Reviews of Silvery Moon

"Aoife Clancy- Cherish the Appalachian mezzo bird"

Aoife Clancy has ranged wide to assemble the 11 tunes for her third solo album, choosing from contemporary folk, Appalachian ballad, and traditional Irish music. It's a natural grouping for Clancy, who is the daughter of the late Bobby Clancy, lontime member of the top Irish group the Clancy Brothers, and herself an alumna of the respected Celtic band Cherish the Ladies. Her distinctive mezzo and clarity of phrasing make an immediate impression as she explores the restrained emotions of the music.

She offers a vibrant reworking of tradition with the lilting 'Earl of March's Daughter" and a memorable treatment of the haunting Appalachian ballad "Across the Blue Mountains" in an a capella version accompanied by the voices fo Julie Glaub and Aoife O'Donovan. Two fine Mark Simos tunes, "Nightbird" and "Giving", with Simos on guitar, are among the contemporary highlights, as is "There is Hope", a tune penned by Clancy's cousin, Robbie O'Connell. As Clancy says in her notes on the song, "Although the song is about another country's struggles with war, some of the lyrics could easily pertain to the events of 9/11". The collection concludes with a rollicking duet between father Bobby and daughter Aoife on the Weavers' classic "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine".

-- KERRY DEXTER (Tallahassee, FL)

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