Dolores Keane - There Was A Maid (1978)

There Was a Maid, an historic reissue from Claddagh Records, is the 1978 debut solo album of Irish vocal veteran Dolores Keane. The impressive recording is a mixed bag of traditional song and melody, featuring the Reel Union band on fiddle, flute, whistle, pipes and bodhran. Keane, one of the founding members of the legendary group De Dannan, sings of love's variety-unrequited, false and true-in a strong, rich voice. The opening track, "The Generous Lover," displays Keane's brilliant command of ornamentation, as her voice dips from high to low, with an almost lilting turn at the end of each stanza. A few traditional tracks are free of all instruments, like the sole song in Irish, "Ta mo Chleamhas Deanta." Reel Union performs on every other track, peeling into jigs and reels and softening the mood with a slow air. -- From Rhythm Magazine