Landscape of the Past Rosa Records ***

As a member of the Voice Squad, Callery used his voice to impressive effect. Their pristine harmonies introduced countless traditional songs to a whole new audience. Landscape Of The Past is Callery's much-anticipated second solo album (following his 2000 solo debut, From The Edge Of Memory). Densely packed, its recurrent themes are of departure, loss, emigration and maritime adventure, countered by the occasional humorous aside. Callery's reputation for richly-endowed solo singing is copperfastened here, and his reading of Seán Ó Dhuibhir a Ghleanna is shot through with vigour and vitality. Craigie Hill is another triumph, his voice tracing through the story with infinite ease. But there's an earnestness underpinning the sequencing of these songs which results, at times, in a leaden pace. A must for any nascent singers in search of inspiration; an occasional test for listeners seeking more velocity in their music. philcallery.com