Solo button accordion albums
Hi there,
I’m not a box player, but I like to listen solo albums more than bands sometimes, so I’m just looking for some good solo accordion albums. Tell me your choice! 🙂
Hi there,
I’m not a box player, but I like to listen solo albums more than bands sometimes, so I’m just looking for some good solo accordion albums. Tell me your choice! 🙂
There is some bodhran and bouzouki on a few tracks but my favourite accordion album is Martin O’Connor’s Connaughtman’s Rambles.
Also Jackie Dalys first album is all accordion with a track or two on concertina.
John Bowe: ‘Chromatic Button Accordion’ (has guitar accomp. by Mary Conroy). Inchecronin LP - INC 7471 (1977).
The Cat’s Rambles by Michael Sheehy is solo piano accordion (not button), but it’s excellent.
Tony MacMahon’s solo albums
Mairtin O Connor’s Connachtman’s Rambles - 2nded, dunnp! also there’s a great album of Sliabh Luachra music by Johnny O Leary [sorry cant remember the title] and the classic Gael Linn Jackie Daly and Seamus Creagh has some solo accordian
Finbarr Dwyer - all of ‘em.
Dermot Byrne’s solo recording.
Josephine Marsh.
and another vote for "The Connaughtman’s Rambles" by Mairtin O’Connor. Rarely equalled, not yet bettered.
https://thesession.org/recordings/1796
Four solo accordion players on the above, from "Outlet" in Belfast. If you’d like a CD of this - genuine, not computer-copied - send me a postal address to send it to you by a private email. No charge, I have an extra copy.
Interestingly, the entire CD [originally an LP record ] consists of reels - not a jig, hornpipe, air or polka in sight.
Just the opposite from The Old Swan Band’s "No Reels" then!
I’d second the recommendation for Tony MacMahon. I know it’s not a solo album, but the ‘In Knocknagree’/ ‘i gCnoc na Graí’ album of himself and Noel Hill is one of my absolute favourite trad albums.
Paul Brock’s album ‘Mo Chairdín’ is a favourite of mine too:
https://thesession.org/recordings/1823
sorry me again - should have mentioned Sharon Shannons 1st album early 90’s, some refreshingly unpretentious tunes b4 she got to be a global superstar………….
When I started listening to ITM, I learned a lot of tunes from these two albums:
James Keane - Roll away the reel world
Paddy O’Brien - Stranger at the gate
John.G.Walsh’s recordings(from Clifton), in particular "Magpies Nest", his daughter Marie "The Red Box", Johnny Connolly "An t’Oileán Aerach(melodeon, definitely only playing one row not two, I’ve seen him live), Billy Moran, and a selection of own compositions by Vincent McGrath called "Ó Cheartlár Mo Chroí" which I think translates as "From the centre(core?) of my heart"? but the English title given on the cd is "Spring in the Air". It’s one of my all time favourite cds.
If ‘solo’ means ‘not part of a band’ as opposed to ‘unaccompanied’ then I’d second James Keane’s ‘Roll Away the Reel World’, and also recommend ‘The Lark’s Air’ by Dan Brouder, and ‘If Anyone Can’ by Leo McCann.
m.d.
Danny O’Mahony’s "In retrospect"
https://thesession.org/recordings/3976
Great playing, some tracks accompanied. A couple of tracks on Tom Carmody’s big old multi-reed box which has a wonderful sound.
In regards to my post, it auto corrected a town name, should read John G.Walsh (Clifden)
Yes guys, with "solo" I mean "not part of a band". Great albums! I’ve really enjoyed Dan Brouder’s The Lark’s Air, lovely! I’m looking for Siar by John Og Connolly but I can’t find a streaming for this album.
Dan Gurney’s debut album is great.
There are but a few solo albums that i like as much as this amazingly beautiful recording. Recorded within a few hours with Brian McGrath on piano, it is in the same league as The Connachtman’s Rambles, Martin O’Connor’s debut album.
Joe Derrane
Colm Gannon
Seamus Begley
David Munnelly
Damien Mullane
Luke Daniels
Tim Edey’s album Daybreak should be mentioned here as well:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/daybreak/id385288705
And let’s not forget Donal Murphy who’s uplifting playing can be heard on his 2009 debut solo button accordion album ‘Happy Hour’:
http://www.donalmurphy.net/happyhour.html
Last but definitely not least should be mentioned the fantastic playing of Séamus Shannon who also made some solo button accordion albums that unfortunately are hard to get nowadays.
I regard him as the best B/C/C# boxplayer ever. Here are a few samples from YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg16fdo_040
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzSreJ5z3Mk
I feel embarressed …
Why wasn’t I thinking of the wonderful playing of Bobby Gardiner …?
http://www.bobbygardiner.com/albums/the-high-level/
And how could I forget to mention John O’Halloran …?
http://www.custysmusic.com/product-info.php?pid206.html
http://www.emmaosullivan.com/dance/index.php