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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Blarney!


Yvonne Healy is a cultural crossover. Born in Ireland but emigrated to the US with her parents as a young child, she has a foot--and a heart--in both countries. Her new CD, Blarney, weaves her memories of the people and places of both countries into a seamless journey of truth, imaginings, and mythological adventures.


As a cultural blend of England and America myself, I understand the pull of the old traditions and heritage. I was born and raised in the US, but my English mother made certain that we were well grounded in English traditions. Healy's parents, the first on either her mother or father's side to leave the old country, made a new home in America and their young daughter immersed herself in American culture. She forgot the Irish language she once knew, but then she grew up and Ireland called to her in stories.

Listening to Blarney! is like sitting in a pub and hearing story after story, interspersed with a little music. What is true and what is not? The listener must decide. Did her grandfather really come to America once? Was her grandmother truly so outrageous? The people Healy describes come alive--comic, tragic and all-too-human. Her unique voice lends authenticity to folktales of heroes and magic. Healy moves effortlessly from story to story, voice to voice, comic to heroic to touching, taking us on her journey to places she knows well--the Ireland of folklore and the Ireland of her heritage..

Blarney! is filled with stories you will want to listen to again and again. And that's no blarney.

This CD is available on Healy's website, and on CDBaby as a downloadable MP3.

1 comment:

  1. NEAT - O! I will get right over there to the music, and thanks for the tip. I listen to lots of Celtic, and have been getting very into Kate Rusby lately. THanks for the tip! Merry week!

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