Lan Duil

Amazon.com
From Cape Breton's Scottish Gaelic culture comes Làn Dùil, a remarkable sophomore effort from vocalist Mary Jane Lamond. While the CD is wholly comprised of traditionals and some of the material here hearkens back to the 19th century, such as the haunting sailor's lament "Ill U Ill O Illean's O," Lamond weaves each piece into strikingly contextual arrangements, incorporating Indian tablas, bagpipe, fiddle, and steel guitar wash. The result is entirely engaging, contemporary, and surprisingly grounded in historic tradition. Lamond is not only a daring arranger, but possesses a voice of great richness, versatility, and soul. "Crodh air a Bhurnich (Cattle on the Hill)" also makes splendid use of spoken word by noted Gaelic poet Jeff MacDonald. Each song is a story, conveyed to those of us whose primary language is English by the powerfully uncompromised expressiveness of Lamond's vocal instrumentation. The heart of the song is not detracted from by lyrical dissection. In the end, this is a fine thing, indeed. --Paige La Grone

Tracks:

Beautiful Mary
Faill Ill O Ro
My Little Young Molly
Tonight My Step Is Heavy
The Widower's Lament
Charles Street Reel
Milling Song
Will You Not Return Donald?
The Drummer
Cattle On The Hill
Ill U Ill O Ilean 'S O

Amazon.com

From Cape Breton's Scottish Gaelic culture comes Làn Dùil, a remarkable sophomore effort from vocalist Mary Jane Lamond. While the CD is wholly comprised of traditionals and some of the material here hearkens back to the 19th century, such as the haunting sailor's lament "Ill U Ill O Illean's O," Lamond weaves each piece into strikingly contextual arrangements, incorporating Indian tablas, bagpipe, fiddle, and steel guitar wash. The result is entirely engaging, contemporary, and surprisingly grounded in historic tradition. Lamond is not only a daring arranger, but possesses a voice of great richness, versatility, and soul. "Crodh air a Bhurnich (Cattle on the Hill)" also makes splendid use of spoken word by noted Gaelic poet Jeff MacDonald. Each song is a story, conveyed to those of us whose primary language is English by the powerfully uncompromised expressiveness of Lamond's vocal instrumentation. The heart of the song is not detracted from by lyrical dissection. In the end, this is a fine thing, indeed. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant.......2003-02-17

Brilliant! Mary Jane is brilliant! Her voice rings true on her recordings and as you sit across from her in a workshop! She brings all listeners to the Gaelic tradition (even my moody middle school students love her)! Oh and to "The Emperor's New Clothes" reviewer from 2000, have you listened to her traditional Gaelic Cd of songs from Nova Scotia? Did you? Hmmmm?

A superb album by a superb artist.......2001-02-08

Although I unfortunately have not yet heard her very first album, "Land of the Trees" (or yet heard her 4th and newest album, "Gaelic Songs" which is currently only available through a Canadian label), this is undoubtedly a brilliant album by a talented singer--there is an excellent balance of traditional and contemporary, as with Suas E!, and every one of the songs sticks in your head after only one or two listens... already I can sing most of 'A Mhairi Bhoidheach' from memory, and I don't know Scots Gaelic! It's one of those albums that sticks with you; that you'll listen to over and over again. And the fact that while she is not only a talented singer, but also helps bring attention to the Scots Gaelic language and the Cape Breton culture, only serves to make her music more meaningful. Listen to this album, if you haven't already!

Breathtaking.......2000-09-22

My husband and I happened upon Mary Jane and her band at a local British pub recently. We were in awe of their clean, crisp sound and thoroughly enjoyed their version of Celtic music. It is now our latest favorite. Their music ranges from toe tapping to tear jerking. We wanted more, so we bought this CD.

Rating from someone who is new to Celtic Music.......2000-08-13

I don't know anything about Gaelic, or Gaelic singing but I do know Mary Jane Lamond has opened new doors for me. I listen to her all of the time and I have turned my friends "on" to her music. I am currently looking for other Gaelic singing artists but I haven't come across anything interesting. It all sounds the same and quite frankly everything I have come across has been BORING. Whether she is singing "correctly" or not she is obviously doing something that SELLS, and caters to her FANS (Like me!).

A classy CD from a wonderful singer.......2000-08-12

The third album from this extremely talented singer shows her growing confidence as a brilliant arranger as well as singer. As in her other two albums, all the songs are in Gaelic. The arrangements on this album are a bit less rock-oriented than her hit second album 'Suas e!', but not as traditional as her first album, as there is a drum set, bass and a sprinkling of accordions, Indian tabla and even an electric guitar on one track. Mary Jane is ably accompanied by a variety of musicians including Wendy and Ashley MacIsaac, and several other Gaelic singers. The arrangements are varied and superb, accenting rather than overpowering the songs, and helping communicate the contemporary relevance of this music. The sound recording and mixing on this CD are wonderful. Mary Jane's great singing brings the lyrics to life. There is a terrific port-à-beul track, a traditional milling song recorded a capella with three other singers. The highlight of this album for me is Mary Jane's version of the lament "Cha Tig Mór Mo Dhachaidh", which is breathtakingly beautiful. The 24 pages of liner notes contain the lyrics in both Gaelic and English, the history of each tune, photos of important Cape Breton gaelic singers. My only quibble is that the liner notes are so full of information and art that the tiny print requires a magnifying glass! Altogether this is classiest album I've seen in several years. If there was any doubt before, this album should make clear that Mary Jane has joined the short but growing list of world class Gaelic singers such as Karen Matheson of Capercaille and Maighread Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan. Nominated for a Juno Award in 1999. Very highly recommended.