Jerry McLean 'self-titled' (Zanna Discs 2956-8) Irish, and Celtic music generally, have certainly enjoyed a revival in recent years, and the influence is being felt in everything from pop and rock performers, to Uilleann pipes being added to jazz and new age music. While some of the longtime performers in traditional music such as the Chieftains have enjoyed a good deal of popularity in the US, there is a younger generation of Celtic musicians who are bringing new vitality to the style, going beyond the strictly traditional. Jerry McLean, who spent his formative years in Ireland, is certainly one of them. McLean is a first-rate lyric writer with a warm appealing vocal style that has been compared to that of the legendary Irish singer, Christy Moore. This debut recording presents strong original material, both musically and lyrically, with always interesting arrangements which give unexpected textures to the songs that reveal something new each time you listen. McLean is in excellent form both vocally and on his guitars. The musicians joining him are outstanding, including Tom Manche on additional guitars, bassists Ritt Henn and Bill VonRavensburg, drummers Albe Bonacci and Dave Chuchian, Troy Dexter on keyboards, Sue Winsburg on flute, Susan Streitwieser on backing vocals and the amazing Craig Eastman on fiddle, lap steel, and mandolin. Eastman plays fiddle as well as Hugh Marsh, lap steel as well as David Lindley, and his mandolin playing is right up there with David Grisman's. Eastman's solos on the album are filled with energy and pizzazz. In the technical department, Tom Manche did an excellent job on production, with some help from McLean. Manche also did a superb job on the engineering. McLean's work on the arrangements give the album its distinctive mostly acoustic and eclectic sound, and contribute much to the songs. The sound quality and clarity of the mix is first rate. The album gets under way with one of its highlights, "Kisses in the Wind", one of McLean's nine originals on the album. It's a humorous tune about a guy leaving LA to go visit his girlfriend in San Francisco. Although McLean's lyrics can get reasonably serious at times, for instance the beautiful love song "Time", a lot of his lyrics bring to mind the clever wit and lyricism of Randy Newman. This is self-evident in songs like "Drifting Moments", "Fine Behind" (a tribute to one of Jerry's favorite parts of the female anatomy) and "Long Distance Feline". These songs showcase McLean's gifts as a composer and social satirist. McLean and his band do a splendid job of covering Eric Bazilian's (The Hooters) song, "One of Us". This song, as well as most of the fourteen cuts represented here, really showcase the amazing talents of Craig Eastman. The album has four traditional tunes, the up-tempo "Little Beggarman", "Johnny Cope", the beautiful "A Man You Don't Meet Anyday", and the albums closing tune, "Song for Ireland", which Mary Black made famous. McLean really shines on these last two songs. His vocals and the brilliant arrangement on "A Man You Don't Meet Anyday" display the rapturous magic feeling of falling in love. Here McLean takes a common lyric subject and breathes some new life into it, and pulls it off beautifully. I couldn't think of a better way to close the album, than with the traditional "Song for Ireland". After listening to this song, you'll want to immediately book a flight for Shannon and the west of Ireland, especially Co. Mayo, Jerry's home county. With some nice turns of phrase describing McLean's homeland, the arrangement seems a natural for the song, and McLean's vocal rises to the occasion. While a lot of attention has been focussed on the women of the new folk/singer-songwriter scene, Jerry McLean is a reminder that the scene is a prolific one, and his new album should help him achieve more of the public notice he so well deserves. Review by Ben Kettlewell information: email Jerry McLean at: jerrymc@primenet.com

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