Dervish have form, having delivered 37 years as one of the premier traditional folk baton holders from the Emerald Isle. Back in 2019, they released “The Great Irish Songbook, Volume I,” culling a bevy of faithful standards from the vaults of the tradition, songs predominantly by trad.arr. This time around they celebrate the current crop, this century and last, of Irish troubadours and songbirds, enlisting, once more, an all-star cast of compadres to expand and embellish the legacy. Last time it was the likes of Steve Earle, David Gray and Rhiannon Giddens. For “The Great Irish Songbook, Volume II” it is the Indigo Girls, Del McCoury, Sarah Jarosz, the recently deceased Moya Brennan and a whole lot more. Songwriters chosen include Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Sinèad O’Connor.
But don’t let these guests steal the limelight from the actual band. For, in Cathy Jordan, they have one of the purest, sweetest voices of the Irish. Add in the vivacious talents of Brian McDonagh, Tom Morrow, Shane Mitchell and Liam Kelly, who, between them, ply all manner of fiddles, boxes, flutes, whistles, guitars, bouzouki and mandala. Jordan also thumps a good old bodhran and can rattle the bones as well as anyone.
It is the Indigo Girls up first, tackling John Spillane’s “Passage West,” which billows in on a sailful of breezy flute, accordion and fiddle. Amy Ray kicks off for the first line, with Emily Saliers taking the next. Never have the duo sounded quite so mellow, especially Ray. This gentler side is enormously attractive, the trademark harmonies similarly smooth. It is a tremendous opening salvo.
Spillane is a songwriter broadly embracing the tradition, Sinèad O’Connor was decidedly not, especially at the early part of her career, with “Jackie” being, in its original, an abrasive tirade. Aiofe O’Donovan gifts it with a strikingly haunting rendition, the arrangement switched from clanging guitars to tinkling acoustica, with both high and low whistle. Jordan adds a sublime harmony and the song is transformed. Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine, has a tough tread to better that. His vocals are well paired with Jordan, but this is a song that doesn’t suit so well the polish.
Ye Vagabonds, the duo of brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, are rising stars of contemporary Irish folk music, and, like O’Neill, possess idiosyncratically caustic vocals. But, Sarah Jarosz allows their “Blue is the Eye” to become a delicate Appalachian waltz that is quite lovely. I’m glad, also, that Jordan kept Shane MacGowan’s “The Broad Majestic Shannon” for herself, this modern masterpiece being an ideal vessel for her cut-glass delivery. Yes, she and the band have ironed out much of the ragged glory of the Pogues’ version, but thereby leaves bare the genius of his magical talent for meeting melody with sympathetic wordplay.
The Breath, with Ríoghnach Connolly, are making a lot of waves at the moment, popular and regular favorites at UK folk festivals. Connolly’s “Land of the Other” is a fine tune, but, Sister Sadie doesn’t quite have the textural means to lift it from being slightly bland, within the context and quality of the songs about it. The same cannot be said for Eddi Reader, who imbues Van’s “One Irish Rover,” with a delicious faltering sensitivity, she another with whom Jordan’s voice pairs perfectly. Slower than the original, she/they do it proud.
Is it a con to cover a song with the singer who first sang it? Without answering that, Glen Hansard’s “Leave a Light On,” benefits well from the richer arrangement, with his voice rising to the occasion to improve on earlier versions, of which there are a few. In the absence of the Chieftains, it would not seem remiss to point out how well the musicians are taking on a similar mantle, bringing the best out of the guests they invite. The same trick is then attempted, as Moya Brennan is called back to reprise Clannad’s Tobar an tSaoil. As with the Breath cover earlier, it is fine, this time the issue being this is, of all the songs included, is a copy and the closest to a karaoke replication here.
Having heard nothing from Madeleine Peyroux for a while, having missed anything much recent, it was interesting to see how she might render Jimmy McCarthy’s “As I Leave Behind Néidín.” Not for me, though, this being a rare misstep on this album, as she goes all Broadway delicate, over a tinkling harp. To be fair, I am no fan of Mary Black’s saccharine iteration, but it is sits better in the stomach than this disappointment.
I had similar worries for the final track, given the impossible uphill taken on by Del McCoury, and his band. Phil Coulter is a songwriter with an ability unique; a king of sentimental, somehow he mostly transcends the often concomitant gloopiness with enough a reality check to make you more nod knowingly instead. Such is his “Town I Loved So Well,” at least in the hands of the Dubliners. McCoury is the only male vocalist here represented, and isn’t unknown for occasionally overdoing the syrup, but it is an unexpected delight. Hokey as hell, sure, but in a good way, and, in another nod to the Chieftains, with whom McCoury has also sung, Dervish confirm the mantle has been well and truly passed. Plus the McCoury/Jordan vocal combination is magnificently sweet and sour.
The Great Irish Songbook, Volume II is a terrific album. I think it a much more satisfactory volume than the first, where the judgement was that the sound was airbrushed a little too far into schmaltz. Sure, these are far from rough or rowdy, but by concentrating on songs not already subject to traditional instruments and arrangements, it makes all for a much more palatable outcome. Volume 3? Sprints, Fontaines D.C. and Kneecap all await their call.
The Great Irish Songbook, Volume II track listing:
- Passage West (feat. Indigo Girls) (John Spillane cover)
- Jackie (feat. Aoife O’Donovan) (Sinèad O’Connor cover)
- Rock the Machine (feat. Iron & Wine) (Lisa O’Neill cover)
- Blue is the Eye (feat. Sarah Jarosz) (Ye Vagabonds cover)
- The Broad Majestic Shannon (feat. Cathy Jordan) (The Pogues cover)
- Land of My Other (feat. Sister Sadie) (The Breath cover)
- One Irish Rover (feat. Eddi Reader) (Van Morrison cover)
- Leave a Light On (feat. Glen Hansard) (Glen Hansard cover)
- Tobar an tSaoil (feat. Moya Brennan) (Clannad cover)
- As I Leave Behind Néidín (feat. Madeleine Peyroux) (Mary Black cover)
- The Town I Loved So Well (feat. The Del McCoury Band) (The Dubliners cover)
