he melodeon in Irish music is often regarded as
one of those curious throwbacks to an earlier time. A modest instrument
that was at home in rural dance halls and cottages, this simple one-row,
10-button diatonic accordion was cast aside in the rush by musicians in the
past few decades to adopt the more dynamic two row B/C boxes, and
traditional Irish discography is scant in memorable recordings of the
melodeon.
Most welcome, then, is Johnny Connolly’s recent release on the Connemara
label, Clo Iar Chonnacta. The potential dynamics and rhythmic complexity
available from the lowly melodeon are really apparent in the hands of a
master player such as Connolly. He learned melodeon as a boy, living on the
now-deserted Connemara island of Inis Bearachain, laid aside the instrument
when he immigrated to England, then took up the more popular two-row when he
returned to Connemara in the 70s. Despite the apparent technical
limitations of his boyhood instrument, Johnny chose to return to playing the
melodeon, and Drioball na Fainleoige is a dividend for us all.
The album includes many oft-recorded standards such as "The
Blackbird" and "The Bucks of Oranmore" which might elicit a
yawn from listeners were it not the freshness and new life his playing
breathes into these tunes. The title cut & opening selection, serves as
good notice for what is to come as Johnny leads us through "The
Swallow’s Tail", one of the first tunes he ever learned, in no less
than three keys! There are modern selections here as well, including
compositions from his accordionist son, Johnny Og, plus a new set of jigs
from Charlie Lennon. Lennon’s piano playing lends dramatic chordal
dimension and solid support on many of the cuts, and he picks up the fiddle
to join in on several more. Producer/guitarist Steve Cooney lends another
dimension on several selections. Cooney’s punchy guitar accompaniment may
not be to every listener’s taste, and he has been criticized in the past for
his jazzy chord selection when backing traditional players such as Connolly.
Steve has had many successful collaborations with box players such as Seamus
Begley and Altan’s Dermot Byrne, and certainly knows what he’s doing, but
the contrast between his almost antic energies and Johnny’s more
old-fashioned style will seem jarring to some.
The album is well-engineered, and Connolly’s generous liner notes provide
a wealth of autobiographical information, as well as tune sources, in Gaelic
and English. Part of Clo Iar Chonnacta’s mission is guardian of the Gaelic
culture of Connemara and they are Ireland’s most prolific Irish language
publisher. It’s no surprise then that some of the paragraphs are much more
detailed in Irish than the scanter English translations, but it leaves us
English-only readers wondering what we’re missing. Small quibble, and in
some ways, a nice touch of Gaelic chauvinism. CIC’s venture into music has
produced over 100 albums in the past decade, many of little commercial
interest, but of vital worth to their ambitious custodianship of the West’s
heritage. It’s gratifying to see this small label’s albums now appearing in
record bins alongside the big guys.
