Playing with fire | Recorded in 1995 | Buy this album now
Fast becoming one of the major touring acts Dervish play dynamic Irish traditional music with a contemporary edge, while remaining faithful to the legacy of the past.

Album Review

Playing With Fire, the follow-up to their highly acclaimed Harmony Hill album of two years ago, is more than a worthy successor to that illustrious debut. This is an album of contrasts: with lively instrumentals - jigs, Reels and slides mixed in seamlessly with bare plaintive songs featuring the mellow voice of Cathy Jordan. Placing a strong emphasis on the rhythmic structures of the tunes using guitars, mandolin and bouzouki combined with melodic elements of accordion, fiddle and flute, Dervish's performance combines an instinctive zeal which at times ignites into an incendiary mélange of sound. Cathy Jordan's voice leaps like a butterfly across the melodies of songs like "Johnny And Molly", "Cailin Rue" and "Wille lennnox". Of the Instrumentals, the reels "last Night's Fun", the hila riously titled, "I Burled lily Wife And Danced On Top Of her" and an exquisite original tune "The Hungry Rock" stands out, but all of the tracks on this accessible collection are worth a listen. Special mention too must go to the engineers for the crisp production and clear mix, which was carried out at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.

Siobhan Long Hotpress

Track Listing

1. Buckley's Fancy
2. Molly And Johnny
3. Last Nights Fun
4. Wheels Of The World
5. Maire Mor
6. I Buried My Wife
7. The Hungry Rock
8. Cailin Rua
9. Ash Plant Set
10. Peigin Mo Chroi
11. The Game Of Love
12. Willie Lennox
13. Let Down The Blade

Buy this album now

Listen to track samples