CD Review: The Transatlantic Sessions - UK

Ceili Music, 329 Rockland Road, Hendersonville, TN 37075

Songs: Waiting For The Federals, Simple Life, Sanseptique, Bachelor's Walk, Always Will, La Danse de la Vie, Nobody Wins, Magic Foot, Storms Are On The Ocean, Trouble In The Fields, Hummingbird, Tribute To Peadar O'Donnell, September When It Comes, Marriage Made In Hollywood, Puirt A Beul.

Personnel: Aly Bain, Russ Barenberg, Paul Brady, Ronan Browne, Rosanne Cash, Michael Doucet, Jerry Douglas, Radney Foster, James Grant, Nanci Griffith, Tommy Haynes, Boo Hewerdine, Fiona Kennedy, John Levanthal, Iain MacDonald, Karen Matheson, Maura O'Connell, Eddi Reader, Sharon Shannon, Donald Shaw, Ricky Skaggs, Breda Smyth, Danny Thompson, Sharon White

By Larry Carlin

"Music forms a new circle." This is what it says on the front of the 1972 classic bluegrass/country recording Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Arranged by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band it combined elements of country and bluegrass music by using young and old performers. Then in 1989 the Dirt Band recorded a second volume of Circle, this time including some singer/songwriters (John Prine and John Hiatt) and pop singers (John Denver and Bruce Hornsby). Now the circle has just gotten bigger, and it has crossed over the ocean to the British Isles in the fabulous new release called the Transatlantic Sessions.

Sessions has been issued by 'Ceili Music', which is part of Ricky Skaggs' relatively new recording empire. Most of the material on Transatlantic Sessions was recorded a couple of years back as a soundtrack for the award-winning BBC television series Transatlantic Sessions Two. Originally part of a two CD set on Iona Records, Ceili has picked songs off of both CDs -- as well as two songs that did not make it on to the soundtrack -- to make one very diversified yet excellent recording. The project was recorded in Scotland and produced by Scottish fiddler AlyBain and American dobromeister Jerry Douglas.

The roots of bluegrass
The roots of bluegrass go back to the Isles, and on this CD some of the best of American, Scottish, and Irish roots music sat around and recorded Sessions. The very first song, Waiting For The Federals, sets the tone for what follows with dobro, guitar, accordion, and fiddles by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Donald Shaw, Aly Bain and Michael Doucet, respectively. Ricky Skaggs then sings the simple A Simple Life with some of these same players plus adding a Scottish twist with Iain MacDonald on the pipes. Sanseptique is sung in Gaelic by Karen Matheson and Fiona Kennedy, Bachelor's Walk is an instrumental featuring Breda Smyth's whistle, and Doucet plays a Cajun song with his Danse de la Vie. Nanci Griffith sings a song of her own called Always Will, and later she sings harmony to Maura O'Connell on another of her songs, Trouble In The Fields. Songwriter Radney Foster sings a tune of his own, with Scottish singer Eddi Reader harmonizing, called Nobody Wins that, in a perfect world, would be a country radio hit. Reader later sings Hummingbird with Foster backing her up on harmony. Skaggs' wife Sharon White sings the traditional Storms Are On The Ocean, and Rosanne Cash is here with self-penned song September When It Comes. These last two songs were not on the original release on Iona.Producer Douglas gets his chance to shine on the dobro on the pretty instrumental Tribute To Peadar O'Donnell. Ireland native Sharon Shannon squeezes the squeezebox on Russ Barenberg's instrumental Magic Foot, and Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady sings his dark Marriage Made In Hollywood. Finally Iain MacDonald closes out the 'Sessions' on his pipes with the song Puirt A Beul.

Music had indeed formed a new circle on Transatlantic Sessions. And in answer to the question posed in the infamous song, the circle indeed will remain unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by…

Larry Carlin, Sausalito, California | Write to | Web site |

1st Dec 2000