This review is written by Kevin McCarthy, 4/05
"Kevin and Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews"
http://www.icogitate.com/~celticfolkmusic/index.html
The cover of this CD depicts the tart with the cart, the
Molly Malone statue on the corner of Dublin's Grafton and Suffolk streets, surrounded by a number of
musical instrument-playing skeletons straight out of Grateful Dead
casting. What it all means is open to question but this latest offering from
Henry Marten's Ghost is definitely pure celtic.
So pure it should be required listening for any and all
tourists disembarking at Shannon or Dublin airports. This is trad, what
one would hear in a smoky pub (scratch that, now a smokeless pub thanks
to new legislation) out in the west of Ireland--a straightforward
melange of songs, guitar, fiddle and whistle.
There is the usual bit of roving here with "The Jolly
Beggarman," "A Man You Don't Meet Everyday," "The Wild Rover" and "The
Irish Rover."
"The Jolly Beggarman" is an rhythmic, upbeat and juicy
'farmer's daughter' tale, highlighted by enjoyable fiddle play. A touching
fiddle opener also lowers the pace on "A Man You Don't Meet Everyman,"
which also features a charming whistle interlude.
The Patrick Kavanagh-written "Raglan Road" offers a number of
dense, intriguing lines of word play not often found in celtic songs:
It is followed by a duo of jumping tunes, "The Unknown Reel" and "The Lads of Laois Reel.""...on Grafton Street in November
We tripped lightly along the ledge
Of a deep ravine where can be seen
The worth of passions pledged
The Queen of Hearts still baking tarts...
...I gave her gifts of the mind
I gave her the secret signs
That's known to the artists who have known
The true gods of sand and stone..."
Discarding the roaming about behavior and settling down
is the theme of "Wild Rover," leading into a pair of medium-beat polkas.
Eric Bogle's somber "Green Fields Of France" tells the tale of
the trench warfare slaughter of World War I, taking an individual's
perspective to all warfare.
The old chestnut "Star Of The County Down" comes next and is
compellingly presented via a speedier than usual rendition.
The morality tale "Fields Of Athenry" paints a sinful picture of the British behavior during the famine.
A hornpipe instrumental, the "Rights Of Man," follows.
"The Irish Rover" is curiously preceded with a snippet of
dialogue from "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre," the famous part where the
Humphrey Bogart character asks to see the badges of the federales/banditos.
Another rhythmic, fast-paced song, this apocryphal cut is a great closing choice.
Padraig Lawlor's vocals are not always pitch perfect but that
adds to the authenticity, making the music even more 'real.'
What also especially 'works' in this release is the placement
of each
song. The pace changes from fast to slow to medium tempo and back to
fast in such an order that none of the cuts 'fuse' together due to lack
of variety--the listener always knows what number is playing.
For this kind of Irish folk music, one could try attending a
banquet at Bunratty Castle, get lucky at a pub or purchase this CD.
Choose the latter.
Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.
Ownership, copyright and title of this celtic music CD review belongs to me, Kevin McCarthy. Ownership, copyright and title are not transferable or assignable to you or other parties regardless of how or if you or other parties use, copy, save, backup, store, retrieve, transmit, display, publish, modify or share the CD review in whole or in part. Please read the "Terms, Conditions and Disclaimers" section on my web site for additional information about using, quoting, or reprinting this CD review.
Send inquiries to: celticfolkmusic@icogitate.com.
Return to Kevin and Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews home page.
To return to the last web page you visited, click the "Back" button that appears immediately below: