Outside the Box

by Billy McComiskey

Overview

All over the booklet of this CD, there's effusive praise about Billy McComiskey and his Irish button accordion playing from those who know. At times it's so high that you wonder how he can ever hope to live up to it. After all, he's not a man who's made a lot of records, although he's one of the leading lights of Irish-American music. But then you put on the disc and the truth is revealed -- McComiskey really is that good. There's an easy, natural fluency to his playing, but even more importantly, a feel for the music that makes it swing in a way that's particularly Irish-American. The reverence in which he's held is apparent from the quality of the accompanists here: John Doyle, Liz Carroll, Mick Moloney, and Joanie Madden, among others -- they're all superb musicians, and McComiskey is the equal of them all. A fair number of the tunes come from his own pen, with several others from his mentor, Sean McGlynn, as well as a couple of trips back in history, with the set of O'Carolan tunes a particular standout for their filigreed delicacy. For the most part this is uptempo, and that's the ideal way to experience McComiskey, a man who's operated happily at the grassroots level of Irish-American music for decades, while also standing shoulder to shoulder with the greats. This is his first solo outing since 1981, and his first recording since 1995, making its rarity obvious and the palpable joy at hearing such a superb musician ever greater. ~ Chris Nickson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/12/2008
Label:	Compass
UPC:	0766397448824
Rank:	222463

Tracks

1. Keogh's/Maggie Lynn's
2. Sean McGlynn's/Maura McGlynn's/Connie Scanlon
3. The Rainy Day/The Man of the House
4. The Diamond/Sleepless Nights
5. Grainne's Grace
6. The Humours of Bandon/Farewell to Old Decency/Ormond Sound [Set Dance/Reels
7. The Ballinakill/The Broken Bridge
8. The Collier's/Miss Thornston's/The Concert
9. Nora Sweeney/Elizabeth Cullen
10. The Way to Shercock/Nell Davy's
11. Planxty Thomas Burke/Lady Gethin
12. The Grey Fox
13. Frances Keegan/The Ring Finger/The Maid I Ne'er Forgot

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Billy McComiskey   Primary Artist,Accordion
Myron Bretholz   Bodhran
Liz Carroll   Fiddle
John Doyle   Guitar,Mandola,Bouzouki
Mick Moloney   Tenor Banjo
Joanie Madden   Flute,Whistle (Human)
Brendan Dolan   Piano
Mathew Bell   Bodhran

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
Myron Bretholz   Track Annotations
John Doyle   Producer
Mick Moloney   Arranger,Liner Notes
Erick Jaskowiak   Engineer
Glenn Barratt   Mixing,Engineer
Billy McComiskey   Composer,Photo Courtesy
Gabriel Donohue   Engineer
Randy LeRoy   Mastering
Brendan Dolan   Photo Courtesy
Ed Reavy   Composer
Robert Hakalski   Photography,Package Design
Earle Hitchner   Liner Notes
Mike McHale   Photo Courtesy