Sweet Liberty is a studio album by Irish folk singer Susan McKeown.It was released through World Village and Hibernia Records on April 13, 2004.Susan McKeown – Sweet Liberty (Master Release 2910949). Discogs. Accessed November 21, 2025. Produced by McKeown, Sweet Liberty features a variety of musical influences from around the globe, including Celtic folk, Mexican Mariachi, and Malian Tuareg music.Orr, Tom. "Susan McKeown – Sweet Liberty." RootsWorld, 2004. Accessed November 21, 2025
Sweet Liberty was met with critical acclaim from various media outlets, including AllMusic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Hot Press, and Paste, among others. "Eggs in Her Basket" was nominated for Best Original Track at the 2005 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards."BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards." Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. Accessed November 19, 2025.
Critical reception
Sweet Liberty was met with critical acclaim from various media outlets. In a review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann noted:
Jon Pareles from The New York Times was equally enthusiastic, noting "From the bottomless trove of Irish ballads, Susan McKeown's Sweet Liberty (World Village /Harmonia Mundi) comes up with songs of love, emigration and battle. Her voice has a mournful purity, and it's usually backed by pristinely folky guitar, fiddle and whistles. But she adds surprises: trip-hop electronics, mariachi trumpet and even Ensemble Tartit from Mali sharing a Gaelic call-and-response song that taunts, 'May a peeled potato with the moon in its middle choke you.'"Paulson, Michael. "Playlist: The Neptunes — Guilty Pleasures." The New York Times, April 4, 2004. Accessed November 21, 2025.
Tad Hendrickson of The Wall Street Journal offered a more mixed review, writing "Irish-born and New York-based singer Susan McKeown has made a name for herself over the last decade by interpreting Irish traditionals she's found through research or been taught by other musicians. Sometimes she can be a bit overambitious in her interpretations: thus we get a slightly disorienting version of the Irish song "Oró Mhíle Grá (A Thousand Times My Love)," which features McKeown fronting the Malian group Ensemble Tartit... Much of the rest of the album is beautifully understated Irish folk music driven with acoustic guitar, whistles, fiddle, and harmonium. With a voice as beautiful and strong as hers, one wonders why McKeown is not bigger name in the genre."Hendrickson, Tad. "An Irish Expat Flaunts Her American Roots." The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2013. Accessed November 21, 2025.
Track listing All tracks composed by Susan McKeown "The Wee Birds All Have Come And Gone/Fisherman's" – 3:01 "Shamrock Green" – 5:48 "Johnny Scott" – 6:39 "Oró Mhíle Grá'A Thousand Times My Love" – 4:27 "Sweet Liberty / Promenade" – 6:05 "Eggs In Her Basket" – 3:54 "Fair Annie" – 3:30 "Caledonia" – 3:48 "The Winter It Is Past" – 6:20 "When I Was On Horseback" – 4:22
Personnel Susan McKeown – arranger, audio production, Bodhran, liner notes, producer, vocals Sarah Allen – arranger, flute (alto) Dee Armstrong – fiddle Ed Boyd – arranger, guitar Aidan Brennan – guitar Johnny Cunningham – fiddle Brian Finnegan – arranger, flute Charlie Giordano – accordion Fatoumata Haidara – choir/chorus, handclapping Donogh Hennessy – arranger, whistle (human) Lindsey Horner – bass John Joe Kelly – arranger, Bodhran Dana Lyn – fiddle Joanie Madden – low whistle, whistle (human) Eamon O'Leary – guitar Fadimata Walett Oumar – soloist, tinde, vocals Mohamed Issa Ag Oumar – guitar Robin Ponce – guitar, guitarron, Vihuela Gabino Samano – violin John Spurney – harmonium, piano Tartit – arranger Ismael Casillas Torres – trumpet Israel Torres – trumpet
Pete DeBoer – engineer Jason Marcucci – engineer Rick Rowe – mastering Oliver Strauss – audio engineer, drum loop, mixing John Francis Bourke – photography Steve Byram – artwork, design Devon Moore Curtin – photography
References