She's not the "Galway Girl" in question -- she's a Clare native -- but the renowned multi-instrumentalist has achieved something of a renaissance in recent years, enjoying the success of the eponymous collaboration with American roots legend
Steve Earle. Represented twice here, opening with
Earle's original and concluding with the 2007 chart-topping revamp with Irish rocker
Mundy, "The Galway Girl" became an unexpected hit in 2007, while the original appeared prominently on the soundtrack to P.S. I Love You and in a very ubiquitous ad campaign. It's also a neat reference point for the collection, which thoroughly showcases
Shannon's adventurous collaborations with musicians as diverse as the above, California country rocker
Jackson Browne, Malawian rapper
Marvel, and hip hop-influenced folk songwriter
Damien Dempsey. There are her live collaborations with the supergroup Renegade, the self-composed reel "Gaffo's Ball" slotting in neatly beside the funk-soaked "Neckbelly."
Dempsey and
Mundy join old-school trad singer
Dessie O'Halloran on the mischievous "Courtin' in the Kitchen," a number quite literally recorded in
Shannon's kitchen for a radio special, blending styles as the funk horns and accordion bursts seamlessly trade places. "What You Make It (Da da da Da)" is the surprise package of the collection as accordion, plucked banjo, and mandolin subtly pull the strings behind the relatively straightforward R&B/hip-hop number. A couple of songs might have been wisely cut -- "A Song of the Rosy Cross" with
the Waterboys'
Mike Scott and "Libertango" with tragic singer
Kirsty MacColl drain the momentum slightly towards the finish -- but overall The Galway Girl is a comprehensive introduction to
Shannon's considerable body of music. ~ Dave Donnelly