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RANDAL BAYS AND ROGER LANDES House to House Claddagh Records ****

Irish American musicians like Solas's Seamus Egan have long impressed us with their virtuosity, but we've had little exposure to American musicians of an earlier generation whose ownership of the music is as solid as if they were scions of Sliabh Luachra. Randal Bays and Roger Landes conjure a commanding presence on fiddle and bouzouki, looping through an eclectic repertoire on this recording of a quartet of house concerts from Seattle to Massachusetts. Bays's fiddle is deliciously woody, reminiscent of Padraig O'Keeffe, particularly on the latter's The Lament for O'Donnell. Landes exerts the lightest of touches on bouzouki, pitching his subtle contribution brilliantly on the set bookended by Delia Crowley's Reel and Seán Sa Ceo. The occasional foot tap and squeaky chair add to the party atmosphere. www.housetohousemusic.com
Siobhán Long