Review of The Notes in the Stones by Guy Wolff, American multi- instrumental traditional/blues performer. This review was posted to the Mudcat Café in October 2003

“When Cara put out there first CD "Asleep Behind the Settee" I was first touched by the friendship one hears in their playing together. This is even more evident in this CD and along the way these guys are maturing as a group.

It is astounding to find wonderful intuitive new tunes coming out of the air around David Oakley. "The Notes In the Stones" is a perfect name for this CD because you can’t get tunes this good all by yourself. The tunes really do have to come from someplace.

I would use the word intuitive a lot to describe this CD.

1) Pat to Sarah: Mike Ryan has opened the CD with a wonderful song of love, home and life in transition held together by the music.

2) Noreen's Waltz: A very joyous lively waltz that I expect describes our mutual fiend Noreen

3) Sliabh na Mhann /Munster Cloak /Dusty Windowsills: These three tunes are just amazing and grow in pace all the way to the end. They talk about the third being from Chicago. Captain O’Niel of the Chicago police department gave a lot of great fiddlers from Ireland jobs so he could compile their music so who knows it origins.

4) Little Tune: This is a very sensitive tune and Oakley at his best.

5) I’m On Me Break/Two Red Brick Houses: These tunes sound northern to me and have a great presence.

6) Hazel: This is my favorite work on this CD. It shows the very close relationship between these guys and David's genius as a tune writer. The guitar- work on this is perfect

7) The Bittern /Jackson's Jig: These tunes are somewhere between Northern English and Celtic in a perfect spot that belongs to Cara. Just great music.

8) Looking Down From Aughagad: This is a tune with Fiddle and a low D whistle (I think). They work great together.

9) The Bereaved Fiddler: The balance between the thoughts and words of the song and the addition of the fiddle are just brilliant!

10) ‘Til Dawn; I like what Ryan wrote on this one in the liner notes. "Only Oakley understood this tune until John made sense of it for the rest of us." This quote really explains these musicians. They are after hearing each other to the core first and this is there real strength and why this CD is such a success!

11) A Fair Day in Athleague: Gentle and far away.

12) Cross the Bridge Over The Suck To Castlecoote/The Slippery Hand: These are both great tunes. The waltz is again Northern in feel and I am glad Oakley slowed the reel down (a little) and cut and dotted it into a hornpipe!

13) The Mayfly: And so the CD ends in an introspective place that fits Cara to a tee. Oakley's tune craft opens to Ryan's song with John holding it all together. This is not a CD to miss. Congratulations to Cara all three. If I lived in Great Britain, I would be trying to join the band!!”