Just a quick note here. It had been years and years since I had listened to this wonderful album before I pressed play on it yesterday and was energized all over again.
26 years after its release, Otherworld remains a treasure trove of vision and energy. The guys at the time were already experienced and respected musicians but still quite young and ready to experiment a bit. The arrangements are creative, the electric bass in this context is still quite amazing today and the band and the production team boldly took advantage of the latest studio tech.
The sound of Otherworld is robust and, dare I say, muscular, in a way acoustic Celtic folk, Irish in particular, rarely sounds. Frankly, this rocks – it did in 1999 and it does now. Even the slow tunes have body and density instead of butterfly fragility.
Otherworld remains an enduring milestone, a vibrant and supremely self-confident triumph that deserves its reputation.
The line-up:
John McSherry – pipes, low whistle
Michael McGoldrick – pipes, flutes
Kevin Crawford – bodhran, whistles
Trevor Hutchinson – bouzouki, cello, basses
Seán Smyth – fiddle, viola, whistles
Donogh Hennessy – guitars
FolkNotes 