Search - Johnny Faa :: Last Night's Fun

Strong musicianship, eclectic repertoire, & lively personali

Joseph Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 11/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johnny Faa is a Texas-based quartet that presents the songs, tunes and airs that comprise traditional Irish music. With 18 tracks running over 70 minutes, "Last Night's Fun" is a comprehensive set of the band's musical expressions. Prior to the album's production, the band originally known as Last Night's Fun decided to change its name so as to not be confused with others of the same moniker. Personnel include Steve Cooper (flute, tin whistle, guitar), Angela Mariani (guitar, mandola), John Perrin (bodhran), and Chris Smith (bouzouki, tenor banjo, button accordion, guitar). All the musicians also sing, and songs feature each as lead singers. Steve Cooper's songwriting skill is showcased with "Willie Calvin's Surprise," a tale of an emotional reunion with an old friend after thirty years. They are joined by Kathleen Finley's lively step dance on a medley of Derry Hornpipe and Staten Island Hornpipe at track six. This presumably emphasizes their respect for the danceability and deep tradition of the music they play. Another set perfect for any ceili would be the "big tunes" (Humours of Ennystimon, Humours of Ballyloughlin) that segue into Liz Carroll's jig entitled "The Diplodocus."



The band's musical journey weaves its way along the narrow roads of Ireland, past beautiful coastline to small, quaint pubs that serve as community gathering (and watering) holes. Just like the varied scenery of the Emerald Isle, Johnny Faa's music incorporates the considerable diversity provided by jigs, slides, reels, hornpipes, polkas, airs, and songs. At track eleven, the band also wisely includes what they call their "crooked set," a 9-minute 5-tune medley that begins meditative, builds dynamically, and ends frenetically -- slow air, march, barn dance, schottische to reel. The CD jacket includes a few lines about each of the tracks and their sources. Johnny Faa's strong musicianship, eclectic repertoire, and lively personality will no doubt win them a legion of fans wherever they play. A live recording of their closing number, "There's The Day," indicates that Johnny Faa already has plenty of fans in their "Usual Suspects" chorus supporting them. (Joe Ross, 29 Palms, CA)

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