BARBARIAN
Tom Donovan

A 20 year overnight success is not new to the music business. Tom Donovan has been entertaining audiences for 20 years and more. Most of those years he has been in the Master Class category.

It's not that success has eluded him. He succeeds every time he goes on stage. It's more a case of "Stardom" not being top of his agenda. But then as everyone in the music business knows, "Stardom" is more a function of marketing than talent. And nobody would have the slightest difficulty compiling a litany of "Stars" who don't have a fraction of Tom's talent.

His new studio album Barbarian is stunningly overpowering in its dynamics and energy. Produced and arranged by Dagda, it succeeds as a meeting of opposites between the polished textures of Dagda's ambiance and Tom's raw, earthy and spontaneous impulse. This blending is achieved through clever track sequencing. The album opens with the football style anthem Bravehearts - Trip to Scotland and from then on one is imperceptibly drawn into the heart of the album which is rich in lush trip-hop ambiance. Ferry to Inisheer begins the reawakening with a light rock beat and the final tracks leave the listener with an overwhelming feeling of live participation.

Above all, this album is a breath of freshness to fuel the apparently unending global demand for Celtic music. It is infused throughout with a melding of modern world sounds and Celtic tradition, blending as it does Tom's near sean nós vocal style with wafts of pipes, flute, whistle.

Put this album on your turntable and you can be sure that's where it will remain

All Music Guide