Andy Irvine/Paul Brady

Andy Irvine, a classical guitar student of Julian Bream, discovered American folk music in London via Woody Guthrie; he moved to Dublin in 1962 and soon joined a burgeoning Irish folk scene. Paul Brady grew up playing early rock and roll but joined the folk group the Johnstons, who left the British Isles for the Big Apple in 1972. Irvine co-founded Planxty that year, and in 1974 Brady moved back and joined them. Post-Planxty, Brady and Irvine recorded this cult classic with Donal Lunny and Kevin Burke guesting. Guitar, bouzouki, and mandolin create the tangy counter-melodies and intricately weaved rhythms that drive the songs; fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, bodhran, and other instruments fill out the sound. Irvine had flings with Bulgarian music, as the disorienting, asymmetrical instrumental break on “Plains of Kildare” reveals. “Bonny Woodhull” is a textbook on how to make sparks with the accompaniment to a straightforward love song. On Brady’s famous solo, the dark-humored anti-recruitment “Arthur McBride,” his guitar sings, strums, and dances all at once. The impeccable musicianship never overshadows their unfeigned humanity, and this splendid reissue (taken from the original masters and including a 12-page book) proves that again for a new generation.