If I had to point to one album that was my obsession for 2009 it would have to be without a doubt this debut effort from Lynn Hilary entitled “Take Me With You.”  According to my last.fm account I played this cd from start to finish no less than 30 times since it’s release in April.  Lynn’s beautiful voice and a great recording make for absolute musical magic.

Lynn tackles a lot of different material here, including a few songs that she co-wrote, which makes the album even more impressive.  There’s something I’ve noticed the more I delve into this genre and that is a lot of the artists’ albums tend to cover a lot of the same traditional songs over and over.  Lynn’s album just seems like a breath of fresh air thanks to great song choices.

The album begins with a fantastic ballad Lynn co-wrote with Don Mescall entitled “Melody of Life.”  From there we move on to “Swimming in the Barrow” which is a lighthearted rapid fire song about enjoying the Irish summer.  On “Erin Beo” Lynn breaks your heart just with the sound of her voice.  By this point you’re already thinking “is there anything she can’t sing?”

“Sunset of Gold” is a duet with Mescall with a strong acoustic guitar base that would be equally at home in American folk or country music.  It was my first time hearing Mescall as well, and I’ll certainly be checking out his other material.  I also ran across a version of this song on-line where Lynn tackles all of the vocals without Mescall to great effect as well.

“Annie Watches” is a love song from a slightly different point of view.  It’s about two people in love and how they view themselves and their partner.  It’s sweet and Lynn delivers it beautifully.

“What Makes the Sun Set?” is one of my favorite songs on the album.  It’s a torch song that reminiscent of something Frank Sinatra would have felt at home singing.  Lynn’s soaring voice is the focus of the song and it is simply perfection.

The accapella rendition of “Slán Le Maigh” is breathtaking.  Again, the recording quality is perfect and puts you right there in the room with Lynn.

Lynn is the latest addition to the super-group Celtic Woman and is also featured on their upcoming release “Songs From The Heart” which is due out next week.  While I wish Lynn tons of success with Celtic Woman I’ll be anxiously awaiting her next solo release.  This is one of the rare albums that I couldn’t recommend any higher to anyone who enjoys good music!

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