Reviews of Drivin' Leitrim Timber so far

The Irish Times
by Siobhan Long

Here’s one that slipped beneath the radar in 2010, mostly due to so many other fine traditional albums released in what was a bumper year. Leitrim flute player Dave Sheridan’s second album is a joy, a thoughtfully organised collection that celebrates a fluid, free-flowing regional flute style, shot through with just enough sharp edges to keep the listener’s antennae on high alert for the next hairpin bend. Sheridan’s generosity is everywhere evident in the arrangements, with guitar, bouzouki, bass, harmonica, piano and bodhrán subtly bolstering the tunes. An occasional drop in pace would have been welcome, as reels and jigs dominate the set list, but there’s enough heart and soul in Sheridan’s playing to counter the high velocity. A welcome counterpoint to the inertia that’s seized the country of late.

Taplas magazine
by Jem Hammond

Dave Sheridan’s second CD lives up to its title and his avowed aim that all the music included be lively or driven, though we’re not quite in Conal O’Grada territory. Sheridan is an accomplished Irish fluter with the archetypal robust tone, all the tricks and a forthright approach to his material, though not one lacking subtlety in variation within tunes.
He uses a selection of different pitch flutes to good effect and the material is predominantly traditional. A few rough edges on some of the tracks rather enhance a live and lively feel. He is well accompanied with assorted plucked strings, piano, harmonica, jew’s harp and bodhrán but with the flute always well to the fore and driving affairs. Excellent.

Reviews of Sheridan's Guesthouse

Hot Press Magazine
by Sarah Mc Quaid

In the liner notes for his debut CD young Leitrim flute player Dave Sheridan thanks his Dad profusely for all the hours he spent waiting to drive the fledgling musician home from trad music sessions that continued late into the night. Listening to the aptly named Sheridan's Guesthouse, you get the feeling that you've happened upon such a session-and a damn fine one it is too. An ever changing cast of players join in for a tune or two, anchored by the crack string team of Brian Mc Donagh (mandola) Seamie O Dowd (guitars) and Michael Mc Cague (bouzouki); but always at the centre of things is Sheridan, with his fluid, unflashy style, sound technique and solid ryhthm. A beautiful album throughout!

Froots Magazine
by James O Donnell

It’s easy to have a soft spot for Leitrim, that gentle-paced Irish country whose traditional music seems to match the rises and rolls of the landscape and the tone of the flute players is as clear as the glassy waters of Lough Allen. Dave Sheridan is one such instrumentalist and comes from the tiny village of Killargue, halfway between Manorhamilton and Drumkeeran, but he’s not just a dab hand on the flute, but the button accordion and low whistle too, as Sheridan’s Guesthouse amply illustrates.

For any recording debutant it’s always a boon to be surrounded by inspirational companions, so Dave has corralled the doyen of local accompanists, Sligo’s Séamie O’Dowd, into the studio as well as the ex-Dervish man’s string-plucker in arms, mandola-player Brian McDonagh, and  a host of other musicians from his musical stomping ground.

While Dave’s flute takes on lark-like qualities, not least on the effervescent opener Mulhaire’s/Kiss the Maid Séamie proves a bedrock throughout this utterly enjoyable album. However, the sparks truly fly when Dave hooks up with with long-time London-based fiddler Brian Rooney for Maid on the Green/Humours of Drinagh, while the thoroughly foot-stomping set of reels kicked off by Johnny Allen’s sees his accordeon trading notes in remarkable rapidity with the uilleann pipes of Patrick McGovern.

Elsewhere, there’s a flute duet to die for, Enya’s Fancy, featuring Dave’s cousin Seán Gilrane, and two tracks revealing the talents of fiddler Pádraig O’Neill from Dublin (clearly revealing himself as one of Ireland’s greatest wasted talents – as for why, the story’s too long to tell).

So book yourself a room in Sheridan’s Guesthouse, the rooms might need refurbishing, but the house band is a killer.

Gordan Turnbull

Hailing from County Leitrim, this impressive debut album features a large number of guest musicians (hence the title), with the flute playing being the central thread running through it all.

The flute playing is highly accomplished, dynamic and in a modern flowing style rather than the rhythmic style traditionally associated with Leitrim (such as Packie Duignan). The guests are too numerous to mention in detail here, but notably include Brian Rooney (fiddle) on one track, Junior Davey (bodhran) on several others and Brian McDonagh and Seamie O'Dowd from Dervish providing backing on all but two tracks. Some of the arrangements are inventive and forward-looking, but still very much within the tradition.

This is a delightful and exhuberent recording that reminds me of Jimmy Noonan's The Maple Leaf in the sheer joy of playing that comes over to the listener.

The Living Tradition Magazine
by Mick Furey

Co. Leitrim people never seem to shout about their musicians. OK, we know about Joe McKenna, Ben and Charlie Lennon, the MacNamara family, but 1 don't understand why so much talent isn't boasted about. Maybe it's because Leitrim's overshadowed by its next-door neighbours, Donegal and Sligo?

Dave Sheridan is a young Leitrim flute player, now teaching in Dublin, who deserves to be more widely known and appreciated. He has a fine drive about his playing with discreet ornamentation that still allows the basic tune to shine through. He's laid down fifteen tracks, most of them around 3' 30", of 'standard' jigs and reels with a few less well-known tunes. Sixteen musicians, plus a singer, are on just about everything from accordion to uillean pipes. Not all of them play at the same time, so there's a great variety between tracks. A special round of applause for track 3; Brian Rooney's outstanding fiddle sets fire to The Maid on the Green and the Humours of Drinagh. He reminds me of the older fiddle style of players like James Morrison. One of Sheridan's old mentors, Sean Gilrane, plays flute on his own composition, Eania's Fancy, on track 10 then follows on with Captain Kelly's and The Salamanca.
 
There are discreet and sensitive bodhran players, in spite of the base lies you've been told. The secret is playing so that musicians are aware of it without noticing it. Neil Lyons plays bodhran on most of the tracks, with Liam Cryan, Junior Davey and Hugh Sullivan picking up the rest. Track 2 (Christy Barry's, King of the Pipers/Michael Dwyer's) gives a valid answer to the spoilsports who insist that no more than one bodhran should be played in a session. Lyons and Cryan both play but don't overpower the set.
 
Sheridan's cousin, Conor, sings Sheridan's own composition Our Beautiful Tradition, a song about older musicians wondering if the younger ones will carry on the well-loved old traditions. I liked the song immediately because it's the first one I ever heard on this thorny subject. The answer is the latest crop of musicians; the tradition's safer now than it's been for decades. As well as the song, Sheridan's own polka and reel, Enjoy Your Stay/In Sheridan's Guest House start the final track. The last reel, Safe Home, makes a logical ending to the whole CD. I only wish that all sixteen had gone out in a blaze of glory on this track.
 
Copperplate Distribution believe this CD is 'too good to fall through the cracks', so they're publicising this two-year old recording. I'm glad they have; it's a real treat. For all it's a studio recording, this has an impromptu feel because of the different line-ups on each track; I don't think any two sets have the same musicians playing together. Copperplate's blurb says, 'Imagine a friendly hostelry somewhere in the Irish countryside...' I don't want to do that, because this isn't a bit like a pub session; that would be full of the usual distractions. This feels more like a spontaneous gathering of musicians in someone's house and you've been honoured by being invited. Welcome to Sheridan's Guest House.

The Irish Music Magazine
by Alex Monaghan

Leitrim flute-player and button boxer Dave Sheridan has crammed an impressive line-up into his caravan: Seamie O'Dowd and Brian McDonagh of Dervish provide the backing for fiddles, accordion, pipes, and Dave's flute and whistle. The bodhrán is represented by Junior Davey and Neil Lyons (06 World Bodhran Champion) among others, and there are keyboards and bouzoukis scattered through the album. The overall sound is excellent. There's a wide range of textures: simple flute and fiddle on The Hag with the Money, a full session sound on Christy Barry's, and plenty of sparkling duets and trios.

The opening pair of reels Mulhaire's and Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel shows the impromptu, slightly hectic side of Sheridan's Guesthouse: there's the freshness and spontaneity of a good session here. When it comes together, it's magic: Father Kelly's Jig and Muñeira de Ourense is a good example, Sheridan's flute and Padraig McGovern's pipes blending enchantingly through these Irish and Galician tunes. It's jigs and reels from start to finish, with a waltz and a song thrown in as token relief. The final track adds a polka and a reel of Sheridan's own in a carefully-named medley: Enjoy Your Stay, In Sheridan's Guesthouse, and Safe Home.
Mr Sheridan himself is something of a mystery: a very fine flute player obviously well connected, I haven't noticed his name before this. About half the fifteen tracks here are flute-led over a strings and drums accompaniment, and they're all good. The Maids of Castlebar set is a straight trio of reels played in fine Sligo style. The Big House and Fred Finn's are slightly unusual versions of more well-known tunes. Sheridan's flute is enchanting on The Jewels of the Ocean, confirming his consummate musicianship: he's well able to front a recording, but seems equally happy to share the limelight and there's no shortage of other stars in Sheridan's Guesthouse. With a good fifty minutes of fine music here, and some nice surprises along the way, I'd advise you to email sheridansguesthouse@hotmail.com or log on to www.sheridansguesthouse.ie and book early to avoid the rush!