Thile on julie fowlis and kate rusby releases

[Dagger Gordon]

I haven't noticed any comment on this, so I'll do it.

Chris Thile plays a bit of mandolin on this year's releases by Scots Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis (Cuilidh) and English singer Kate Rusby (Awkward Annie). He also sings a bit on Kate's.

I think he's always been interested in UK and Irish folk music. I heard him name-checking Planxty on a Nickel Creek radio interview in Scotland once, and certainly his playing adds a lot on both albums. Julie is married to Danu bouzouki player Eamonn Doorley, and there's lots of good playing from him on both of her albums.

I would like to think his involvement might encourage more mandolin playing in Britain, particularly in an accompanying role behind singing. I sometimes think we concentrate too much on the volume limitations of the mandolin in sessions when considering its place in the Celtic scene.

Check out Julie's great album. Chris plays on a fast song and a slow song (the first couple of tracks actually) and adds a great deal to both of them.

Incidentally, he's appearing at Celtic Connections in Glasgow on 16th and 18th January. The gig with the Punch Brothers and the Bills sounds good to me.

[mancmando]

Interesting news... and good for celtic mandolin, will check those recordings out

I know that Chris knows Kate's brother Jo (I've got some friends who know Jo) who organised Chris's solo gig in Manchester so hopefully this connection will mean more collaboration..

[jefflester]

I think he's always been interested in UK and Irish folk music. I heard him name-checking Planxty on a Nickel Creek radio interview in Scotland once...
Nickel Creek was certainly influenced by Andy Irvine and Planxty. Their unrecorded "Jacksmith" that was performed at nearly every show in 2003/2004 is a melding of Dominic Behan's "Crooked Jack" with Planxty's version of "The Blacksmith" featuring the "Blacksmithereens" coda. The song "Sabra Girl" from their "This Side" album (sung by Sara) is a reworking of Irvine's "Time Will Cure Me" from Planxty's "The Well Below the Valley." They've inserted "Pat Reilly" into the middle of "The Fox." They also recorded the trad UK folk song "House Carpenter," on "This Side," which was performed by Irvine in Sweeney's Men.

[jaco]

Wouldn't a collaboration with Chris and Andy Irvine be something!

[Caleb]

Glad to hear this news. Kate needs more mando on her records. Oddly enough, Kate's song "The White Cockade" is the very thing that got me into the mandolin. Tim O'Brien plays a very beautiful, yet very simple little intro on the mandolin to that song, and he adds some great texture throughout the song on the instrument. When I heard this song I wanted to try out a mandolin. A few weeks later I bought one and taught myself that little lick that got me intersted. Strange how this stuff works, huh?

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[Dagger Gordon]

I think Chris only plays mando on one track of Kate's CD, though he sings on another.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Sounds like the perfect blend, I love Kate's voice and Chris's playing. Tim O'Brien appears on a couple of her albums and John McCusker (who has recently left Kate's band) plays some lovely cittern on her albums too.

Matt

[Greg Ashton]

#Oddly enough, Kate's song "The White Cockade" is the very thing that got me into the mandolin. #Tim O'Brien plays a very beautiful, yet very simple little intro on the mandolin to that song, and he adds some great texture throughout the song on the instrument. #When I heard this song I wanted to try out a mandolin.
When i heard the White Cockade, I too thought it was one of the finest mandolins I had heard on a recording. After seeing Kate's live video and checking the liner notes, it turns out that it's actually John McCusker playing cittern capoed way up at the 10th or 12th fret.

Thanks for posting this Dagger. I've been on the lookout for the Julie fowlis CD. Now I may have to look harder or download it from itunes.

I downloaded Awkward Annie from itunes when it came out - the problem is that you don't get the liner notes to see who's playing. On the song that Thile plays mandolin on, "the Old Man", it sounds like John Doyle (a Rusby regular) is possibly playing rhythm guitar. The excelent Kris Drever also guests on a couple of tracks.

[Caleb]

#Oddly enough, Kate's song "The White Cockade" is the very thing that got me into the mandolin. #Tim O'Brien plays a very beautiful, yet very simple little intro on the mandolin to that song, and he adds some great texture throughout the song on the instrument. #When I heard this song I wanted to try out a mandolin.
When i heard the White Cockade, I too thought it was one of the finest mandolins I had heard on a recording. After seeing Kate's live video and checking the liner notes, it turns out that it's actually John McCusker playing cittern capoed way up at the 10th or 12th fret.

Thanks for posting this Gordon. I've been on the lookout for the Julie fowlis CD. Now I may have to look harder or download it from itunes.

I downloaded Awkward Annie from itunes when it came out - the problem is that you don't get the liner notes to see who's playing. On the song that Thile plays mandolin on, "the Old Man", it sounds like John Doyle (a Rusby regular) is possibly playing rhythm guitar. The excelent Kris Drever also guests on a couple of tracks.
Wow, thanks for posting that. I read that it was Tim O'Brien and assumed that it was a mandolin. It fooled my untrained ears, but peaked my interst and made me a mandolin player all the same.
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That's one of my most played albums, by the way. Great record.

[Steve L]

I think this is the most slow-growing and civilized thread bearing Thile's name i can remember.

[Caleb]

Shhh.... I think all the Thile-bashers are sleeping. Let's not wake them.

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[Dagger Gordon]

Not much cittern on Awkward Annie, but a bunch of tenor guitar (probably the same instrument, I should imagine) played by McCusker,Kris Drever and Ian Carr.

John Doyle is indeed on guitar on The Old Man, plus Thile and K Drever on tenor guitar.

There's also a lot of 5 string banjo, played either by Leon Hunt or Andy Seward.

Many of the same names crop up on both Julie and Kate's CDs McCusker, Doyle, Drever, Donald Shaw on piano, Ewen Vernal on bass etc.