McCusker is one of the brightest shining stars of the new folk music generation. He joined the Battlefield Band in 1990 at only 17 years of age, filling the gap after Brian McNeill, a task that would seem impossible to many. Maybe McCusker was too young to realize this, but he is still there. Not only has he filled a space, he has also been a considerable influence to the band's style, contributing a number of his own tunes for their records.
He has also had time to appear as guest musician on a number of CDs, head a few side projects as the Radio Sweethearts, and produce a few albums for friends. So it comes as no surprise that the list of musicians on Yella Hoose looks like a who-is-who-in-folk-music-list. There are many debts to be paid.
Among others, we get Andy Seward, producer of Cooper, Boyes and Simpson amongst others; bass player Andy Cutting; accordionist Simon Thoumire, one of the best young concertina players around; Gino Lupari, the bodhran player of Four Men and a Dog; Malcolm Sitt from Deaf Shepherd; Iain MacDonald from Battlefield; and of course Kate Rusby. And then of course there is Ian Carr, who throughout the '90s emerged as the guitar player of British folk.
Yella Hoose shows McCusker in many roles, a real Jack-of-all-trades. There is McCusker the musician, mostly on the fiddle, but also on keyboards, assorted whistles and cittern. Then there is McCusker the composer, who has written all but three tunes for the album. And of course there is also McCusker the producer.
Being a masterly musician on whichever instrument he lays his hand on, everything is always played perfectly without ever loosing the feel for the music. But I am mostly impressed by his ability as a writer. There is always a McCusker-stamp on the tunes: plenty of melodic content as well as versatility. We are treated to some slow airs, like "The Guid Man," "Sailing Through the Narrows" and the wonderful "Al´s Big Day," some very intricate and complicated tunes, like "Kev´s Trip to Britanny" and "Joe´s Tuxedo," and the usual fast "catch-me-if-you-can " jigs and reels, like "Pur the Orangutang." The sets usually start slow and speed up as they go along.
Through the titles, we get to know McCusker´s wittier side. There is a tune called "For All Cows" coupled with "The Shetland Molecule," a title Ian Carr came up with as the name of an animal smaller than the Shetland Pony. There's also "The Boys of the Puddle," a tribute to the Boys of the Lough, a tune which is actually quite ingenious.
The album also gives an impression that McCusker has strong family roots. Two of his nephews get their own tunes, "Wee Michael´s March" and "Trip to the Phone." "Al´s Big Day" was written for his sister's wedding. There are also numerous references to friends.
Everything is done in style. The arrangements of, and the settings for the tunes are impeccable. Every musician taking part does what he or she is there for: to lift the tunes to new heights. Nowhere on the album do you find any off notes or insensitive playing. Being a guitar player myself, I am especially fond of Ian Carr´s contributions. When there is just the two of them, McCusker and Carr, they reach the same heights as Alisdair Frasier and Tony McManus did on their album earlier this year. And when Kate Rusby sings the only song on the album, "Night Visiting Song," things get almost heavenly.
It is very hard to pick favourite tracks on this CD. Nothing really stands out. But that is probably due to it all being very good. Everything shines. It is one of those CDs you play straight through instead of carefully programming the tracks you want or reach for the skip button every now and then. I strongly recommend this CD to all lovers of acoustic music.
