Celtic Music Reviews: 2005/04

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Announcing Heidi, Stef, & Bow Triplets USA CD Distribution

Swiss Celtic music group, Heidi, Stef & Bow Triplets made a name for themselves as one of the hottest Celtic bands on the late, great MP3.com. Unfortunately, when MP3.com died, distribution in the U.S. became much more difficult.

Last December, I visited Heidi and Stef in Switzerland. I can't begin to tell you what incredible hospitality I received. Those two really were amazing at sharing their home and their country with me. Plus, we even had a wee Irish session in a small pub.

My time with Heidi and Stef inspired me with a great idea--to help give amazing European bands distribution in the USA.

So we worked out a special deal and now I'm proud to say that you can now buy Heidi, Stef and Bow Triplets latest CD, One Spot On Earth, through CDBaby.

This is a test run. I have a license to sell 100 CDs. If it goes well, I may continue distributing their Celtc CDs. So if you enjoy Bow Triplets' music as much as I do, order a copy of One Spot On Earth now!

Labels: news

--posted by Marc Gunn, Friday, April 29, 2005.
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"The Makem & Clancy Concert [Live]" by Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy

by Phil Hall

Artist: Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy
Album: The Makem & Clancy Concert
Year produced: 1990

Not only is "The Makem & Clancy Concert" the finest live Celtic recording of all time, but it is also among the greatest concert recordings every captured on microphone -- regardless of the musical genre. Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy were in top musical form as they barreled their way through an amazing mixture of comic, romantic, haunting and Celt-flavored patriotic tunes.

"The Makem & Clancy Concert" is the rare recording where the humorous songs and lively comic patter can be heard endlessly and still raise gales of laughter. Whether running amok with the zany situations of "My Father Loves Nikita Khruschev" or taking hedonism to surreal borders with "The 200 Year Old Alcoholic," the duo can turn novelty songs into classics of brilliantly conceived mirth. Even their running commentaries are goldmines of good humor: when an attempt to rouse the audience into a sing-along results in a lopsided and lethargic mess, Tommy Clancy exhorts the audience members to join hands in an attempt "to contact the living."

But Clancy and Makem know how to pull at the heartstrings with a sincerity that is uncommon even among the most gifted of folk singers. "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" recounts the Australian experience in World War I with brutal and devastating results. "The Dutchman," with its story of love amid the challenges of aging and a fraying mind, is given its single most poignant rendition here. "Leave Her Jonny," with its cry for the premature end of a doomed love, is work of simple grace but rich power.

And no red-blooded Celt cannot feel the call to arms with "Sound the Pibroch," which recalls the doomed nobility of a historic war with a resonance that echoes through the centuries into today's war-weary world. While Makem & Clancy may not have intended a new Celtic uprising with their performance, they nonetheless inspire a new generation of Celtic music lovers with their endless talents. This classic recording is one for the ages.

Buy the Album: The Makem & Clancy Concert

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, Thursday, April 21, 2005.
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Celebration of Celts

Date: May 7, 2005
Location: Columbia County Fair Grounds (Chatham, NY)
Gates open: 9am
Opening ceremonies: 12pm

The Celebration of Celts, now in its 3rd year of existence, is a day-long festival celebrating all of the Celtic nations. This festival has many fantastic Celtic groups performing, including Australia's premiere Celtic-fusion ensemble, Claymore, as well Enter the Haggis and many regional performers that are not to be missed. They also offer one of the most unique and exciting pipe band compeitions in the United States: "Piping Outside the Box," which consists of 30 minute shows by some fantastic bands incorporating non-standard instruments such as electric guitars and cellos, as well as dance and anything else they can think of! Besides the music, there is much historical information to be had here, vendors to check out, and contests to watch. This is certainly not a festival to be missed!

For more information about the festival, please see their The Celebration of the Celts website.

I hope to see some of you there!

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.

Labels: news

--posted by Marc Gunn, Sunday, April 17, 2005.
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"The Best of The Dubliners" by The Dubliners

by Brenda Stokes

Artist: The Dubliners
Album: "The Best of The Dubliners"
Year produced: 2003

After 40 years of playing fantastic traditional Irish music, The Dubliners released "The Best of The Dubliners" in 2003. This 3-CD set showcases the band's best hits and most memorable songs over the years.

The first CD in the set primarily contains drinking songs. If you want to invoke the pub ambiance, play some "Whiskey in the Jar," which is probably one of my favorite drinking songs ever. Other great selections from this disc include "Black Velvet Band," and "The Night Visiting Song." The Dubliners have a way of playing these classics like they were intended to be, full of excellent musicianship and rough around the edges vocals. Their voices and instrumentation make it sound as though these traditional songs are there's and there's alone.

The second CD in this great collection includes classics like "Molly Malone," "Wild Rover," and "Finnegan's Wake." These are the kind of songs that you just can't help but sing along with. I particularly enjoyed, "Lord of the Dance," a nice ditty that has been adapted into theme song of the dance show by the same name. One of my all time favorites is included on this disc as well called, "Dublin in the Rare Oul' Times."

Finally, the third disc is a nice compilation of The Dubliners' best rebel songs including "Salamanca Reel," a lively banjo-infused tune, and the melancholy and touching, "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda." Although not as fun as the other two Cds in the set, this disc completes the picture of Irish culture, providing songs reflecting both the good and the bad times.

If you really want a collection that covers all of your bases with pub classics and sad love songs, pick up a copy of "The Best of The Dubliners." Fans of Irish music that like to get to the roots will definitely appreciate it.

Buy the Album: "The Best of The Dubliners"

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, Saturday, April 16, 2005.
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Irish Music Comes Alive During New Show "CELTIC CRUSH" on Sirius Satellite Radio

Black 47's Larry Kirwan hosts mix of traditional and contemporary Celtic music

NEW YORK, NY (April 13, 2005) - Irish expatriate and singer/songwriter Larry Kirwan will host a new program of Irish music exclusively on SIRIUS Satellite Radio starting Saturday, April 16.

The new weekly three-hour program, Celtic Crush, will feature a mix of traditional and contemporary music from the Celtic countries and England. It will be broadcast every Saturday from 12pm to 3 pm ET on SIRIUS, commercial-free music channel 99, Horizons.

Wexford, Ireland-born host Larry Kirwan, who is the vocalist and guitarist for the New York-based Celtic-rock band Black 47, plans to dig into his private collection of Irish-themed music to play on Celtic Crush, and to be joined occasionally on the program by special guests.

"Hosting a weekly show on SIRIUS is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to tell and play the unedited story of Celtic music - where it comes from, and, just as importantly, where it's going," said Kirwan. "Expect to hear everything from centuries-old Leitrim lilting to last night's Flogging Molly show."

Black 47's seventh studio album, Elvis Murphy's Green Shoes, was released last month. The band has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and has been profiled by major magazines and newspapers. Independent of Black 47, Kirwan is a playwright with many produced works, and has published three books (Liverpool Fantasy, a novel about what would have happened if the Beatles hadn't become successful, Mad Angels, a collection of plays, and a memoir, Green Suede Shoes: An Irish American Odyssey). He is currently collaborating on a musical with Schindler's List author Tom Keneally.

For more about SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

# # #

About SIRIUS

SIRIUS delivers more than 120 channels of the best commercial-free music, compelling talk shows, news and information, and the most exciting sports programming to listeners across the country in digital quality sound. SIRIUS offers 65 channels of 100% commercial-free music, and features over 55 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95. SIRIUS also broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, and is the Official Satellite Radio partner of the NFL.

SIRIUS radios for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are manufactured by Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Delphi, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer, Sanyo and XACT Communications. Available in more than 25,000 retail locations, SIRIUS radios can be purchased at major retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Office Depot, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and RadioShack. SIRIUS is also available at heavy truck dealers and truck stops nationwide.

SIRIUS radios are currently offered in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jeep*, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. Hertz currently offers SIRIUS at 53 major locations around the country.

Click on http://www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to find a SIRIUS retailer or car dealer in your area.

>>>

See and hear more about Larry Kirwan and Black 47s music

See a Celtic Cafe feature and interview with Larry Kirwan

Labels: news

--posted by Marc Gunn, Wednesday, April 13, 2005.
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"When Kitty Eyes are Smiling (and other Celtic Cat Songs)" by Marc Gunn

by Michelle Osborne

Artist: The Dubliners' Tabby Cats
Album: "When Kitty Eyes are Smiling (and other Celtic Cat Songs)"
Year produced: 2005

I recently received a preview copy of Marc Gunn's "When Kitty Eyes are Smiling (and other Celtic Cat Songs)," a single that contains three songs (Furragone's Wake, When Kitty Eyes are Smiling, and Wild Kitty) that are a preview of his upcoming release of "Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers." This is an absolutely brilliant single and a great advertisement for the CD. The three songs are standard Irish drinking songs (who doesn't know Finnegan's Wake, When Irish Eyes are Smiling, and Wild Rover?) rewritten to be about cats...complete with meows, hissing, and a set of brilliantly funny lyrics.

Of course, it also contains Marc's fantastic voice, touched with a bit of laughter that's readily heard, as well as some wonderful guest meow-ers...erm...performers. Simply put, these songs are FUN and no one is more aware of that than Marc himself. If you don't find yourself giggling like mad through Wild Kitty, I'd be completely shocked. It's guaranteed to put you in a good mood and cause you to laugh out loud.

For a limited time, "When Kitty Eyes are Smiling" is available for $3.95. The final CD is up for adoption in October 2005!

You can find more information on this single and the upcoming release of Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers on the web at: cat drinking songs .com

Buy the single and pre-order your copy of Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers today!: "When Kitty Eyes are Smiling (and Other Celtic Cat Songs)"

--posted by Marc Gunn, Wednesday, April 13, 2005.
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"The Children of Lir" by Patrick Cassidy

by Phil Hall

Artist: Patrick Cassidy
Album: "The Children of Lir"
Year produced: 1997

Celtic operas are not commonplace, and the closest one can come would be this off-beat foray into classical music. Patrick Cassidy tapped into one of Ireland's most unusual legends for this Irish-language oratorio. It is a story of love, jealousy, witchcraft, suffering and redemption through the grace of no less a figure than Saint Patrick himself. One would imagine there would be plenty of dramatic musical moments in such an offering.

But "The Children of Lir" is rather somnolent in its presentation and it rarely connects with its cultural roots. Cassidy seems to have distanced himself as much as possible from the Irish musical heritage here, as "The Children of Lir" sounds closer to Continental classical music than anything even vaguely Irish. If one came to the piece without knowing its origins or recognizing its language, it would be easy to confuse it with a minor work of German or Italian classical music rather than a modern Irish composition. The occasional wail of pipes in several of the arias gives a clue of the composition's ethnic origins, but they sound strangely out of place.

Less forgivable is the inability of "The Children of Lir" to come to life as a musical reflection of its amazing story. It's not every day that one encounters a tale of a widower king who marries his sister-in-law, only to see her turn his four children into swans and doom them to live 900 years on hostile waters. Yet Cassidy's composition is so leisurely and emotion-free that the non-Irish speaker will have no clue what is going on, and those who know the story will wonder why it feels so bland. There is no passion anywhere in the piece -- it often feels as if the oratorio is being sung phonetically.

"The Children of Lir" is a curio that never truly piques one's curiosity. Perhaps Cassidy or another composer can attempt to bring the Celtic experience into classical musical -- Lord knows Ireland is not lacking in stories worthy of grand opera!

Buy the Album: "The Children of Lir"

--posted by Marc Gunn, Wednesday, April 13, 2005.
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