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Come To Dance

By John Whelan


  1. Jackie Coleman’s
    The Bag Of Spuds
    The Bird In The Bush
  2. The Broadstone Inn
    Big Snugs
    Beth Patterson’s
  3. The Turning Of The Season
  4. The Crooked Road To Dublin
    Dinkey Dorian’s
    Sleepy Maggie
    The Copperplate
  5. Frances O’Neill’s
    Jesse And Franchesca’s Miracle
    Stop The Car
  6. Tracks In The Snow
    The Nightlight
  7. The Fermoy Lasses
    The Old High
  8. Queen Esther’s
    What, Daddy?
    April’s
  9. Simmone
  10. Crossing The Shannon
    The Man Of The House
    The Five Mile Chase
  11. Mary O’Neill’s
    The Banks Of Ireland
    Ballinamore
  12. Bob’s Garden Of Earthly Delights
    Broderick’s
  13. The Concert
    The Flogging
  14. Dowd’s Favourite
    O’Gorman’s Salute
    My Cup Of Coffee
  15. The Tenpenny Bit
    Trip To Athlone
    Gallagher’s Frolics
  16. Newtown Bridge
    The Kerryman
  17. Father O’Flynn
    Father Tom’s Wager
    The Lilting Fisherman
  18. Spellan The Fiddler
    The Windy City
    Deacon Harry Doyle

Eight comments

“Come to Dance”

I have this CD, and really like it. The energy and musicianship are wonderful, and I like the combinations of tunes.

Come to Dance

The interesting thing about this album is that it is very good Trad Irish music performed by a bunch of young musicians from the U.S. Whelan is the seven-time button accordion champion in Ireland, and his playing is terrific. It’s not Lawrence Welk and the Champgne Bubbles. Robin Bullock also shows up for some tasty mandolin work. This album is very enjoyable despite the rhythm guitar being a skoach “pop” sounding. They also have a bass in the mix--some cuts sounded like it might have been an electric bass?!? I ended up buying three different CDs recorded by John Whelan in the space of one week.

Cillian Vallely

I don’t think its an electric bass. My favorite track is Dowd’s Favourite/O’Gorman’s Salute/My Cup Of Coffee with Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes.

-Max

Great CD

John gets overlooked too often, despite being a seven time All Ireland button accordian winner. “Come To Dance” is on the Narada label and can currently be purchased as a minimal price. Eileen Ivers contributes excellent fiddle. If you want one CD with a lot of faster paced dance tunes, this is it. I know several Irish Dance schools that use Whelan a lot for dance sessions. I’m not sure if Celtic Tradition is exactly the same set of tunes or studio recordings. Celtic Fire is an album he did with students with bodhran and lively percussion added.

The musicians are ~

John Whelan ~ button accordion

Robin Bullock ~ guitar, cittern & mandolin

Tom Wetmore ~ bass

Jim Eagan ~ fiddle

John McGann ~ guitar & mandolin

Cillian Vallely ~ low whistle & uilleann pipes

The Compositions are ~ mostly too 2 & 2 Wind-Ham Hill for me 😛

“John Whelan & friends: Come To Dance”
Label: Narada / Released: February 23, 1999

C: John Whelan

2. ) reels: “Braodstone Inn” / “Big Snugs” / ~

5. ) jigs: “Frances O’Neill’s” / “Jesse and Franchesca’s Miracle” / “Stop the Car”

8. ) polkas: “Queen Esther’s” / “What Daddy?” / “April’s Polka”

9. ) air: “Simone”

12. ) reels: Bob’s Garden of Earthly Delights" / ~

14. ) reels: ~ / ~ / “My Cup of Coffee”

18. ) hornpipes: ~ / ~ / “Deacon Harry Doyle”


C: Robin Bullock

2. ) reels: ~ / ~ / “Beth Patterson’s”

3. ) air: “Turning of the Season”

6. ) hornpipes: “Tracks in the Snow” / ~

14. ) reels: ~ / “O’Gorman’s Salute” / ~


C: John McGann

6. ) hornpipes: ~ / “The Nightlight”


C: Paddy O’Brien

16. ) reels: “Newtown Bridge” / ~

The Compositions are ~ mostly 2 much & 2 Wind-Ham Hill for me 😛

Damn Internet and old computer, it did some weirdness with the title. The ‘intended’ is now set. There are a few nice tunes to be fair, like Paddy O’Brien’s, and the hornpipes aren’t awful, which I can’t say for the polkas ~ 😛