Burning Bridget Cleary Review – Totes For Goats

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“Totes For Goats”
By Burning Bridget Cleary

Musicians:
Genevieve Gillespie – fiddle, vocals, banjo
Rose Baldino – fiddle, vocals, banjo
Lou Baldino – guitar, vocals, bass
Peter Trezzi – djembe, drums

Special thanks to:
Moses – the goat
Nate Godshall – Bodhran
Joe Plowman – upright bass
Siddharth Bhaskar – D Whistle

Mark Says…

Burning Bridget Cleary is burning bright again. This is another outstanding offering from this “ever-increasing-in-popularity-and-talent” Celtic band. They play so well together I shudder at the thought of any of them ever leaving the band. Instrumentation was well balanced in the recording although I would have liked the djembe and Bodhran to be a little more noticeable in some of the songs. The additional use of Bodhran and drums does bring some depth to this CD that may not have been present on the previous Burning Bridget Cleary CD, a very positive addition in this listener’s opinion. I welcome the new musicians. I’ve always been a fan of depth in Celtic music added via drums, bass, Bodhran or even Didgeridoo.

The CD could be described as having a contemporary Celtic sound mixed with traditional Irish tunes such as dance sets and slow airs. You’ll want to listen to this CD multiple times so leave it out or take it with you in the car. Burning Bridget Cleary seems to waver between traditional dance numbers, Celtic rock and folk music. This creates for us a Celtic album that is much more interesting to listen to than most all-traditional Celtic music albums. The individual tunes are very well paced and seem rightly played for the mood they are to convey. Burning Bridget Cleary excels in that respect.

Most of “Totes For Goats” is toe tapping “stuff.” There are 8 instrumental pieces, some are set dances, some are regular songs and two are slow haunting airs. I enjoyed every song on the CD which rarely ever happens with any CD. Many Celtic CDs will become tiring to listen to and you can’t wait to get to the end. The variety of music on “Totes For Goats” is refreshing and should convince you to want to listen to the following song.

Note: I totally loved the artwork on this CD cover and the title of the CD. Very creative!

Pick up the CD here:
http://www.burningbridgetcleary.com/

Notes on individual pieces:

“Where’s Pete”. A driving toe-tapping instrumental dance, just long enough to make you want more.

“The Elfin Knight”. Beautiful singing by one of the ladies. An upbeat and simple tune that will surely cheer up anyone down-hearted. Has a modern pop feel to it.

“Sloppy Set”. A traditional dance instrumental set. Very cool complementary playing from the two fiddle players. I liked the addition of the banjo in the background.

“The King and the Fair Maid”. Nice harmonizing between Genevieve and Rose. A very pleasant medieval-influenced tune with a fun story. Oh, this gets so dirty, something about a man and a horse.

“The Unfortunate Rake”. Instrumental with mostly over-dubbed guitar. Upbeat modernization of the Irish folk sound. Smart and crisp playing. Lou Baldino can play a guitar! The “Jimmy’s Groove” portion of this set is written by Lou Baldino.

“Nead Na Lachan Sa Mhuta”. This was one of my favorites. Fast paced crisp singing in Gaelic. Genevieve and Rose both have very good voices and use their complementary vocal ranges like instruments, which I find very intriguing. The whistle joins in on this one.

“Jigs for the Gangly sort”. You have to love the name of this instrumental dance. It was probably a rather difficult fiddle piece which is highlighted here.

“Lament for Emil”. Slow air. The first slow contemplative number on the CD. It could be straight out of a Civil War movie soundtrack.

“The Blacksmith”. An interesting story, so listen closely. Sung by the ladies. Another one of my favorites on the CD. An intense ballad style song that perhaps could have used slightly more intense instrumentation on the crescendos (but you can only do so much with so few instruments). Fun to listen to.

“To My Wife, Short and Sweet”. Instrumental. Definitely short. A pleasant solo guitar melody which really doesn’t sound Celtic. It breaks up any monotony you may be feeling, which you really shouldn’t have. Music written by Loy Baldino.

“The Fort”. Another dance instrumental. There is something about Burning Bridget Cleary’s instrumental technique and arrangements that creates a unique sound which I can’t quite describe, perhaps it is the underlying yet prominent beat brought into each song by the guitar.

“The Connemara Shore”. The sole tune sung with male voice. It is uniquely done. Music (but not words) written by the very talented Loy Baldino. This one reminds me of the 70’s style of Simon and Garfunkel, though with not quite as outstanding of a voice as either of them. It doesn’t quite fit the album but a nice tune that I found refreshing.

“The Cuckoo”. A slow air. Could be in a Civil War soundtrack just like “Lament for Emil”. Hauntingly beautiful, with a unique interplay between the fiddle and stand up bass. I loved it and it was a fitting end to the CD.

Bill Says…

“Totes for Goats” has more reasons for gloats.
Burning Bridget Cleary’s “Totes for Goats” is their third CD (I think), and the second I’ve had the pleasure of hearing (I know). It features more of BBC’s unique dual fiddles with guitar accompaniment sound, as well as the additional “guest” instruments here and there, all skillfully played and perfectly blended. While I felt this work didn’t feature quite the variety of influences as the previous “Everything Is Alright,” it’s still easy to recommend.

As with “Everything…,” the band plays both traditional and original tunes, mixing both vocal and instrumental performances. The CD starts out with the upbeat instrumental “Where’s Pete,” that features the trademark interplay between the girls’ fiddles, and throws in some nice bodhran work for good measure. This is a tune that would send the pub-goers into a bit of reveling, and had me doing a wee bit of “chair jiggin’” myself.

“The Elfin Knight” is a very catchy tune, but while Rose or Genevieve (not sure which is singing) has a pleasant enough voice with nice range, I’m still not quite on board with the solo vocal work, and think the girls sound much better when they sing as a duet. I enjoyed the acoustic to electric switch during portions of the song, and would like to hear a little more of that electric sound from the band.

“The King and the Fair Made” features another catchy tune and an amusing story. Clever little maiden indeed. Of the two vocals, the first that was featured is the stronger, but again, the harmonies are where the vocal strength of the group lies.

Lou’s clean and flawless pickin’ is showcased on “Unfortunate Rake.” I always enjoy his solo work, and his accompaniment adds a dimension to other songs that provide the group with its musical identity.

I very much enjoyed the Gaelic-language (or was it Irish) “Nead Na Lachan Sa Mhuta,” and much appreciate the group providing the phonetic pronunciation on the track list. What a strange language. The whistle was a welcome addition, and beautifully played.

I had to laugh at the imagery conjured up by “Jigs for the Gangly Sort,” as I imagined my fiancés rather gangly son jigging about the room, as he did at a past St. Patty’s Day party.

“Lament for Emil” is an emotional, mournful, and no doubt fitting tribute to Emil, whoever he is. We should all be so lucky as to have such songs written in our memory.

“The Blacksmith” features a nice guitar lick and a bit of a harder sound that introduces the instrumental interlude. As previously mentioned, I’d like to hear the band feature a harder sound on a song or two, as I think it would make a nice addition to their repertoire.

“The Fort” highlights the groups trademark sound, and Lou goes it alone on Connemara Shore, accompanying his own pleasant, “folksingerish” vocal. I would have really enjoyed hearing some three-part harmony from Lou and the girls on parts of this one. I think it’s another dimension the group should explore, if they haven’t already.

The mournful yet somewhat whimsical “The cuckoo” completes the set. Nice use of the upright bass.

So once again, BBC has a winner. While I wasn’t quite as enamored with the CD overall as I was with “Everything…,” I can honestly say there wasn’t a single track in the set that I was trying to hurry along. Perhaps my preference for “Everything…” can be attributed to that being my introduction to the band. It’s often hard to duplicate that initial experience in nearly anything. As I noted in my previous review as well as above, I would like to hear BBC explore the Celtic Rock genre a bit more, ala Eileen Ivers. But they have a sound that is easily identifiable as their own, and it most certainly works. “Totes for Goats” does indeed give the group reason to gloat. I anxiously await their next offering, or even better, an opportunity to hear them live.

Pick up the CD here:
http://www.burningbridgetcleary.com/