Niall and Cillian Vallely's Callan Bridge can take the listener by surprise if they are expecting an instrumental CD. It is filled with lively Irish instrumental songs in a style not commonly heard by Americans in very many places. But the tunes are not so richly Irish you need to step dance to them, but they are Irish enough to make you feel like you could be walking through an Irish street market, a very good feeling.
The album does seem a little long, which prevents its recommendation to the casual Irish music fan. However, serious fans of this music will likely enjoy it.
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Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by Alex KlagesCallan Bridge, the first release from the duo of Irish brothers Niall and Cillian Vallely is a mixture of old standards of instrumental folk music and some new pieces of the same idiom. What sets this album apart is the uncustomary instrumentation. The uillean pipes (played by Cillian) are expected, and, indeed, almost mandatory in such recordings, but the concertina, as played by Niall, gives a…Similar sounding releases
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