Ray Lynam
Album: The Essential Ray Lynam
Label: Rosette
Tracks: 32
Website: http://www.rosetterecords.com

Ray Lynam has been a stalwart of the Irish country scene ever since his emergence in the 1970s. Early in his career, he was described as having a voice that was "a mixture of George Jones and Buck Owens with a slight touch of Johnny Paycheck" - something to live up to, indeed… Ray's fame continued on through the 80s, along with his band The Hillbillies and some duet work with singer Philomena Begley, and in later days he was to serve with Kevin Sheerin as a member of Daniel O'Donnell's backing band for their studio sessions. But this well-sourced and generous anthology collects together a whole host of Ray's celebrated solo recordings, which deliver warm-toned, genial and assured renditions of material that stretches right across the spectrum of mainstream country music. In which context, it's a pity that recording or original release dates are absent from the booklet information.

Mainly drawn from his glory years in the 1970s and 1980s, these recordings showcase Ray as an exponent of solid, reliable (if at times perhaps a touch pop-emotive) mainstream country. If workmanlike, straightforward popular-country-rock of the easy-listening kind is your bag, then you need not hesitate in acquiring this set. If, however, like me, your taste is unquestionably for the more authentic rootsy down-home country, then aside from occasional twangsome tracks here and there (like Back In Love By Monday) there really is little to write home about, and certainly I found little to detain me or sustain my own personal interest. So it's horses for courses, then, and those who like to keep this kind of stable will consider themselves winners twice over with this great-value two-disc collection, for it scores in making available on CD for the first time many otherwise rare recordings.

David Kidman