The artist himself calls this project "the inevitable next step for a bluegrass singer-songwriter in his mid-40s named O'Brien," but in this description O'Brien sells himself short. It's only the "inevitable next step" for a musician who is passionate about his craft and his culture, conscientious about his music's deep roots, diligent in their exploration, and bold enough to celebrate them. O'Brien organizes a sort of family reunion that brings together Irish folk, its Appalachian old-time son, and its bluegrass grandson. Like with any family, all of these musical generations enjoy many shared traits and these similarities are brilliantly accented across 16 diverse yet related songs. O'Brien taps a number of resources, ranging from traditional Irish musicians like fiddler Frankie Gavin and wind player Seamus Egan to bluegrass stalwarts like Earl Scruggs, Del McCoury, Stuart Duncan, and Jerry Douglas to modern old-time enthusiasts such as David Grier and Dirk Powell to new-acoustic pickers like Darol Anger, Edgar Meyer, and Mike Marshall. O'Brien even enlists Guy Clark as lyricist for "John Riley" and unveils a marvelous original talking blues ("Talkin' Cavan") done in Dylanesque style. The result is an album that is both ambitious and comfortably traditional. --Marc Greilsamer