By George L. O'Brien
Finally, The Clare Voyants have released their long awaited CD. In only a little over two years, The Clare Voyants have emerged as one of the hottest Irish bands in Arizona. With this CD, we may have to drop the adjective "Arizona".
Even before he started The Clare Voyants, Shay Veno had a reputation for having a great voice and "presence," but when he formed the band he did not simply find a group of background musicians. The classically trained Jane Hilton has become an outstanding IRISH fiddle player. Billy Brett on mandolyn and vocals brings many years of experience playing with some of the biggest names in music. Brian Dwyer on bass guitar came to Phoenix from Chicago where he had his own band. Paul Knight was recruited as a vocalist and had never played the bodran before joining the band - and soon became one of the best.
One of the keys to the success of The Clare Voyants is their versatility. While best known as a pub band, with a lively up-tempo beat and raucus vocals, they performed successfully at the Phoenix Feis ceili doing mostly jigs and reels and are equally effective doing ballads and slower vocals. This ability to respond to different audiences has led to a number of unusual gigs such as the Phoenix Open and is reflected in their continuing popularity.
Shay Veno, Paul Knight, and Billy Brett are all fine vocalists and Jane Hilton's distinctive fiddle style is very effective as the Pass It On CD repeatedly demonstrates. If anything, their musical skills become even more evident in the quiet background of studio sessions.
Another thing that becomes apparent is how good Shay Veno is as a song writer. All of his songs are good and some like "Dangerous Ones", "Pass It One", and "Danny Boy (RIP)" have the potential to become "classics." In the case of satirical "Danny Boy (RIP)", even people who love the song "Danny Boy" end up getting caught up in the infectious rhythm. It doesn't hurt to be a song writer with the voice to really deliver the song as it was supposed to be done as Shay can. I hesitate to single out specific tracts for fear that it will seem I did not like the others. However, I was really taken with Billy Brett's rendition of "Jock Stewart" and Paul Knight's "Irish Soldier Boy" is just outstanding. I won't single out any specific piece by Jane Hilton because they are all so good.
Now that this CD is out, The Clare Voyants are unlikely to remain Arizona's secret for very long.
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