Dolores Keane

by Craig Harris   A member of one of Irelands most respected singing families, Dolores Keane is the possessor of some of the sweetest tones in Celtic music. The first vocalist for Irish band De Danann, Keane has sung with the Chieftains and Planxty as well as with her husband, John Faulkner, and on her own.   Keanes musical career began at a very early age. By the time she was five, she was already singing with her aunts, Sarah and Rita Keane, well known singers of old Irish ballads. Invited by Johnny Moynihan to join a new band he was forming, De Danann; the experience represented the first time that Keane had sung with musical accompaniment. Keane remained with the group for four years and was featured on their self-titled debut album.   Keane emigrated to England in the late 1970s, and married guitar, bouzouki and mandolin player John Faulkner. In addition to singing together, Keane and Faulkner worked on several documentary videos for the BBC, including one project that entailed conducting research on Canadas Prince Edward Island. Keanes debut solo album, There Was a Maid, released in 1978, featured musical accompaniment by Reel Union, a tradition-based band that featured the late bodhran player of the Chieftains, Peader Mercier, and East Galway fiddler Mairtin Byrnes. Her second album, Brokenhearted Ill Wander, released in 1979, was a collaborative effort with Faulkner and again featured instrumental backing by Reel Union. Keane briefly joined the Irish trad-rock band Planxty in 1983. She returned to De Dannan in the mid-1980s, recording with two different lineups of the group, including the 1987 band that also featured Irish vocalist Mary Black. In 1989, Keane was featured vocalist on the Chieftains album Bonapartes Retreat.   Keane and Faulkner collaborated on two additional albums: Farewell to Eireann in 1980 and Sail Og Rua in 1983. Keanes subsequent solo albums include Lion In a Cage (1989), Dolores Keane (1991), and Solid Ground (1993), which featured instrumental accompaniment by De Dananns Martin O Connor and Jackie Daly on accordion, her brother Sean Keane on flute, and Emmylou Harris on harmony and backing vocals. A greatest-hits collection, The Best of Dolores Keane, was released in 1997; Night Owl followed three years later.   Although shes yet to write an original tune, Keane has displayed impeccable taste in her choice of material. In addition to covering songs by Irish songwriters including Dougie MacLean, Shaun Davey, Paul Brady and Van Morrison, she has interpreted the songs of North American songwriters (David Mallett, Chris Rea, Kate & Anna McGarrigle) and British songsmiths (Richard and Linda Thompson, Steve Winwood).   On the 1998 tribute album to Pete Seeger, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Keane collaborated with Tommy Sands and Vedran Smailovic for a unique rendition of Seegers Where Have All the Flowers Gone.