Niamh Parsons The Old Simplicity

march 2006 14 tracks poor irish stranger cumha an ghra ye rambling boys of pleasure no half measures no telling the old simplicity john condon moll poll ha penny blue murder he fades away long cookstown the peddler the men that god made mad irish singer niamh parsons brings us ancient tales of love and war on this powerful album niamh has collected songs from both contemporary and traditional sources including originals by linda thompson david olney and ron kavanaugh niamh has a pure high voice ideal to carry the tender emotions of the songs she teams up again with guitarist graham dunne and producer dennis cahill cahill recorded the album in his chicago hometown and brought in some of the city s top talents accordionist john williams solas fiddler liz knowles cherish the ladies singer kat eggleston bohola jazz bassist larry grey ramsey lewis and gypsy violin player steve gibons dennis cahill known for his duo with fiddler martin hayes adds guitar and mandolin and graham dunne contributes two lovely instrumentals to the recording niamh s previous cd heart s desire was named celtic album of the year by the association of independent music simply magnificent traditional singing irish music magazine in a voice filled with sweet melancholy and stately passion niamh parsons sings traditional irish songs making ancient tales of love and war sound tender and immediate a remarkable a cappella singer the new york times