Iona - Beyond These Shores

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

By 1993 when 'Beyond These Shores' was first released things had begun to change for Iona. After two creatively and commercially successful albums the Celtic music pioneers had lost the towering musical presence of woodwinds maestro David Fitzgerald and though his replacement Mike Houghton showed the technique and virtuosity you'd expect from such a session-seasoned musician he didn't, quite, have the same emotional intensity David brought to his sax and flute work. Also, the album is not quite so effectively constructed around a single theme, like its predecessor the epic 'Book Of Kells', though it does depict stories about English clerics journeying to the rest of Europe. The group claimed at the time that the entire album was inspired by the timeless Gaelic hymn "Be Thou My Vision". One major plus on this set is that there are more songs, and therefore more opportunities to enjoy Joanne Hogg's goose-bump inducing voice, than on 'Book Of Kells'. All in all, a very fine album which though not quite the "modern day masterpiece" as described by Billboard, is still another dazzling demonstration of evocative music.