical excursions of her own, the tune shines. Triona Ni Dhomhnaill’s synth playing adds a nice mysterious touch to the tune. The set of “Jenny’s Welcome to Charlie” and “Father Francis Cameron” starts off with an odd little, soft-jazz arrangement of the first tune by Ivers, before kicking in a nice straightforward set.
This is not to say John Whelan doesn’t hold his end up. The set of “Trip to Skye” and “Darach DeBrun’s” is a classic — the track shows up on Green Linnett’s Joyful Noise, as well as other compilations — featuring beautiful accordion playing on Whelen’s part.
Seven years later, Eileen Ivers’s self-titled CD was her first solo recording. From the first track’s hot, upbeat performance of a set of “Flowing Tide,” “Crock of Gold,” and “Julia Delaney’s,” Ivers made it something special, playing with a light, quick, sometimes jazzy touch. Even when playing somewhat more traditionally, Ivers is still strong, as in “East Neuk of Fife” when she brings a fairly simple tune to energetic life.
Two of the slower pieces stand out, not just for Ivers’s playing, but also for that of her accompanying performers. “Gentle Breeze” features Susan McKeown with beautiful, wordless, vocals. “Magh Seola” features a mellow sax solo from Charlie DeChant. The tune is named after a Celtic battle site, but DeChant’s solo is more of a city nightclub.
The standout track is “Pachibel’s Frolics.” Somewhere along the line a version of Pachibel’s Canon in D migrated, both to Cape Breton and to the key of C, becoming a nameless hornpipe along the way. Ivers starts off with the classical form of the Canon, takes it through minor key variations, featuring Alyssa Pava on viola da gamba, and finishes by taking off on in a the spirited Cape Breton variation. It is one of the best tracks of Celtic music out there.
Ivers has gone on to record several other CDs, notably Wild Blue and Crossing the Bridge, that have further demonstrated her mastery and creativity with Celtic music. In Fresh Takes, with John Whelan, and on her own in her eponymous recording her performances are solid with more than a few touches of brilliance.
(Green Linnet, 1987 and 1994)
