Mossy Nolan
Album: Mossy Nolan
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 10
Website: http://breakingtunes.com/mossynolan

Mossy Nolan is a Galway folk singer [ now based in Dublin].He is a fine singer with a powerful voice and is an excellent bouzouki and mandolin player. This is his debut album and it consists of a mixture of self-penned songs, covers of some well-known folk songs and some exotic, rip-roaring instrumentals.

The two Mossy originals are Letterfrack, Your Letterrack and Man Midland. They are both good songs and show his promise as a songwriter.

The covers are generally familiar. There is the Yorkshire ballad Spencer the Rover, the definitive version of which was, of course, recorded by the late, great John Martyn. Mossy's interpretation is pretty darn good too. Another well known song covered by Mossy is Wild Mountain Thyme [my favourite version of which is by the Byrds]. I used to believe that this is an ancient traditional Scottish song but it is nothing of the kind. It's actually Irish and was first published in 1957 and attributed to Francis McPeake. Mossy does a lovely version of it, complete with birdsong and Stina Sandstrom and Lisa O'Neill on harmony vocals [ Mossy also plays in Lisa's band]. Tunnel Tigers is a Ewan MacColl song about Irish workers building the London Underground ["Driving the tunnel through the London clay"] and is another fine interpretation by Mossy. The final cover song is perhaps less well-known. It is Dark Horse On The Wind, by the late Ballyfermot singer Liam Weldon, and it was the title track of his 1976 album. This is one of the standout tracks on Mossy's album. It is a very dramatic song, powerfully sung by Mossy with a sparse, eerie, electronic backing with effects provided by Colm McGowan, who plays guitar on this album [he also plays live with Mossy].

The instrumental tracks, of which there are four, are of the same high standard as the songs. Mossy is a master of the bouzouki and mandolin and there are some cracking tunes on offer here. The first, 2 Flats 1 Pump is a superb Bulgarian/Romanian-style instrumental which changes tempo and mood at will and is a personal favourite of mine. There's more bouzouki virtuosity on the traditional Swedish Jig/I Met Betty Kelly.

Corkadoragha is another adventurous piece written by Mossy, which to my ears at least, has a Flamenco/Moorish influence to it. Whatever, it is superb and much too short at only 3 minutes.

The final instrumental [and last track on the album] is Fairy Hills, Big and Small which was written by the blind Irish harper Turlough Carolan [born 1670]. Carolan is considered to be Ireland's national composer and he could write a good tune, as shown on this version by Mossy [which again is too short at only 2 minutes ]. Lovely stuff.

To sum up, this is an excellent debut album by Mossy Nolan, with a fine mixture of songs and tunes both old and new, played and sung with great skill and passion.

Peter Cowley