Solas - Live
The explosion of interest in Celtic music has trained a bright spotlight  on the Irish-American band Solas, whose eclectic menu of songs veers alternately  toward American shores and back toward County Kerry.Solas Live,  featuring a 1998 performance in Burlington, Vermont, filmed for Vermont Public  Television, boasts no tricky camera angles or graphics-enhanced effects, but  simply allows Solas's infectious music to take center stage. Vocalist Karan  Casey (who later left the band to pursue a solo career) is in top form, spinning  yarns to introduce the songs and then breaking into her pure soprano. Fiddler  Winifred Horan surely ranks among the finest contemporary Celtic musicians, and  her lightning-quick playing is truly breathtaking. Highlights include Woody  Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty," the very traditional-sounding "She Is Like the  Swallow," and the toe-tapping "Big Reel of Ballynacally." And Seamus Egan's  fiery flute on "Patsy Touhey's Set" will stay with you long after the disc is  over.--Anne Hurley