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Mark O'Connor & O'Connor Band - Coming Home (2016)

Posted By: SERTiL
Mark O'Connor & O'Connor Band - Coming Home (2016)

Mark O'Connor & O'Connor Band - Coming Home
Bluegrass, Country | MP3 CBR 320 kbps | 43:48 min | 109 MB + 5% Recovery
Label: Concord Records | Tracks: 12 | Rls.date: 2016

If there's a gold standard for fiddling in American music, it's Mark O'Connor, an artist who has earned his stripes as one of the finest instrumentalists in bluegrass, country, jazz, and classical. Given how far he's pushed the boundaries of his music and his instrument, it's just a bit surprising that he's opted to dip his toes into one of the most traditional formats in bluegrass, the family band, but you can't argue much with the results. Released in 2016, Coming Home is the first album from the O'Connor Band, which along with Mark features his wife Maggie O'Connor on violin, his son Forrest O'Connor on mandolin and vocals, and his daughter-in-law Kate Lee on violin and vocals. (Friends of the family Joe Smart on guitar and Geoff Saunders on bass fill out the arrangements.) While three fiddlers might seem like overkill, this group manages to merge them seamlessly, sounding like a tiny orchestra on "Fishers Hornpipe," weaving gracefully through the title track, and bringing their voices together in sweet sorrow on "Fiddler Going Home." The guitar and mandolin lend the melodies a fine rhythmic counterpoint, and the group's harmonies are excellent. Mark O'Connor is clearly the star of this show, but his bandmates are more than capable, and Forrest O'Connor and Kate Lee are fine lead vocalists who season the group's instrumental blend with impressive skill. While some of Lee's songwriting leans a bit hard on pop-country tropes, the musicians more than compensate, and the material moves back and forth between traditionalism and contemporary bluegrass styles with easy authority. Coming Home is a splendid set of modern-day bluegrass with deep Appalachian soul, and proof that there's a lot of talent in the O'Connor household besides the guy with the hat. Review by Mark Deming

TRACKLIST
01. Always Do
02. Coming Home
03. I Haven’t Said I Love You In a While
04. Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man?
05. What Have I Been Saying?
06. Jerusalem Ridge
07. The Sweet Ones
08. Blacktop Boy
09. You Too
10. Fishers Hornpipe
11. Old Black Creek
12. Fiddler Going Home