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Steam

John Williams

Green Linnet

• List price: $16.98
• Lowest new price: $10.79
• Lowest used price: $5.20

1. The New Custom House
   Le Set de Americain
   Harris Dance Tune Reels
2. John Brady's
   The Hawk from Dundalk
3. Paddy Canny's Toast
   Paddy Fahy's - John Williams, Lennon, Charlie
4. Miss Hamilton - John Williams, Lyons, Cornelius
5. The Humours of Kilclogher
   Mrs. O'Sullivan's
6. Tuamgrainey Castle
   The Peterswell Hornpipe (Hornpipes)
7. Up in the Garret
   The Old Tippeary
8. Seo Uileó Thoil
   The Deer's March
9. Bill Harte's Rolling Down the Hill
   John Brady's Reels - John Williams, Brady, John
10. The Bridal Jig
    The Handsome Young Maidens
    The Lancers Jig - John Williams, Lennon, Charlie
11. Billy Brocker's
    The Old Dudeen
    The Night We Had the Goats
12. Johnny O'Leary's and Patrick Maloney's Favorite
13. Within a Mile of Dublin
    Seany Dorris' Reel
    P.J.'s Pecurious Pachelbel - John Williams, Dorris, Seany

Average customer rating:

great irish music,wonderful buttonbox work

I am a buttonbox player, and
I loved this c.d. would recommend this c.d. worth buying.John Williams is the best player around. Richard

Best Irish CD I've bought this year

I bought this CD a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left the CD player in my car since I got it. John Williams is one of the best Irish accordionists out there, but this CD is more than a collection of tunes highlighting his virtuosity. The creative arrangements on the sets and the rhythmic interplay between John and his accompanists is reminiscent of the energy from the first Solas album. Best tracks are the first and last reel set, and the slow piece " Miss Hamilton."

A vast improvement on his first album.

Williams has really outdone himself on this second album. Whilst I found his self titled first album one flat and without energy or atmosphere, Steam has everything that the first one lacks.

John Williams and the Irish/American Dialog

John Williams has acquired a certain voice. With this recent release on Green Linnet he speaks eloquently on the profound musical relationship connecting Irish-American musicians to their heritage; the living traditional music of Ireland. The Irish not only brought their music with them to America in the course of at least two major periods of emigration but to a great degree preserved and embellished it here. Particularly in Chicago and New York Irish music flourished as it fell largely out of fashion in Ireland, associated for a while with famine and heartbreak. In the last third of the twentieth century a generation of gifted young Irish musicians began reclaiming their musical culture and found a significant portion of it alive and intact in Chicago. They have, as we do, emigrants including John Williams' immediate ancestors to thank for keeping the music playing. Today we can thank John himself for in every sense continuing the tradition.
In this important CD he as surrounded himself with many of the best Irish musicians living in America, notably fiddler Liz Carroll and Seamus Egan of "Solas" (on banjo here) both important participants in the musical Irish-American dialogue. Other essential collaborators include an array of excellent guitarists well versed in the style, which for guitarists is a delicate balance of technique and sensitivity . John Doyle, Randal Bays, and Dennis Cahill are each significant artists in their own right, and with clean performances by Jim DeWan and Dean Magraw "Steam" could be recommended as a collectable example of Irish guitar playing. Interesting and subtle contributions from bassist Larry Gray and appropriate tasteful percussion touches from Paul Wertico enhanced a few tracks without distracting form the mood and tone of the project. And in a brilliant duet with John on penny whistle, Californian Paul Donnelly displays the skill and precision on the bodhrán worthy of high esteem and respect afforded him today on the West Coast.
All that noted, it is the playing of John Williams that makes this work remarkable. Thousands of choices and small considerations made in the course of this production have resolved to an artwork rather than simply a recording of several good players going through their practiced routines. It's a neat trick to say something refreshing and creative in the dialect of one's father. John Williams somehow does it effortlessly, on button accordions, concertinas, various whistles, and even the bodhrán. With "Steam" he says a great deal about the music Ireland and America. He makes his point.

'Steam' simmers and sizzles

With a great mix of classical Irish tunes, John Williams puts on a virtuoso performance on this CD. The music feels and sounds like it comes right from the heart of Ireland and from the soul of Williams, whose talent looms large. This is great morning music and can put you in the right frame of mind to face the day, the weather, or the in-laws. It's great to listen to anytime, though, and particularly with tea or punch or a pint. The first cut, 'The New Custom House,' sets the tone for what is to come on the collection, though the melancholy mood of such pieces as 'Miss Hamilton' presents a counterpoint.