Anchorage Daily News
March 17, 2006
I played this CD for the first time in my living room, and within minutes my housemate's boyfriend was trying to figure out how to dance to it.
That may sum up the appeal of "Land of Sunshine" - and, really, of much good Celtic music. However little we may know about Celtic song and dance, a whole lot of us want to get up and move, or at least attempt to, the minute a reel hits our ears.
"Land of Sunshine," a collection of mainly traditional Irish tunes by Anchorage's Dan Possumato, transports us to a better time and place. The tracks, many of them as old as the green hills they bring to mind, are varied and colorful and full of life.
Possumato plays the two-row button accordion and the one-row melodeon; he recorded each track in conjunction with another musician or two, usually Quentin Cooper. Despite the instrumental minimalism - no drums or winds - Possumato and the rest either weave a full sound or simply revel in their spareness. Guest Laura Mulcahy fills out two songs with her delicate voice. Her sound is patently lovely, although it seems too fragile for its own good.
"The Mount Phoebus Hunt" is a standout on an album that boasts a lineup of mostly wonderful compositions. This set dance has an absolutely grand rhythm and melody. It consists of nothing but accordion but is rich and imbued with spirit just the same. Liner notes say Possumato heard it for the first time in a pub in County Clare - and that's no surprise, as this is precisely the type of tune one would hear in a bar and immediately desire to know enough about to play oneself.
- Lillie Dremeaux, Anchorage Daily News