SHARON SHANNON

There's something for everyone on this 11-track album. Seven tracks, almost all composed by Sharon or her regular guitarist, Jim Murray, sound more traditional. Benji's Rollicks, named after her favourite spaniel, gets things started. Mammy Shannon's Jig is a tribute to her mother and parents, who have always supported Sharon and her siblings, encouraging them to develop their musical talents.

Also Séamus, a tribute to Kerry accordionist and singer Séamus Begley, a great friend of Sharon's, to which Ross Ainslie's bagpipes add a certain solemnity. 
Then there's Dan Breen's, on which Sharon shows on the whistle that she's not just an accordion pro. And then there's Duo in G, learned from an old album by Dé Dannan, who themselves borrowed it from Fernando Carulli, the 19th-century Italian classical composer. On Jack of Hearts, there's a change of pace with an opening electric guitar solo by Sharon herself. Then it's back to electric on The Diddley Doo, on which she is joined by Dublin folk-rock band The Scratch.
And the icing on the cake is Greenroots, on which she is backed by Justin Adams' electric guitar. And as a counterpoint, we hear the speech made by Barack Obama during his visit to Dublin in 2011.
Each of S. Shannon's albums is different from the last, and this time again she doesn't break the rule she seems to have set herself. Eclecticism is king. But there's also the traditional backdrop that made her a household name in the early 90s.

Daisy Label DLCD038 - www.sharonshannon.com