This is the third release from the Plymouth-based UK Folk outfit. Firmly rooted in the old traditions of high energy, dexterous playing and recounting stories of brigands, pirates and thieves, Mad Dog McCrea boasts six musicians that would give any band in this genre a run for its’ money. Mad Dog McCrea stokes up a terrific sound that is perfectly suited to live performance.
The production by Sean Lakeman is vibrant and immediate, blending bouzouki, banjo, fiddle, flute and whistles into a crescendo of celebratory sounds. The eleven tracks here run along at quite a pace, and it is impossible to sit still when Almost Home, You Can’t Find Me, Heart of Stone, Mad Dog Coll and Talking through the Walls are thumping out of the speakers.
They can also do reflective and sensitive as with The Sound and Whiskey Man, two tracks that show a gentler side of this ensemble, but are no less impressive.