"Lovely
Molly" by 'Howling at Ravens'
Irish and other Celtic instrumental music
(Obelisk productions 1999)
The band "Howling at Ravens" consisted of Allan
Moller, Chris Knowles and Ben Walker, and together they combined a rich
mixture of musical talent and experience.
Main instruments are uilleann
pipes, flute, whistle, Celtic harp and bouzouki.
The band was only in existence for a couple of years, but the
album received excellent reviews and is still available from this
website.
Listen to sample tracks:
The album is available on physical CD for £12 (GBP- UK pounds) incl. shipping (Glass mastered CD with booklet sleeve notes) here:
Some Excerpts from Reviews:
..
"THIS IS A WONDERFULLY ESOTERIC CD OF MOSTLY TRADITIONAL
CELTIC MUSIC... THERE ARE 14 TRACKS ON THE CD RANGING FROM JOYOUS JIGS,
REELS AND POLKAS-SOUNDING AT TIMES RATHER LIKE THE BOTHY BAND OR THE
FINEST POSSIBLE TRAD-SESSION YOU COULD IMAGINE... OTHER TRACKS HAVE AN
ETHEREAL QUALITY, PARTICULARLY 'THE DELIGHT OF THE SPINNING WHEEL',
TAKEN FROM AN ANCIENT WELSH HARP MANUSCRIPT. BEN WALKER'S FLUTE PLAYING
IS REMINISCENT OF THE GREAT MATT MOLLOY. I ALSO REALLY
ENJOYED...THE GREEN FIELDS OF CANADA, A SLOW HAUNTING AIR WITH A
DISTINCT BLUESY FEEL. FOR MUSICIANS AND ALL OTHER INTERESTED PEOPLE,
THE CD SLEEVE NOTES GIVE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE TUNES'
ORIGINAL SOURCES.. WHAT
MORE CAN I SAY! LOVELY MOLLY IS SIMPLY THE BEST ALBUM OF TRADITIONAL
CELTIC MUSIC THAT I HAVE HEARD FOR A VERY LONG TIME."
---(Traditional
Music Maker magazine: Mar.2000)
"FOURTEEN TRACKS AND EVERY ONE HAS BEEN CRAFTED AND CREATED WITH TALENT AND FEELING...THERE IS A SEDUCTIVE, MYSTERIOUS SOUND TO THE BAND, WHICH IS FULL OF WONDERFUL SURPRISES. Listen to the handfulls of ringing metallic harp notes being flung like stars at the mellow, soaring sound of the flute..... Brilliant uilleann pipes duets on "Sally on the Shore" and "The Crosses of Annagh"... The harp on the Carolan "Planxty Donal O'Brien" and an untitled piece is pure magic... A wonderful set of polkas...They can be mighty pleased with this offering which would put the longing on a body for more" --- (Irish Music magazine, Dublin)
A band with two uilleann pipers could well be expected to always have the
pipes in the forefront of any of the settings. This, however, is not
the case. The harp and the flute both have the upper hand on many
tracks as will be heard on "The Morning Thrush" and "Planxty Donal
O`Brien".
The playing is unhurried and well paced particularly on the set tunes
and slow airs, all of them given due weight and dimension. Among these
tunes and airs are "The Green Fields of Canada", "The Wounded
Hussar" and "Howling at Ravens", three of the best tracks I have heard
all year." ---
(Peter
Fairbairn, The Living Tradition)
"MOLLER,
WALKER AND KNOWLES ARE MASTERS OF THEIR CHOSEN INSTRUMENTS AND HIGHLY
SKILLED ON THE OTHERS THEY USE ON THIS RECORDING"
---(Buzz
magazine-local Manchester area folk mag.-Spring 2002)