Donal Clancy
Album: Songs Of A Roving Blade
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.donalclancy.com

Donal Clancy is an artist with the weight of legacy sitting on his shoulders. The son of Liam Clancy of The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem fame, a band often credited with taking Irish music to a mass market, Donal was a founder member of Irish American supergroup Solas as well a regular and current member of Danu where he gained a reputation as a guitarist that had the likes of The Chieftains knocking at his door.

Listening to "Songs Of A Roving Blade" I found myself thinking of this as a Celtic equivalent of Rosanne Cash's "The List" and a look at the sleeve notes only reinforced that feeling with references not only to his illustrious relatives, but also to other acts that he's been associated with. Indeed the album is dedicated to the great family figures from which he seems to have inherited his talent from.

As such it's very difficult to fault the track selection which covers a range of Irish music from a good number of years, taking in personal, political and working songs all delivered with Liam's distinct brogue.

Despite the confidence that comes through in the vocal, until recently Donal was happy to let his guitar do the talking for him, it was his desire to honour the family legacy that saw him stepping up to the position behind the microphone and a damned fine job he's done of it.

The twelve tracks on "Songs OF A Roving Blade" allow Donal Clancy to step out of the relative shadows and into the limelight and it has to be said that he shines in it. This is Irish music from the top division, entertaining and pertinent. You could do a lot worse than check this out if you want to get an understanding of Irish music and why it moves so many people.

Neil King