Roots

Latest CD releases reviewed

CHRISTY MOORE
Burning Times Sony/BMG ***

Christy's still keeping the best of company. A protest singer in the tradition of Woody Guthrie, he's wise enough to seek out alternative sources of knowledge, none of them belonging to one R Murdoch. His sampling of Dylan, Morrissey, The Handsome Family and Joni Mitchell reveal a singer whose reference points are both catholic and well-informed. Dedicating the entire album to the late Rachel Corrie, killed in the Gaza Strip, Christy's political preoccupations still centre on injustice, whether personal or global. Dylan's The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll is searing in its timelieness, as relevant in Ireland of the noughties as it was back in 1964. His borrowing of Natalie Merchant's Motherland is less fortuitous, stripped bare of its original sweeping mournfulness. Nonetheless, another chapter in an ever-changing life story that still manages to fascinate. www.christymoore.com Siobhán Long

PETER BRUNTNELL
Ghost in a Spitfire Loose ****

Peter Bruntnell is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter raised in Britain who seems to have been around for an age but remains a well-kept secret. He has his admirers, this writer included, but his hazy rich imagery, warm rounded countryish melodies and intimate vocals are not the stuff of instant impact. His songs, reflective gems glistening in a blue light, need and deserve time to deliver. The record company blurb cites similarities with Teenage Fanclub and it has a point. Like them, Bruntnell is heavily influenced by US alt.country music, and again like them he manages to make a distinctive British sound. There are 11 tracks in total and not a dud in sight, but especial mention should be made of Little Lorelei, Orange Moon, Perfume River and World Won't Wait. And his band, in particular guitarist James Walbourne, carry just the right weight. www.looserecords.com Joe Breen

ABYSSINIA INFINITE
Zion Roots Network Records ***

Abyssinia Infinite is actually Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw. She has an extraordinary soprano voice with great tonal and emotional range. Zion Roots, lest the title strike any Jamaican chords, is not some sort of search for Rastafarian culture but an intense rhythmical journey into the heart of Shibabaw's spirituality, all of which is outlined in the extensive sleeve notes. Mixing Ethiopian musicians and traditional instruments with Western players and technologies, she and co-producer Bill Laswell have come up with a captivating sound that bubbles beneath her commanding voice. Many of the tracks utilise call and response in which backing vocalists answer Shibabaw's spirited calls. It is a fascinating mix of the primitive and the profound - Ethiopian soul music, as her label terms it. This album was released elsewhere in 2003, but is only now available in Ireland. www.networkmedien.de  Joe Breen