Dolores Keane: Far Away In Australia
[purchase]
Known primarily for her work as an interpreter of Irish folksong, both as a solo artist and as a founding member of longstanding Galway-based Celtic Folk band De Dannen, Dolores Keane toured and recorded non-stop for a quarter decade before throwing in the towel in the late nineties to focus on family and home life. But her songs live on, as does her reputation as the queen of the soul of Ireland: this traditional ditty, most recently re-released on her 1998 "Best Of" Greatest Hits collection, is short and sweet, with none of the disaster that so often accompanies the canon; its simple, direct interpretation showcases both the depression-era Irish ideal of Australia as a land of opportunity, and her strong lilting alto, providing apt entry for an artist whose debut appearance here at Star Maker Machine is long overdue.