I recently unearthed a copy of Irish fiddler Kevin Burke’s Sweeney’s Dream that had been buried beneath piles of promo rubbish for who knows how long. The album was recorded in 1972, but sounds like a new recording. It was re-released by Smithsonian Folkways in 2001. Like all Folkways recordings, the album comes with a booklet full of biographical information on the artist, the recording process of the album, and the history of it’s genre.
Though Burke was born in London, England, his family originated from County Sligo, Ireland. Burke played with Irish troubadour Christy Moore for several years before joining The Bothy Band.
The charming opener “Love at the Endings/John McGrath’s Reel” is one of many solo pieces that showcase Burke’s mastery of the Sligo style of Irish fiddling. “Toss The Feathers” and other tracks are group efforts flushed out with guitar, mandolin, banjo, autoharp, and Bodhrán.
Though this is undoubtedly an Irish album, the banjo’s presence sounds particularly Appalachian in the intro to “The Bunch of Keys/The Girl That Broke My Heart”.
My personal favorites on Sweeney’s Dream are the haunting “The King of the Fairies”, “The Sligo Maid” (paired with “The Woman of the House” and “The Sailor’s Bonnet”), and “The Strayaway Child”, but the entire album is a beautiful piece of work.
Kevin Burke – The Strayaway Child (mp3 expired) *
*mp3 posted w/ permission of Smithsonian Folkways
