CHRISTY O´LEARY/BERT DEIVERT - Song´s Sweet Caress

Review - SING OUT! magazine USA http://www.singout.org/
Spring 2004
Although it's attracted very little notice, Sweden has developed a strong Celtic music community. Song's Sweet Caress is the first Swedish release from a well-known Swedish transplant, but one suspects it won't be the last one. That expatriate is County Kerry's Christy O'Leary, well-known for his vocal and instrumental work with the Boys of the Lough, as well as sideman stints with everyone from John Denver and Connie Dover to Swedish performers the ilk of Ale Möller and Lena Willemark. If O'Leary were an athlete, he'd evoke handles like "triple threat", for his high-level skills as a singer and on bagpipes and assorted low whistles. He joins forces on Sweet Caress with guitarist/bouzouki artist Bert Deivert, a former New Hampshire/San Francisco resident with a blues and rockabilly background. Their collaboration is both fruitful and spirited.

O’Leary applies his smooth tenor to some pretty well-known songs but he has the good sense to arrange them in new ways. His echoing vocal on ”Green Grows” takes place against some clever Deivert bouzouki picking, and some touches of soprano sax and looped guitar. Robert Burns’s ”Slave’s Lament” is reworked as a dreamy torch ballad, and ”Bonny Light Horseman” takes a John Faulkner version and adds primal uilleann pipes introduction, smooth backup harmonies from Deivert, and the latter’s well-placed bouzouki notes.

The instrumental work on this album is especially sharp. Deivert is the perfect partner to frame O’Leary’s pastoral whistles on tunes like ”Bembring”, or to lay down solid guitar for the lilting ”Miller of Drohan”. And O’Leary’s piping is in a class all by itself. If this CD is any indication, the Swedes are in for a sweet future.

by R. Weir

 

CD review for Scottish magazine The Living Tradition Jan/Feb 2004

The CD begins with a performance of 'Green Grows The Laurel' in which Christy races through the verses with barely a pause for breath. When I first heard this I thought I was going to be disappointed with the album - it seemed to lack soul. But then in 'Farewell To
Whiskey' he multitracks pipes and whistles, Bert Deivert providing a solid, no-nonsense backing, as he does throughout the album.
Then the master-stroke. On the set 'Bembring/ Up Downey', Christy just multitracks whistles, the sum of which is very much more than their parts. You never get the sense that this is just done for effect. Melody and rhythm are always master, the player just a man in total control of
his instruments. But now you get harmony and counterpoint as well - and on such great tunes.

It just keeps getting better from here on. Whether singing, as on 'Green Fields of Gweedore' and 'Bonny Light Horseman', or playing sets of tunes, Christy and Bert deliver assured performances on a well-balanced variety of songs and instrumentals. The other accompanists on the CD - Paul Kelly, Eva Deivert and Martin O'Hare - also provide solid support.

The Slave's Lament' is beautifully sung to the haunting soprano sax of Jonny Wartel in a jazz arrangement, which I understand has had purists spluttering into their poteen. It is their loss. With the title track of the album, Bert Deivert has managed to write one of those lyrics that sounds just like traditional song. And just to keep the old guard happy, The Dear Irish Boy' is an unadorned slow air, but no less beautiful for that.

Bert provides the perfect accompaniment, whether Chris is singing, piping or whistling, and they have put together a thoughtful programme of music. A word though for Gunnar Backman who co-produced and recorded the album and who provides such delicacies as "fretless virtual guitar" and "loops". Delicacies is the right word because his distinctly contemporary contributions always fit seamlessly into what is after all supposed to be traditional fare. Long may they continue playing and recording together.

by Graham Gurrin

CD REVIEW July 2003
CHRISTY O´LEARY/BERT DEIVERT - Song´s Sweet Caress
by Geoff Wallis - author of “The Rough Guide to Irish Music” , music journalist for fRoots (UK) and the Irish Music Review (www.irishmusicreview.com)

So far, 2003 has been rather a wretched year for Irish traditional releases, but here’s something to delight all connoisseurs of excellence, the debut album from the pairing of Irish singer, uilleann piper and whistler Christy O’Leary and the US-born guitarist and bouzouki player Bert Deivert. Of course, Christy will be known to many through his dozen years as a member of Boys of the Lough and his solo album The Northern Bridge, but Bert’s will be a less familiar name to traditional music lovers, although he has recorded three albums as a duo with the blues guitarist and singer Eric Bibb and three of his own solo albums.

It’s this coupling of different musical backgrounds and experiences which makes Song’s Sweet Caress such a fascinating album. Recorded in Sweden, where both Bert and Christy are nowadays based, the album incorporates superb musicianship, eloquent vocals and, most tellingly of all, masterful arrangements of a variety of musical forms.

No less than six of the album’s twelve tracks are songs, including two which will be recognizable to many listeners, Green Grows the Laurel and the perhaps over-recorded Bonny Light Horseman (though here benefiting from a decelerated arrangement). The remainder includes Green Fields of Gweedore (previously recorded by Clannad on Fuaim), William’O (learnt from Cathal McConnell), and a startling jazzy rendition of The Slave’s Lament (written by Robert Burns) that would certainly grace Mary Coughlan’s repertoire. Lastly, there’s a new song, Song’s Sweeter Caress, written by Bert and Christy, which is one of those rare modern songs which sounds as though it has been in the traditional inventory for decades.

Aided by the mandolin and fiddle of Paul Kelly and Martin O’Hare’s bodhrán and bones, some of the musicianship on this album is sumptuous and remarkable, although perhaps the most startling element is Jonny Wartel’s soprano saxophone which proves gloriously effective on the opening Green Grows the Laurel. Other guests include Eva Deivert, providing fiddle on the O’Leary-penned Josef’s March and Gunnar Backman who offers both bass and a variety of subtly employed electronic effects.

The Dear Irish Boy, learnt from the playing of Leo Rowsome, is Christy’s piping high spot, while Bert supplies well-honed accompaniment throughout, including beguiling guitarwork on Miller of Drohan.

High production values are also evident in the album’s packaging which consists of a gatefold card digipak, superb photography and a lyrics booklet insert.

Bert and Christy will be playing at this year’s Return to Camden Town festival. I, for one, can’t wait!


CD REVIEW - The Canberra Times, Australia, August 2003

Christy O'Leary & Bert Deivert - Song's Sweet Caress (HDCD01)

I have a very fond memory of a tour by the Boys of the Lough in the mid 80s when after the show, the musicians and a good proportion of the audience repaired to Sydney's main Irish pub where the concert effectively continued until well into the morning. With the band at that time was uillean piper and singer Christy O'Leary who struck me then as having one of the most marvellously melodic voices around as well as having a great ear for a beautiful melody.

Little has been heard of O'Leary since his days with the Boys of the Lough, so it was a pleasant surprise when this CD turned up from Sweden where O'Leary and American expatriate Bert Deivert now live. They have been working as a duo in that part of the world for some years and this is their first recording. It is mainly Irish with a little Scots and even a hint of a Swedish tune once or twice. O'Leary is still finding good songs, though a 40s jazz treatment of a Robert Burns poem about slavery is a little peculiar, but made up for a with a glorious reading of 'The Bonny Light Horseman' and some good tunes on pipes and whistles.

Deivert finds lots of interesting and sometimes unexpected chords to put behind O'Leary's songs and tunes. There are lots of of clever little harmonic elements in his guitar and bouzouki playing which supports and enhances O'Leary's melodies. A CD that is full of interest and some very good playing. An email to www.deivert.com/oleary.html will tell you how to get one.

- Graham McDonald



SKIVRECENSION - Värmlands Folkblad 18 juli, 2003

Vilken fin irländsk come back!
CHRISTY O´LEARY/BERT DEIVERT

Song´s Sweet Caress (Hard Danger Studio)
  
  IRLÄNDSKT I Forshaga, Värmland, bor musikanten m m Bert Deivert sedan många år. I Östansjö, Närke, finns hans musikaliske själsfrände Christy O´Leary, irländsk sångare och säckpipsspelare som sjungit och blåst med många av de stora.
  Bert har inte gjort någon skiva sedan 1984, då med Eric Bibb, medan Christy gjorde sitt senaste soloalbum 1997. Men nu är det dags igen, och inget kan stoppa dem, inte ens ett kompakt ointresse från svenska skivdistributörer; Irland, Skottland och England har redan nappat.
  Där har förstås O´Learys rykte hjälpt till, men skivbolagsfolket har självfallet satt sig ner, lyssnat och konstaterat vilken oemotståndlig skiva detta är, från det ursnygga omslaget ner i minsta musikaliska smekning.
  Christy O´Leary sjunger alldeles lysande - innerligt men samtidigt så där lite torrt som man har lärt sig att irländsk musik klär allra bäst i. Här finns också ett antal vackra instrumentallåtar, bland annat Eva Deiverts Bembring och O´Learys Josef´s march.
  Alltihop är inspelat i gitarristen Gunnar Backmans studio i Tolita, den till Göteborg utlokaliserade saxofonisten Jonny Wartel har haft vägarna förbi, och från jag-vet-inte-var har även Paul Kelly, mandolin/fiol, och Martin O´Hare, bordun, tittat in.
  Den klentrogne invänder förstås att det låter som det brukar, medan den som lyssnar noggrannare lätt hittar ett antal musikanter som generöst delar med sig av de stora uttrycksmöjligheter som finns i det traditionella.
  Här ryms såväl grundmurat sväng som sånger så vackra att de nästan gör lite ont.Snyggt jobbat.

BJÖRN STEFANSON


CD Review - Värmlands Folkblad daily newspaper, Sweden July 18, 2003
4 out of 4 stars. www.vfb.se (translation from Swedish to English)

What a great Irish comeback!
CHRISTY O´LEARY/BERT DEIVERT
Song´s Sweet Caress (Hard Danger Studio)
  
  Irish - Musician Bert Deivert has lived in Forshaga, Sweden, in the county of Värmland for many years. In the village of Östansjö lives his musical soulmate, Irish piper and singer Christy O’Leary, who has played and sung with many of the great ones.

  Bert has not released a record since 1984, a cd with Eric Bibb, while Christy’s last solo album was in 1997. But the time has come again, and nothing can stop them, not even a compact non-chalance from Swedish record distributors, while Ireland, Scotland, and England have already taken them on.

  Of course O´Leary’s reputation has helped, but the record company people have obviously sat down, listened, and realized what an irresistible cd this is, from the gorgeous cover down to the most minute musical caress.

  Christy O´Leary sings absolutely brilliantly, with inner grace, but at the same time with that slightly dry touch that one has learned suits Irish music so well. There are also a number of beautiful instrumental tunes like Eva Deivert’s Bembring och O´Leary’s Josef´s March.

  Everything was recorded in guitarist Gunnar Backman’s studio in the village of Tolita, where sax player Jonny Wartel, from Göteborg happened to drop by, as well as Paul Kelly - mandolin, fiddle and Martin O’Hare - bodhran, and from where they came, I don’t even know.

  Some people may say that it sounds like Irish music usually does, while the careful listener easily finds a group of musicians generously sharing the wonderful expressive possibilites of traditional music.

  And contained within this is a solid groove as well as songs that are so lovely to listen to that it almost hurts. Beautifully done.   

BJÖRN STEFANSON


SKIVRECENSION - Nya Wermlands-Tidningen 24 juli, 2003

Irländsk Magi
CHRISTY O'LEARY & BERT DEIVERT - Song's Sweet Caress
(Hard Danger Studio)
Betyg: 4 av 4

Det sägs att svenskar har svårt att ta till sig irländsk folkmusik. Det kan jag förstå. Svenskar har till och med svårt att ta till sig sin egen folkmusik i större utsträckning, så varför skulle en annans kultur gå bättre?
I Värmland kan det dock vara annorlunda därför att vi har lärt oss älska Dublin Fairs snabba irländska folkpopmusik. Med Deivert och O'Leary är det dock annorlunda. Deras folkmusik har influenser både från Irland, USA och Sverige. Och de tar det lugnt.
Det är tolv episka konststycken de framför på sitt gemensamma debutalbum. Hälften är instrumentala artistiska och atmosfäriska, hälften har sång med irländsk accent av O'Leary.
Även utan omslagets skvallrande foto av ett öde hedlandskap är det den bilden som frammanas i mitt huvud. Heden med låga stenmurar, ulliga får och en pub med familjenamnet på en sned skylt. Där inne kan jag för mig se en nästan tandlös irländsk farbror som tar sig tre oints med Guiness till lunch och blinkar till servitrisen.
Det här är musik min engelska pappa skulle älska utan förbehåll. Trallvänlig gitarr, flöjt och fiolbaserad musikhistoria när den är som skickligast utförd.

- Anna Sims/NWT

August 2003
Christy O' Leary & Bert Deivert - Song's Sweet Caress (www.musicinscotland.com)
A gentle, laid-back album; Christy’s gently husky vocals offsetting Bert’s guitar and bouzouki beautifully. Irish ballads in quietly charismatic style, and intricate tune sets from traditional and contemporary sources. Christy plays pipes and whistles too, with friends joining various tracks on fiddles, mandolin, bodhrán, virtual guitar… and soprano sax to back a gorgeous, just-about bluesy Slave’s Lament from the pen of Robert Burns. Totally twee-free, and utterly charming.



September 2003
Christy O'Leary & Bert Deivert - Song's Sweet Caress 
by Pete Fyfe UK (www.folking.com)

Occasionally I come across a gem of a recording and I'm happy to say that "Song's Sweet Caress" is just such a case. Mind you, it's not surprising when it features one of my favourite musicians. Christy O'Leary impressed me the first time I heard him in the Boys Of The Lough some years ago and his subsequent solo album was a blinder. Like that album, this is very much a case of the iron behind the velvet. Now based in Sweden he is to be found in company with guitarist and bouzouki player Bert Deivert. The thing that I like about this recording is that the vocals sound so right - perhaps bringing to mind the first time I heard Micheal O'Domhnaill performing in the Bothy Band. Now, don't get me wrong I'm not trying to say their approach lacks balls, it doesn't. It's just that the whole process is taken at a reasonably leisurely pace and therefore you tend to pick up on every nuance. Thanks to some neat doubling up of the Uilleann pipes and whistles you get a really full sound and it is this attention to detail in the overall production that sets the duo apart. Not only is it obvious they enjoy the music, they enjoy the whole recording process - they must do to create music this good - and they're not worried about crossing the boundaries by including Bert's laid back jazz treatment of Robert Burn's 'The Slave's Lament'. With the choice of material leaning heavy on the tradition including Christy's sublime interpretation of 'The Bonny Lighthorseman' where the mandolin accompaniment by Paul Kelly adds a further touch of class trust me when I say you will come away from this album with a real glow. Top notch!

The album can be obtained from www.copperplatedistribution.com

Pete Fyfe UK


September 2003 from HOT PRESS, DUBLIN
Christy O Leary & Bert Deivert
Song’s Sweet Caress
[Hard Danger Studio] Rating: 7 out of 10
Singer, piper and whistle player Christy O Leary hails from Kenmare, Co. Kerry and spent twelve years as frontman with the Boys Of The Lough; guitarist and bouzouki player Bert Deivert grew up in New Hampshire, USA, made three albums as a duo with bluesman Eric Bibb, and was a backing musician with rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson. Now both are living in Sweden, where they’ve hooked up to make this CD. The pace is gentle throughout, with soothing tinkly arrangements of classics like Green Grows The Laurel and Bonny Light Horseman alongside lesser-known songs and tunes; the latter include an unusual jazzy interpretation of Robert Burns The Slave s Lament , a march written by O Leary for his newborn son Josef, and the title track co-authored by the two.

Sarah McQuaid - HOT PRESS, DUBLIN, Ireland


Pay The Reckoning September 2003
Music Web Site www.paythereckoning.com
Christy O'Leary & Bert Deivert
Song's Sweet Caress
(Hard Danger Studio HDCD 01)

Christy O'Leary (vocals, pipes, whistles) and Bert Deivert (guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals) are joined by Paul Kelly (mandolin, fiddle), Eva Deivert (fiddle), Martin O'Hare (bodhran, bones), Gunnar Backman (fretted and fretless virtual guitar, loops, bass) and Jonny Wartel (soprano sax) to bring the listener one of the most thoughtful albums of recent years. Proof, if proof is needed, that musicians from different, but related, genres can work together to make music that is more than just an overlayering of forms, but a true blend.

O'Leary's understated vocals and subtle musicianship dovetail perfectly with Deivert's intelligent and sensitive playing. The undoubted core musicians of the CD, O'Leary and Deivert nevertheless allow their gifted collaborators room to unleash their talents.

Staples of the traditional song canon ("Green Grows The Laurel", "Bonny Light Horseman") provide an anchor for some lesser-known songs ("Green Fields of Gweedore") and their own "Songs Sweet Caress". In a similar fashion, well-known tunes such as "The Dear Irish Boy" and "Miller of Drohan/Ormond Sound" provide a base of
timelessness against which newly-composed tunes "Bembring/Up Downey" (by Eva Deivert and Tola Custy respectively) and O'Leary's "Josef's March" (which he couples with "Lady Montgomery") are thrown into sympathetic relief.

In a classy, tasteful selection, the lads' version of "Farewell To Whiskey" nevertheless stands out as the track to which we returned time and again. The interplay between O'Leary and Deivert and the steady, measured pace highlight the beauty of a piece which, although it is a fine tune when played as a polka, loses a great deal of its lonesome grandeur in the process.

A laid-back listen whose charms grow each time it gets a spin!
Available via the ever-tasteful Copperplate Distribution


Taplas, Oct/ Nov 2003
Welsh Folk Magazine
 
Christy O'Leary & Bert Deivert
Song's Sweet Caress
Hard Danger HDCD 001 (51min)

A long awaited follow up to A Northern Bridge, his 1997 album with guitar ace Chris Newman, emphatically demonstrates that Christy O'Leary has lost none of his charm as a singer and neither his immense talents as uilleann piper and whistle player.

The former De Dannan and Boys of the Lough member has now teamed up with the excellent guitar and bouzouki player, American Bert Deivert, who, like O'Leary, lives in Sweden. Like the former opus, Song's Sweet Caress continues to make links between Ireland and Scandinavia, this time also bringing in transatlantic influences, most notably on the lesser-known Burns song The Slave's Lament.

O'Leary's voice is a strange mixture of fragility and strength. He kicks off with the familiar Green Grows the Laurel, taken at a slightly faster tempo than usual, and closes with a gorgeously dreamy William 0. The title track is a lyric from Deivert, set to music by Christy and the remaining song from the repertoire of Clannad.

Just as his singing is in fine form, so are his instrumental talents, with splendid whistle and pipes on Niel Gow's Farewell to Whisky and the achingly beautiful slow pipe air The Dear Irish Boy, learned from the playing of Leo Rowsome.

It may have been a long wait, but it's been worth every minute.

- Keith Hudson


Folkworld.de folk music magazine review OCT. 2003
Christy O Leary & Bert Deivert "Song's Sweet Caress"
Label: Own; HDCD01; 2003

An album from Sweden, even though both musicians are not of Swedish origin. Christy O Leary from Kerry, Ireland, became famous on the Celtic scene as long term member of the Boys of the Lough. Bert Deivert is a guitarist with US American background. Both musicians are currently resident in Sweden, and have started to play together. "Song's sweet caress" is the result of this collaboration.

Christy has a beautiful, warm and calm voice, singing traditional Irish songs. He is also an extraordinary uilleann piper and whistle player. Bert accompanies him on guitars and bouzouki. The album presents a beautiful collection of mainly traditional Irish songs and tunes, played by two highly skilled musicians. And for those who are more collecting records than CDs: Song's Sweet Caress is the first CD by a major Irish traditional artist completely recorded and produced in Sweden.

- Michael Moll, Folkworld web magazine

The Irish World 7.11.03 Review
Christy O'Leary and Bert Deivert
SONG'S SWEET CARESS HDCD 001


The wonderful, Christy O'Leary has combined his talents with American Bert Deivert to produce this compelling, traditional album. The album successfully intertwines many different musical genres and styles, but still keeps the flow simple and touching.

Christy O'Leary, who was in The Boys of Lough as well as having produced a more recent solo album, provides the vocals, Uilleann pipes and whistles. Bert Deivert plays the acoustic guitar, bozouki and the back-up vocals, with Paul Kelly on Mandolin and fiddle, Martin O'Hare on the Bodhran, Gunnar Backman on virtual guitar and bass and Jonny Wartel on soprano sax.

The best thing about this album is the surprises that it contains. The album starts off with traditional folk song with Green grows the Laurel, moving into the Irish traditional Farewell to Whisky. However, it then moves into Bembring/Up Downey.

This is contemporary traditional music at its best, with O'Leary and Deivert showing why their musical partnership works so well together. The whistle sings with the music while the acoustic guitar gently accompanies it. Newly composed traditional music, which stands up well beside older, loved traditional music.

Later on in the album the Miller of Drohan, another exuberant track, is full of energy reinventing the well-known tune. Green fields of Gweedore and Bonny Light Horseman are treated beautifully and add further to the ambience of this album.

However, the stand out track for me is The Slave's Lament, a traditional song given a complete bluesy makeover, adding a dark edge and mystery. An unusual and simply superb song, one of the best surprises on the album.

A gentle, laid back album with energy and imagination providing plenty of surprises on the way. Song's Sweet Caress is available through Copperplate at www.copperplatedistribution.com.

- Tara McWeeney


Net Rhythms Music Web Site 11.11.03
Christy O'Leary & Bert Deivert
Song's Sweet Caress
(Hard Danger Music- HDCD 001)

Both Christy (Irish singer and uillean piper supreme and veteran of Boys Of The Lough) and Bert (musician/singer-songwriter from San Francisco) both currently reside in Sweden, where this joint CD was recorded.

They have pooled their talents to produce an unusual and characterful album that draws on their experiences and musical backgrounds. It's not all "song's sweet caress" though, for amongst the songs are interspersed five really enticing (and varied) instrumental tracks, which I actually marginally prefer to the songs, at least on the initial few hearings. It's not that the songs are anything less than eloquent, accomplished and seriously valid renditions, or in any way lacking in substance, but it's more the case that around half of them revisit fairly well-trodden territory. Having said that, Christy's lovingly considered (and yes, caressing) treatments of the less familiar songs (Green Fields Of Gweedore and William O, aka Bay Of Biscay) are superbly poised and benefit from Bert's expertise in the often understated musical arrangements.

Whereas on the other hand, I'm not entirely convinced by the casually jazzy treatment of Robert Burns' Slave's Lament, though that's a matter of personal taste and you may well disagree. I really warmed to the title track though, a nicely philosophical joint composition that with its attractive and memorable chorus fairly cries out to be covered by other singers pretty soon.

Christy and Bert make good use of their select few backing musicians too; these include Paul Kelly, Martin O'Hare and Eva Deivert. The arrangements favour textures that are soft and gentle yet without becoming flaccid. In fact, although the CD's 50 minutes end up passing by very smoothly, as you'll hear, there are several incentives to hit the repeat button along the way too!

- David Kidman - www.netrhythms.com

Main Page Info/Bookings Gig dates O'Leary CV Deivert CV På Svenska Press/Reviews ORDER CD E-mail: Christy O'Leary