The rotating cast of characters who have done time in musician and folklorist
Mick Maloney's
Green Fields of America since the ensemble's conception in 1978 include Irish folk heavyweights like
Liz Carroll,
Karan Casey,
Seamus Egan,
Eileen Ivers, and Tommy Sands, as well as a host of talented dancers including the Lord of the Dance himself,
Michael Flatley. Formed primarily for the stage and festival circuit,
the Green Fields of America have only released two albums, 1989's
The Green Fields of America: Live in Concert and this 2009 eponymous studio album. With a lineup that includes
Maloney,
John Doyle,
Billy McComiskey,
Robbie O'Connell,
Athena Tergis, and guests like legendary uilleann piper
Jerry O'Sullivan,
The Green Fields of America is a decidedly top-notch collection of traditional Irish folk filtered through the talented fingers and throats of some of Irish America's greatest talents. There are no cold, calculated keyboard vistas, programmed beats, or freakishly out of place fretless bass solos to be found here, only a small army of talented men and women sitting down for a session in a pub that happens to have a sound booth, expensive microphones, and a mixing board as opposed to a collection of fine spirits and ales. One hopes the next round doesn't take another 30 years to get to the table. ~ James Christopher Monger