Celtic Music Reviews: 2005/02

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"At the Close of an Irish Day" by Mary O'Dowd

by Phil Hall

Artist: Mary O'Dowd
Album: "At the Close of an Irish Day"
Year Produced: 1991

One of the more elusive voices of Celtic music is the Irish-American balladeer Mary O'Dowd, who only recorded one album prior to 1991's "At the Close of an Irish Day" and none since. Her stirring voice was in command whether the material was rich in sentiment or steely with anger, and while her lack of output is maddening she is guaranteed classic status just with this amazing album.

O'Dowd's opening number "When New York Was Irish" is a mini-masterpiece, celebrating Eire's contribution to America's greatest metropolis with a rich tapestry of large triumphs and small gestures, capped with a bittersweet but inevitable surrender of a separate and distinct ethnic pride into the greater glory of a modern multicultural landscape. One doesn't need to be either Irish or a New York to appreciate its sweep of time and achievement, and the recording alone is enough to warrant the purchase of the album.

But "At the Close of an Irish Day" has a diversity of selections to intrigue the listener. Old sing-along favorites such as "Rings on My Fingers" and "Toast to the 32 Counties" are warm and playful in O'Dowd's charming renditions, while the title song and "Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore" offer an uncommon mix of honey and rue in recalling Eire's vibrant charms. Political music, which often sounds shrill and strident, comes across with intelligent drama via O'Dowd's vocal prowess. "Wandering Wondering Child" and "The Town I Love So Well" capture the modern anguish of occupied Ulster, while "Fields of Athenry" frame the historic injustice of Anglo-Irish relations with deep grace and maturity.

Even when the material strays from an Irish setting, as with the tune "The Dutchman" and its tale of elderly love in an Amsterdam setting, O'Dowd finds the emotional soul of a situation and displays it with a genuine sense of passion and sincerity.

Where is Mary O'Dowd today? Beyond this album and her earlier "Portrait of Mary O'Dowd," she seems to have vanished. At least she is absent from music catalogues and e-commerce sites. But for those who can differentiate between quantity and quality, the sterling achievement of "At the Close of an Irish Day" is a recording to be cherished as a rare and precious musical commodity.

Buy the Album: "At the Close of an Irish Day"

Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Phil Hall is contributing editor for Film Threat, book editor for the New York Resident, author of "The Encyclopedia of Underground Movies" (MWP Books) and a proud child of Wales.

--posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, February 25, 2005.
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"Soul of a Harper" by Marc Gunn

by Michelle Osborne

Artist: Marc Gunn
Album: Soul of a Harper
Year Produced: 2004

I first came across Marc Gunn in a Celtic music community I belonged to. Intrigued by his intelligent comments, I wandered over to his website and discovered several mp3s from both him and his duo, The Brobdingnagian Bards (who he has several other CDs available with). I never quite know what to expect from independent artists. I was very pleased to find that Marc's music (and the Bards as well) is the kind that is easy to fall in love with upon first listening to it.

Soul of the Harper, released in 2004, is a compilation of Marc's solo endeavours from 2000-2003. The music ranges from solo autoharp instrumentals to both traditional songs and tunes. This is, perhaps, the true beauty of this album, and gives you a true picture of what this artist is about. It is not purely traditional, purely composed, purely song, or purely instrumental. It is a combination of all four of these elements, which enables the music to stay fresh with each subsequent track.

Highlighting a few of my particular favourites on this album is difficult, as I enjoy each song and tune. "The Parting Glass" is one of the highest points of the album. A traditional Irish song sung with no accompaniment, it is soulfully rendered by Marc's deep, velvety voice. Also a high point is "The Leprechaun," one of Marc's composed songs, which shows his humourous side. Written in 2001, it's chock full of silly voices that are bound to make you laugh, as well as some light self-mockery, and creates an analogy between the modern idea of a Leprechaun and the unfortunate antiquated thinking of some Celtic musicians. Upbeat with a rollicking autoharp accompaniment, this song is just fun to listen to. On the more serious side of Marc's own songs is "The Bridge," a song about the distances so many will go for love.

At turns romantic, silly, nostalgic, and fun, this album has something for everyone on it and comes highly recommended.

Buy the Album: Soul of a Harper

Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Michelle Osborne, a native to the central New York region, plays both high and low whistles regularly with the Syracuse Irish session. Besides being heavily involved in Irish traditional music, she is also a classical clarinetist and composer.

--posted by Marc Gunn, Thursday, February 24, 2005.
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"The Magic of Ireland" by The Irish Ceili Band and Singers

by Brenda Stokes

Artist: The Irish Ceili Band and Singers
Album: The Magic of Ireland
Year Produced: 2002

This collection is massive. "The Magic of Ireland" performed by The Irish Ceili Band and Singers is a three CD set including many Irish classics and traditional songs.

As a lover of traditional music, I greatly enjoy hearing new renditions of old pub songs. This set has some greats, including, "The Irish Rover" and "The Wild Rover." Both of these songs bring be back to times spent at ceilis with rugged but excellent live bands and dancing.

Along with these great pub classics, however, are some renditions of the traditional waltzes. Many of these songs are a big part of American history and culture as well, including "My Wild Irish Rose" and "The Rose of Tralee." I feel transported back to the 50's with these songs, especially due to the variety show sound The Irish Ceili Band and Singers has. My only complaint is when the choral singing jumps in on pub songs. This just doesn't work too well for me, and doesn't come across as authentic.

It can't be forgotten that this set includes the band's version of the theme from "Lord of the Dance," which is done it such way as to sound different than the original, but maintain its unique style.

A few of my favorites from this collection include "Whiskey in the Jar," "The Black Velvet Band," and "Muirsheen Durkin." All three of these stayed true to their traditional stylings and made me want to get up and dance. I love songs that transport me back to fun times and cultural events and the pub songs with often amusing lyrics and catchy tunes take me there.

If you want a large selection of pub songs, this set might not be for you. But if you enjoy waltzes and big, sweeping voices, you might just treasure this collection. Either way, there is a little bit of something here for everyone.

Buy the Album: The Magic of Ireland

Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Brenda Stokes is a freelance writer, former Irish Step-dancer and college student located in Southern California. She dreams in jigs and reels and is pursuing a degree in English with an emphasis in Irish studies. Her work has appeared in Woman This Month and N2arts and she can be reached at brenda@ph-x.com

--posted by Marc Gunn, Thursday, February 24, 2005.
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"Lake Effect" by Liz Carroll

by Michelle Osborne

Artist: Liz Carroll
Album: Lake Effect
Year Produced: 2002

Ask anyone about great American fiddlers and the name Liz Carroll is sure to come to the forefront of anyone who knows anything's mind. Beginning with winning both Junior and Senior All-Ireland championships before she turned 20, she has produced four brilliant solo albums received a National Heritage Award Fellowship (1994), and was named "Irish Traditional Musician of the Year" by the Irish Echo (2000).

Lake Effect (the title a tribute to the particular type of heavy snowfalls that occur in Chicago and the northeast as winter storms come across the Great Lakes) is Liz's most recent solo album. Accompanied by John Doyle on guitar, the album is a beautiful showcase both for Liz's fiddle playing and her composition skills. It takes a true understanding of the tradition to compose tunes which seem to be a part of it and yet still retain their unique character. She does this easily and has, in fact, done this on all her albums.

A quick glance at the back cover of this album highlights one peculiarity of this album: The Turtle Island String Quartet. Rarely does the combination of classical ensembles with Irish traditional music produce anything but very trite music. Traditional music dressed in a tuxedo and paraded out as "Celtic." With Liz's touch, as well as this particular string quartet, this is not what we get. Instead, we get the Catherine Kelly's/Lake Effect tune set, an absolutely brilliant setting of a traditional tune, followed by one of Liz's own. The setting itself is jazzed up, with rhythm set up in the lower instruments and interjections by the higher violins. While not entirely traditional, it fits the music amazingly well and is the principal highlight of this album. Other highlights are the Liz Carroll tune "The Ghost," a beautiful air composed for a scene in a Marina Carr play, and an absolutely brilliant rendition of the traditional tune, "The Morning Dew."

Buy the Album: Lake Effect

--posted by Marc Gunn, Thursday, February 24, 2005.
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"Underneath the Stars" by Kate Rusby

by Michelle Osborne

Artist: Kate Rusby
Album: Underneath the Stars
Year produced: 2003

My first introduction to Kate Rusby was through finding her albums at my local Borders. I knew nothing about her and so I trudged home to check out some clips on amazon.com. I found she had a lovely voice and ended up getting this album for Christmas. I had mixed feelings about the album at first, but the more I listen to it, the more I fall in love with it.

Kate Rusby, who also sings with the all-female folk group the Poozies,appeared on the scene in 1998 with her first solo album, Hourglass. A little bit folk, a little bit Celtic, a little bit entirely her own, Kate has been a voice for a new generation of folk singers. Underneath the Stars, her latest album, is almost solely tracks composed by the artist. Does this leave her as simply folk, more than Celtic? A friend once told me that artists cross over into the "folk" category when they spend most of their time writing and performing their own tunes. In that way, Kate Rusby, is certainly folk, but the beautiful simplicity, Celtic vocal styling, and instrumental backup consisting of guitar, fiddle, and even whistle, give her music a sort of folk/Celtic fusion.

The opening track, "The Good Man," has traditional lyrics, but music written by Rusby. This is one of my favourite songs on the album. The words are deceptively simple and at first listening, I didn't really pay much attention. Upon focusing on the words, it becomes a song which could very well imply two different stories: a cheating wife or a suspicious husband? Other highlights on this album are "Let Me Be" (a song about a woman who wants to remain independent, but then finally meets someone she wants, only to have him overlook her) and the title track (a lamenting song about leaving before you can't leave of your own free will).

Buy the Album: Underneath the Stars

Celtic MP3s Music Magazine writer, Michelle Osborne, is a native to the central New York region. She plays both high and low whistles regularly with the Syracuse Irish session. Besides being heavily involved in Irish traditional music, she is also a classical clarinetist and composer.

--posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, February 18, 2005.
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"Celtic Wedding" by The Chieftains

by Phil Hall

Artist: The Chieftains
Album: Celtic Wedding: Music of Brittany
Year Produced: 1998

With "Celtic Wedding," The Chieftains left the music traditions of Eire and celebrated the Breton Celtic heritage. The result is one of the Chieftains' finest recordings, bringing Brittany's rarely-heard Celtic sounds to full glory.

From the opening number, the hypnotic "Dans Mod Koh A Voad" (with its brilliantly asymmetrical rhythms) through the epic 20-minute "Celtic Wedding" closing number, this extraordinary production captures the flavor and spirit of Brittany's Celtic heritage. The Breton language spices two of the finest selections here: "A Breton Carol" ("What Noise on Earth") is an ancient Christmas meditation performed with haunting grace by Nolween Monjarret (the Chieftains would include this number later in their holiday recording "The Bells of Dublin"). The band's own Kevin Conneff wraps himself around the Breton language with "Ev Ev Chistr 'Ta, Laou!", a drinking song aimed to give praise to the glory of cider, which is described in the liner notes as the Breton national drink.

The instrumental numbers here are mostly dances, which the Chieftains perform with uncommon vigor and enthusiasm. The opening "Dans Mod Koh A Vod" is a ring dance from a small town called Baud and (according to the liner notes) it has not been practiced since 1950. "Dans-tro Fisel" is described as the "most difficult and tiring of all Breton dances." Whatever difficulties the dancers might be experiencing, the Chieftains sail through these numbers as if Breton blood was always flowing in their veins.

The climactic "Celtic Wedding" describes the marriage ritual from the bride receiving her bouquet as she leaves her parents' home to the newlyweds' bidding farewell to their wedding guests at their nuptial chamber. It is a fascinating mix of dances, marches, prayers and toasts which brilliantly capture the distinctive Celtic traditions of marriage Breton-style. If it was not classified as Celtic folk music, it could easily be considered classical in its rich depth and vast scope of holding a musical mirror to this most beautiful of ceremonies.

Sadly, the Chieftains never followed up with another Breton-flavored album. But even as a standalone, "Celtic Wedding" is a classic in the band's magnificent canon.

Buy the Album: Celtic Wedding: Music of Brittany

Find Celtic Harp Wedding Music here, or click here for Celtic Weddings and resources.

--posted by Marc Gunn, Wednesday, February 09, 2005.
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North Texas Irish Festival (NTIF) 2005

The North Texas Irish Festival is approaching. The theme this year is "Bluegrass Has Green Roots." There is an amazing assortment of bands.

Headliners include: Tim O'Brien, Téada, Sliabh Notes, The Elders, The McKrells, Paddy Keenan, John Williams and Dean Magraw, Ed Miller, and Jed Marum.

Regional acts include: BEHAN, Beyond the Pale, Bluebonnet Plague, Bounds Street, Brothers 3, Cairde, Cór Gaeilge Texais, Gallus, Glass & Taft, Irish Rogues, Jiggernaut, Jigsaw, Jim Flanagan, Kúla, Legacy, Michael Harrison, NeedFire, North TX Caledonian, The Rogues, Round the House, Sarah Dinan, Séamus Stout, Spirits of the House, Threadneedle Street, Tinsmith, Trinity River Whalers, Tuberville

Bands in bold were featured in the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.

Start buying CDs from many of the independent Celtic music groups of the North Texas Irish Festival 2005 right now. You won't find the music for many of these bands anywhere else online!

Labels: news

--posted by Marc Gunn, Wednesday, February 09, 2005.
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"A Place Among the Stones" by Davy Spillane

by Brenda Stokes

Artist: Davy Spillane
Album: "A Place Among the Stones"
Year produced: 1985

Davy Spillane is known for his unique sounding instrumentation, and "A Place Among the Stones" is definitely a prime example. Every track offers something new and different to your ears; a graceful combination of traditional and modern sounds, sure to leave you breathless.

I enjoyed nearly every song in this collection. "Darklight," a quiet tune, uses the low whistle to set an ominous tone and then kicks in with the Uilleann pipes midway through. To the backdrop of steady guitar playing, Davy's whistle is like air blowing across nature. It just feels right, and is right. The pipes, however, offer listeners a voice that expresses the emotion of the musician in such a way as to be more dynamic than human voice or words could ever be.

Other favorites include, "Promised Rain," a modern track that builds on itself out of repetition into a composition that places images of Celtic warriors and mythology in my mind. "A Place Among the Stones" features Maire Brennan on vocals in an interesting kind of duet between voice and pipes.

A personal choice, would have to be, "Starry Night," a beautiful display of Davy's talent that features Sean Tyrell singing. The tone of his voice and lamenting music reminds me much of "Carrickfergus" and other traditional songs.

Davy has a special way of launching you back in time, to a land before history and into a culture that still pulses in the veins of Celtic people today. "Callow Lake," elicits this feeling from me, utilizing the low whistle and a background of silence for the perfect effect.

The album ends with "Near the Horizon," a track that captures Davy's versatility in an acoustic guitar solo. This is the CD that essentially acted as this spectacular artist's debut in America, and I can't imagine a better collection to show off the skill and unique qualities of pipes and whistles. A long-held favorite of mine, and is sure to be one of yours' too.

Buy the Album: "A Place Among the Stones"

--posted by Marc Gunn, Tuesday, February 08, 2005.
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St. Patrick's Day 2005 - Music & Poetry

I know, I know. There's still over a month before St. Patrick's Day arrives, but now's the time to start thinking about it. Here are a few great St. Patrick's Day resources.

St Patrick's Day Poetry:
A St Patrick's Day Poem
Thoughts and inspiration that comes from St. Paddy's Day.

The Leprechaun, a St Patrick's Day Song
This is a fun little song I wrote for St. Patrick's Day about those fantastical creatures of Ireland, the leprechauns.

Happy Birthday from Ireland
St. Patrick's Day is also my birthday. I wrote this poem as a happy birthday song for me St Patrick's Day children all around the world.

St Patrick's Day Music:
Songs of Ireland for St Patrick's Day
The ultimate collection of Irish drinking songs that are perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

St Patrick's Day Music 2004
17 Celtic music downloads for St Patrick's Day 2004.

St Patrick's Day Music 2003
17 Celtic music downloads for St Patrick's Day 2003. I don't think all of these sites still offer free St. Patrick's Day music downloads, but many of them do.

Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
This is an upcoming CD of Irish drinking songs rewritten with lyrics about cats. As of Feb 2005, this CD is not done yet. But there is a free music download of "Furagone's Wake" (parody of "Finnegan's Wake"). Check it out!

Those are all my favorite resources for now, but subscribe to the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine to find out what are the picks St. Patrick's Day 2004 free music downloads.

Labels: st_patrick's_day_mp3s

--posted by Marc Gunn, Tuesday, February 08, 2005.
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The Secret World of Celtic Rock Revealed

Two years ago I had an exciting idea to release a Celtic Rock CD. Man, I've outdone myself! No. I take that back. It's not me. All I did was compile some of the best independent Celtic Rock bands around and organize them onto a CD. The result is destined to be a hit CD among contemporary and traditional Celtic music lovers alike--"The Secret World of Celtic Rock."

Yes, it's taken a long time to pick some amazing tracks, mix and match them, and try to have a common theme. I found some brilliant bands in the process. The CD is not yet completely finalized, but I couldn't help but get the word out now since I hope to have the CD out by St. Patrick's Day.

Here's the tentative Track Listing:
1. "Mordred's Lullaby" by Heather Dale
2. "Moore St. Girls" by The Elders
3. "In Like Flynn" by The Indulgers
4. "Cold Glencoe" by Rise
5. "Johnny Jump Up/Swallow Tail Jig" by Amadan
6. "Slip Me" by Brothers 3
7. "San Patricio Brigade" by Black 47
8. "Nothin'" by Lenahan
9. "The Grass Is Greener" by The Electrics
10. "Day After Day" by Tears for Beers
11. "Sovay/Halting March" by Paisley Close
12. "My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose" by Rimbo (w/Marc Gunn)
13. "The Chieri" by Avalon Rising
14. "Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda" by RavensWing
15. "Erin Go Bragh" by Jayah
16. "The Day We Set Sail" by Tale | Theo Niessink
17. "The Great Whale Road" by Fathom
18. "A Soulin" by Arminta
19. "Groovy Scooby" by The Rogues

I don't care what style of Celtic music you enjoy, you're gonna love this CD. In fact, I've already let a few folks sample it, and the response is overwhelming. Stay tuned for the ride of your life coming St. Patrick's Day.

Buy the Album: The Secret World of Celtic Rock

Labels: news

--posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, February 04, 2005.
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