Enough fiddlers, give us a song!
Patricia Murray can do that; she won the 1997 Royal National Mod in Scotland as best Gaelic singer, which puts her in rarified company, including such stars as Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson. In addition to Gaelic songs, she sings traditional and contemporary English-language songs, in a voice that is lovely, pure, and rich.
Her first disc, Portraits [self-produced (1998)], collects 11 of her favorites. These include some traditional standards, and her takes in such emotional ballads as 'Lakes of Ponchartrain' and Siuil a Ruin' (which she calls 'My Johnny') put her big, commanding voice to fine use. A brisk arrangement of 'Lovely Joan' featuring her rumbling bodhrán playing, is another highlight.
Two Gaelic songs, 'Ma Theid' and 'Tuireadh Iain Ruaidh' prove her outstanding merits as a Gaelic singer. A tasteful cover of Gene MacLellan’s 'The Call,' as well as several of her own songs, demonstrates that Murray’s taste in contemporary material is equally good. I particularly like her song 'Fill up my Heart,' which contains pretty island imagery wedded to nice turns of phrase, producing lilting phrases like 'the salt air is the cure and the life of this land.'
Instrumental backing throughout the disc is provided by some of Canada’s finest acoustic musicians, including Doug Riley (piano), Richard Wood (fiddle), Jon Goodman (flute and bagpipes), and Kim Vincent (guitar, fiddle). Make sure you listen all the way though; a rousing set of tunes on flute, fiddle, pipes, and bodhrán is included as a 'hidden track'.
