SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LOREENA McKENNITT – THE ROAD BACK HOME

LOREENA McKENNITT
THE ROAD BACK HOME
QUINLAN ROAD

The Road Back Home is in many regards, very much McKennitt returning to her roots of traditional Irish and Celtic folk songs that she learned all those years ago while playing the clubs of Winnipeg. But it is also a live album representing something different for McKennitt. In the summer of 2023, she completed a tour of festivals, something she had never done before. These tracks are culled from those live performances, and pulled together, making a near perfect album.

As usual, McKennitt’s voice is in fine form. She has never sounded better. And the musicians joining her are all top notch. This is Celtic folk at its very best. But what sets this album apart from others is her choice of songs. There are some gems here that do not get played very often, certainly not in festivals, and the songs make a welcome return to the folk tradition. The opening track, for instance, “Searching For Lambs” is an English folk song, and yet it fits beautifully with the Celtic performance. McKennitt arranges the song beautifully, and it stands on its own. I heard the Steeleye Span version of the song many years ago and here it sounds like she wrote it. She has arranged it with tradition in mind, yet with the definitive McKennitt stamp on it. The same can be said for “Mary And The Soldier”. Again, an old folk song which Paul Brady and Andy Irvine performed on their self-titled album, and again, as with the folk tradition, McKennitt converts it into being her song.

At times, listening to the album, one forgets that they are live performances, that is until the crowd erupts. The recording is pristine and also captures the warmth of the live performance. These songs, in McKennitt’s hands, sound so new and fresh and yet carry the history as well. Some of the songs have been on her older albums, but what makes this particular live album interesting, and indeed the performances, is that a lot of the songs are  not from her older albums. In a sense, this is a new album, which just happened to be recorded live.

The album closes with “Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór / Wild Mountain Thyme”, which features vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter James Keelaghan. Their voices go extremely well together, and the combination is so wonderful. It is the perfect ending for the album.

McKennitt released her debut album, Elemental, in 1985. Since then, she has released ten studio albums and an additional five live albums, and she has worked on numerous soundtracks. This album, The Road Back Home is something very special. It is a glimpse into her past and her origins, which shows her listeners where she is now and maybe her future direction. It does not feel full circle, but rather another step forward for a remarkable talented artist.

SPILL FEATURE: THE ROAD BACK HOME – A CONVERSATION WITH LOREENA McKENNITT

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