The Essence of Tradional Irish Accordion
Steve Forman | Venice, CA USA | 08/16/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"John Williams has crafted a quiet little miracle with his Green Linnet release; a music embracing the essence of twilight and mist woven of traditional melodies and memories. Throughout this collection there's a mood of mirth and longing evoking the mystical rural Ireland only imagined in America today. As a third generation Irish traditional musician Williams was born inheriting this cultural intuition. It's our luck that he's dedicated his life to developing the skill and sensitivity required for projecting these images with such clarity and authority. In the company of a handful of the world's most important contemporary Irish players including the legendary Micho Russell (tin whistle) and Martin Hayes (fiddle) the music floats from solo accordion airs to duets and full ensemble pieces supported gracefully by Eoin O'Neill (bouzouki) and the clean transparent guitar work of Randal Bays. Technically the CD is immaculate, beautifully recorded and packaged. This is the CD I give to friends who really want to understand exactly what it is I love about traditional Celtic music. John Williams has made something vital and timeless here, not to be overlooked."
Fantastic squeezebox playing.
Gatton | Charlotte, NC | 11/04/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This cd will make a believer of you. I've never been much of a fan of the accordian. To me it conjures up polka music which I could never quite force myself to like. But John Williams (that's three I admire now) made a convert of me. His playing is extraordinary and undeniably celtic. Having heard this music played on so many different instruments (including some which just don't work for the genre) the accordian accels in bringing out both the emotion and fun and excitement of this music. Makes so much sense after you hear someone like John Williams squeeze a few out for you. The way he flies across the buttons on the dance tunes and sweetens things up on the slower numbers makes this cd well worth picking up.The two tracks featuring Micho Russell are great but all the more depressing as this was his final recording session before passing on. His presence is all too brief on this cd.All in all, a great record for squeezebox skeptics. Especially if they're already a fan of Irish music. Buy this cd for a friend and make them a convert."