This is a great CD. The music is well recorded. It offers something fundamentally different from just about everything else on the market.
In fact, the closest thing to Patricia Murray is probably Loreena McKennitt. However, even that isn't a fair comparison because while the lyrical subjects are similar, the music is altogether different.
Murray is a guitarist, not a harpist.
Murray has a beautiful voice. It's easily one of the best female voices I have heard on the East Coast in a long, long time. I would jump at the chance to have her sing on any recording I would be doing.
Murray has arranged all but one song on this CD. Many of the songs are traditional and the ones that are not seamlessly blend with the ones she wrote.
Murray has mastered the long-forgotten art of story telling through music. Her words are compelling and her music suits them.
The one true cover tune on this CD is Gene MacLellan's 'The Call'. Murray originally from PEI, performs this song as only MacLellan could hope for. The other songs that Murray did not write tend to be traditional songs in Gaelic or English, collected throughout the world.
Her Gaelic singing is pleasant and not harsh as Gaelic can sometimes be. Even not understanding the language, the listener still feels the mood of the song.
I'm sure Patricia Murray will be climbing the ladder two rungs at a time with this disc.
Portraits gets 10 out of 11.
