Customer Rating: 
Summary: Doyle is Home
Comment: I am only recently familiar with John Doyle's mastery of Irish guitar. I saw him perform with Liz
Carroll in Chicago and was made a fan immediately. I have visited the pubs of Ireland and seen
many Irish sessions, but the guitar was always a rhythmic and syncopated adjunct to the fiddle or
the accordian or the pipe. Doyle brings intricate and bold artistry to instrumentals and song
accompaniments. His voice is perfectly suited to the D-tuned guitar, whether he is ramming
home a raucous shanty or delivering an emotional treatment of the shared plight of the Irish.
While his CDs are precise and beautiful, he shines even more brightly in concert. I recommend
"Wayward Son" in particular and any of his other works in general, but go see him perform if you
want to be astonished by both his range and skill.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Casual listener sits up and takes notice
Comment: Recently (Jan'06), I went to see a favorite band ("Lunasa") and was irked to have to wait through a warm-up act--it was two people I'd never heard of: Liz Carroll and John Doyle. By the second number, I was ashamed of myself. Doyle flashed incredibly proficient, high-energy guitar work, and connected well with his audience. After the show, I bought his CD.
In the studio, his guitar work recedes (comparatively), and its the singing that moves to the fore. His voice offers a warm, gentle baritone that carefully articulates the lyrics of some gruesome ballads. (This is a whole album of wayward sons!) The net effect is an album that's ends up being all about nuance and wry humor--it wears very well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best trad album of the year!
Comment: ....and of 2006 I have no doubt, too. John Doyle has long been known as a phenomenal guitar player, probably the best since Nic Jones, but his musicality-- singing, expressiveness, songwriting-- has been underrated. His first album "Evening Comes Early" is a gem, and a hard act to follow, but "Wayward Son" tops even that.
Great as he is as a guitar-player-- a guitar-player's guitar-player-- I adore the singing. On "Bitter the Parting" he is accompanied by the incomparable Kate Rusby... but my favorite is the sad night-visiting song "The C**ks are Crowing" (OK, it's roosters, but the word raises flags, so...)... he plays it straight, just him and the guitar, just him and his voice, and it absolutely breaks your heart.
"Little Sadie," the American song in which the singer kills pretty Sadie and takes a nap, has a bluesy, almost jazzy groove. Well, Mick Moloney calls John "the groovemeister"-- and you can see why.
This album is utterly irresistible, and never leaving my ipod!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Comment: There are 12 tracks and 4 are instrumental tune sets. 3 of the four feature Doyle flatpicking the tunes. He is the best I've ever heard and hearing him pick is worth the price of the album alone. The 4th tune set has John Williams on concertina and Seamus Egan on the low Eflat whistle. Another great track!
The songs are all trad folk songs played to John's unique style. He singing is much more confident than on his previous recordings and the arrangements could not be better. He has various guest on the album and they are all placed brilliantly in the mix.
This album is a keeper!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating album by a unique talent
Comment: As best as I can figure, John Doyle is the greatest Irish rhythm guitar player ever. Check out his instructional video from Homespun, or any of his early albums with Solas --- he provides a bass line, chordal accompaniment, countermelodies, and percussion, all at once. Outstanding stuff --- and it really makes Irish music more accessable for modern listeners.
But in his two solo albums, you get a broader view of the man's talents. He is a fine singer, particularly on the old ballads, a great fingerstyle player, and flatpicks some excellent tunes on guitar and bouzouki. And he has some mighty talented friends pitching in here. "Wayward Son" is Irish music at heart, but you can also hear other Celtic and Appalachian roots music in here, and John's ear for rhythm gives some of his songs a Middle Eastern or jazz feel.
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