duggup

Artist: Christopher Dean
Website: www.cairneyhill.com/
Track Name: Back Home in Derry.
Playback: mp3
Download?: No

Today I’d like to introduce you to the American guitarist Christopher Dean. I ran acoss his website around 2002 which was around the time that he released his second album “The Gael”. I purchased that album and the first “Highland Heritage” as well. Both CD’s have taken a bashing over the years.

In January Christopher Dean released the third in his delightful CD tryptich. For me this latest offering is a true highlight. Of the three offerings it is the most polished and the best produced, no doubt this can in part be attributed to the co-production provided by musician and producer Brian Baynes.

I fell in love with the woody resonance and bell-like sustain of Christopher Dean’s Taylor guitar and with the delicious picking style that he is rightly known for. The tunes and songs he plays are evocative of the Irish and Scots landscapes. The playing is emotional and reflective without being maudlin or sentimental. The melodies lift the spirit and weave a magic that sustains long after the last notes fade.

The latest album “Celtic Journey’ is embellished by Highland piper Aaron Shaw and Brian Baynes adds flute, violin and guitar to a beguiling variety of standards from the Irish, Scottish and English traditions. It is hard to pick a favourite track, but I think the final cut on this album, Bobby Sand’s ‘Back Home in Derry’ is the one I will go with even though I think the production is a tad heavy handed.

CD Baby is where you will find the samples for all of his albums and where, of course you can purchase them too.