$14.99
A celebration of Celtic roots and the wild American spirit, featuring Robin on nine different instruments, with guest appearances by Scottish harp champion Sue Richards, Helicon's wooden flute innovator Chris Norman, and percussionists Steve Bloom and Myron Bretholz. “An inventive musical vision…a glowing acoustic-music feast.” – Baltimore City Paper
1. John Mackenzie’s Fancy
2. For Ireland I’d Not Tell Her Name
3. Jaybird Suite
4. Spider*
5. Carrickfergus
6. Bob and Margie’s Waltz*
7. Rascal’s Castle*
8. Ash Grove Suite
9. The Maho Snaps / The Port of Call* / The Midnight Howl*
10. The Belle of Lexington / Forty Miles to Louisville
11. Lost Hollow Lament*
*RB Originals
1. John MacKenzie’s Fancy
Robin: citterns, mandolin, guitar & bass guitar, with Steve Bloom: dumbek, ashiko, djembe & shakere
Scottish pipe tune turns tribal stomp. The mandolin heard on this track was built by my North Carolina buddy Rob Sharer.
2. Ar Éireann Ní Neosainn Cé Hí (For Ireland I’d Not Tell Her Name)
Robin: guitar, piano & fiddle
My Americanized take on an Irish air. The lyrics tell of a poet’s visitation by a mysterious lady. When she reveals herself to be the nation of Ireland personified, he vows to keep her secret. But then he gives it away in the title!
3. Jaybird Suite
(The Little Brown Coffin/Madame Bonaparte/Jaybird/Drink Shank)
Robin: 12-string guitar, citterns, bass guitar, 6-string guitar, mandolin & fiddle
Irish hornpipe and set dance followed by two American old-time fiddle tunes. This suite features the cittern, a larger cousin of the mandolin.
4. Spider
Robin: solo guitar
A composition maned after an all-black bicycle I used to own.
5. Carrickfergus
Robin: cittern, guitar & viola, with Sue Richards: Celtic harp & Chris Norman: wooden flute
A famous Irish song of exile and longing. The town of Carrickfergus is in County Antrim in the northeast of Ireland.
6. Bob and Margie’s Waltz
Robin: solo guitar
For treasured friends Bob and Margie Farmer.
7. Rascal’s Castle
Robin: guitar & bass, with Steve Bloom: ganza & congas
A New Age Celtic mambo (how’s that for a category?). I took the name from a van I once saw on the highway.
8. Ash Grove Suite
(The Ash Grove/The Three Ravens/Morgan Magan/Planxty Tom Bombadil*)
Robin: solo guitar
The first two tunes are well known throughout Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, and are claimed by all four nations. The third is a composition by legendary Irish harper Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738). The final tune, composed as O’Carolan might have if he’d had chromatic notes available on his harp, is a planxty (tribute) to the marvelous character in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
9. The Maho Snaps/The Port of Call/The Midnight Howl
Robin: mandolins, citterns, piano, fiddle, guitar & bass guitar, with Myron Bretholz: bodhran
I learned the first jig from Irish piper Joe McHugh and hammered dulcimer player Barry Carroll during a wild weekend at the International Hackbrett Festival in Munich, Germany. The second is named in honor of Solomons Island, Maryland. The title of the third is self-explanatory (woof!)
10. The Belle of Lexington/Forty Miles to Louisville
Robin: fiddles, mandolin, guitar & bass guitar
A pair of Kentucky fiddle tunes, just for fun. My source for the second was the late Merle Watson, still one of my favorite musicians.
11. Lost Hollow Lament
Robin: guitar & pennywhistle
Lost Hollow is a private name for my secret wooded refuge. This piece is a tribute to the healing power of wild places, and a lament for their disappearance.
Robin Bullock:
