by Phil Hall

Artist: Mary O'Dowd
Album: "At the Close of an Irish Day"
Year Produced: 1991

One of the more elusive voices of Celtic music is the Irish-American balladeer Mary O'Dowd, who only recorded one album prior to 1991's "At the Close of an Irish Day" and none since. Her stirring voice was in command whether the material was rich in sentiment or steely with anger, and while her lack of output is maddening she is guaranteed classic status just with this amazing album.

O'Dowd's opening number "When New York Was Irish" is a mini-masterpiece, celebrating Eire's contribution to America's greatest metropolis with a rich tapestry of large triumphs and small gestures, capped with a bittersweet but inevitable surrender of a separate and distinct ethnic pride into the greater glory of a modern multicultural landscape. One doesn't need to be either Irish or a New York to appreciate its sweep of time and achievement, and the recording alone is enough to warrant the purchase of the album.

But "At the Close of an Irish Day" has a diversity of selections to intrigue the listener. Old sing-along favorites such as "Rings on My Fingers" and "Toast to the 32 Counties" are warm and playful in O'Dowd's charming renditions, while the title song and "Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore" offer an uncommon mix of honey and rue in recalling Eire's vibrant charms. Political music, which often sounds shrill and strident, comes across with intelligent drama via O'Dowd's vocal prowess. "Wandering Wondering Child" and "The Town I Love So Well" capture the modern anguish of occupied Ulster, while "Fields of Athenry" frame the historic injustice of Anglo-Irish relations with deep grace and maturity.

Even when the material strays from an Irish setting, as with the tune "The Dutchman" and its tale of elderly love in an Amsterdam setting, O'Dowd finds the emotional soul of a situation and displays it with a genuine sense of passion and sincerity.

Where is Mary O'Dowd today? Beyond this album and her earlier "Portrait of Mary O'Dowd," she seems to have vanished. At least she is absent from music catalogues and e-commerce sites. But for those who can differentiate between quantity and quality, the sterling achievement of "At the Close of an Irish Day" is a recording to be cherished as a rare and precious musical commodity.

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Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Phil Hall is contributing editor for Film Threat, book editor for the New York Resident, author of "The Encyclopedia of Underground Movies" (MWP Books) and a proud child of Wales.

Labels: cd_review_2005

Posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, February 25, 2005.
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