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Nerds Fly North! - Self-Produced Celtic Recordings
...No Nerd column is complete without a nice balladeer album. This time it comes from Bill Craig, a former member of the Irish Rovers who is based in Ontario. Craig's CD Full of Moon [self-produced BC 208 (1999)] contains a set of standard Celtic and Canadian songs, including "The Curragh of Kildare," "I Once Loved a Lass," "Jamie Raeburn," and Carrickfergus," along with Lennie Gallant's "Island Clay," Jamie Snyder's "Evangeline," and Ron Hynes' "Sonny's Dream." Craig's arrangement ideas come from well-known performers, as well: Garnet Rogers and Archie Fisher, the Tannahill Weavers, and others. What saves it from being a rehash of every balladeer album out there is quality; Craig has a rumbling baritone voice reminiscent in different places of Cyril Tawney, Stan Rogers, and Tommy Makem, and he does an excellent job with virtually every song. His straightforward guitar techniques include forceful strumming and gentle flatpicking, and various guests add fiddle, pipes, piano, accordion, and other instruments, all tastefully. Three unusual songs also keep things lively: the traditional "Tarry Flynn," Christie Hennessy's faux Child ballad "The Vision," and the Bill Craig original "The Coast Road," extolling the virtues of a road in Northern Ireland. The result is a gentle album of folk favorites with a few surprises thrown in.
Steve Winick, Dirty Linen Magazine No. 91 - Dec '00/Jan '01
If Bill were to moon his audience at a live show I'd only be moderately shocked. The man has a great sense of
humour. This album (Full of Moon) however is beautifully sincere. The album consists of 16 tracks of Celtic
folk music rendered to us by Bill's incredible baritone voice with a predominantly acoustic guitar accompaniment,
also played by Bill. Other people on the CD include Steve Sherman on bass Don Garbutt on keys and whistle and
Shelly Coopersmith on fiddle. Still this album is a Bill Craig showcase. Celtic influenced music is making huge
gains in pop/rock music today. This is a chance to hear it pure. Bill is Irish born and many of the songs are
traditional folk songs arranged by Bill...All in all a great album for lovers of folk music or for anyone who can
appreciate a greatly evocative voice, or for any who are looking for something for life's quieter moments.
David Greer/staff writer, Shooters Magazine..Oct '99
James's Gate - November 21, 1993:
When I wandered into the Gate one Sunday not too long ago, I didn't expect to be writing a review of the performance
I saw. Nor did I expect to enjoy it so much. Not that Bill Craig is not a good performer, it's just that usually
a pub is not the ideal venue to listen to and enjoy music. I did both those things on this Sunday. James's Gate
was filled to near capacity and Bill was souding great (two unextraordinary things), but the audience this night,
bless their hearts, was listening and singing along. A performer will tell you how rare that can be in a pub, even
on a Sunday night. Bill got the chance to do a lot of wonderful songs. He sang: Johnny Jump Up, Nancy Spain,
Spancil Hill, Quare Bungle Rye, Fogarty's Cove and even Fiddler's Green and Black Velvet Band, and a host of others.
Believe me, it's very rare to hear those songs done so well in such a quiet environment. The Gate is no rest home
mind you. Robert was busy behind the bar and there was your standard ambient craic, but it was music that filled
the place that night.
Joe Kelly, The Wide Atlantic..December '93
Late Nights Volume I (1993) Bill Craig:
Just Bill and his guitar with some keyboards. Shelly Cooper-Smith joins Mr Craig with some very tasteful fiddle on
two songs, The Raglan Road and Little Pot Stove. Bill's baritone is in fine form on such songs as The Dutchman,
Black is the Colour and Aragon Mill; all songs you're likely to hear at his live performances around Toronto and
North America. There's an absolutely beautiful version of She Moved Through the Fair, and a pair of pleasing
instrumentals close out each side.
Seamus O'Flynn, The Wide Atlantic..October '93
Late Nights Volume I (1993) Bill Craig:
Popular Toronto entertainer Bill Craig has recently released a cassette entitled LATE NIGHTS - VOLUME I, of which
he says modestly, "I'm fairly proud of it." Recorded in a studio in his basement, the sound is crisp and clear,
and the selection of songs very enjoyable. The collection is compact - eight songs in total, with two brief
instrumental pieces. The majority of the songs on the tape are Irish; the others are works which might as well be
Irish, their sentiments are so sympathetic to the Celtic spirit. Says Craig of the collection, "maybe they've been
recorded before, but I like to get my version down." The songs are rendered in a rich, mellow ballad voice, while
Craig accompanies himself on guitar and keyboards. On two numbers, including a lovely version of "Raglan Road",
Shelly Cooper-Smith adds the fiddle to complement Craig's work. Other songs on the album include "Black is the
Colour", "She Moved Through the Fair" and "Roseville Fair." "Aragon Mill" is delivered with a melancholy air suited
to the subject of a mill shut-down, as opposed to the lively transformation some artists give it under the name
"Belfast Mill". Perhaps the most touching piece on the tape is Stan Rogers, "Sailor's Rest". Its series of
vignettes, set in a home for retired seamen in the vein of "First Christmas Away From Home",Bill's version is
personal, caring, and only slightly depressing. He carries this difficult balancing off with finesse, leaving the
listener moved, but not devastated.
John Rafferty, The Toronto Irish News..September '93
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