by J. Wallace

Artist: StoneRing
Album: Samhain
Year produced: 2005

Make room in the CD changer for more great Celtic sounds, especially when StoneRing's Beth Johnson is at the mic. She shares singing duties with Charlie Johnson and Bill Rients, but the group is at their best when Johnson carries the tune. There's a good mix of tempos, from the somber title track to the carefree fun rendition of Beer, Beer, Beer. Johnson really shines on God Bless England and The Winding Stone Path.

Samhain throws in a great curve ball on the second track. Morrison's Set is a surprise, a beautiful Celtic reworking of The Doors classic People Are Strange. Excellent fiddle playing and flute work make this a treat. It would be easy to lose the musical plot on a cover of such a well-known song, but the original melancholy of the Doors version shines through here even as the reworked version gets a bit playful. The group does Jim Morrison and company justice, and without shamelessly imitating the original.

The closing track gives Beth Johnson one last chance at the mic, but it's really an acapella group effort. The voices blend well on Sorrows Away; this is a group that doesn't seem to have any weaknesses at all. Going acapella is a risky venture for groups that don't have voices up to the challenge, but StoneRing more than makes the grade.

The only real complaint? There isn't enough Beth Johnson. Her voice is especially suited for Celtic music, and while the male singers more than hold their own, Johnson brings an element of calm and control, a good contrast to the more freewheeling approach during the drinking tunes and rebellious songs. StoneRing is quite busy these, doing many live sets, traveling all over the Midwest from their hometown in Madison, Wisconsin. Don't miss the chance to see this group perform. If you're lucky, maybe they'll trot out an extended version of Morrison's Set.

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Celtic MP3 Music Magazine writer Joe Wallace reviews music for many publications and writes both nonfiction as well as short stories. His nonfiction work includes articles for Korean Quarterly, Indie-Music.com, the Alternative Culture Guide, and Factsheet Five. Contact him through his website at www.freelance-zone.com.

Labels: cd_review_2005

Posted by Marc Gunn, Tuesday, September 20, 2005.
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