Does anyone like 'Big Country'? Any more like them?
Robert Hammond
Crossing', which had a deliteful sweet Scottish sound of a traditional
Celtic style. However, their subsequent albums (I haven't heard 'The
Seer' yet) seem mostly to have switched to traditional western scales,
and lost that lovely sound.
Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because I
feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
musical construction.
Any comments welcome.
Rob
Peter Grant
Hammond) wrote:
> Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
> are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because I
> feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
> musical construction.
I couldn't agree more about U2. *Melody* is the thing that is lacking in
most of their work (whatever their undoubted poetic & philosophical
depths). A band that's taken Celtic modes by the scruff of the neck is
Scotland's Wolfstone. At times *very* rocky, they nevertheless maintain
that melodic and instrumental edge that keeps them in the Celtic camp (and
is just plain delightful to listen to). It could be the influence of Phil
Cunningham, their producer, who is himself a wonderful player and composer
of tunes (ex-Silly Wizard, Relativity etc.).
No doubt others would put Runrig in the same basket, but they fail to
excite me - sounding more like many-a "stadium rock" outfit, even if they
do the occasional song in Gaelic. Capercaillie is a superb Scottish group
that dabbles at the edges of funk now and then, though their music is
mostly traditionally-based. If you can get hold of their "Secret People"
CD (?1993), a track called "The Harley Ashtray" has some delightfully
funky percussion (bodhran & congas, from memory) behind a high-energy set
of dance tunes. And the song "Four Stone Walls" would cut it with any
other top-40 stuff of the moment, even while dealing with an important
issue of Scottish culture. There's lots more wonderful contemporary Celtic
music out there - over to others.
Slan
Peter Grant
--
Tasmania - the green state
(This is NOT an official Parks & Wildlife posting)
James Alexander Chokey
Hammond) wrote:
> Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
> are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?).
Wolfstone and Runrig have already been mentioned-- and I agree
completely with the previous poster's comments on both of them. Two other
current Celtic rock bands of note are Tempest and Boiled in Lead.
Tempest hails from the SF-bay area and plays a style of Celtic-
influenced rock that is vaguely reminscent of Jethro Tull from
the _Songs from the Wood_ days, or perhaps Fairport Convention,
would be the better example since they do a mixture of traditional
material and trad-inspired original tunes. They've also reached
out to a few other music traditions as well, but they are primarily
a Celtic rock band.
Boiled in Lead is a bit of a different case. I can't really find
any apt comparisons for these guys, and they don't even fit under a
vague label like "Celtic rock". Based on their most recent tour, I'd
probably describe them as "Celtic-Balkano-American-punk-folk-metal with
a virtuosic edge and an irreverent sense of humor."This Minneapolis-
based band started off doing rocked up-- in fact, sometimes even
punked up-- versions of traditional Irish tunes. Over the years,
they refined their sound a little bit, as well as expanded their
corpus to include Scandinavian, Eastern European, Middle-Eastern,
and American folk traditions as well. I'd actually reccomend
any of their albums, except the most recent one _Songs from The
Gypsy_, which is actually a concept album consisting of a rather
unadventurous bluesy folk rock. Not bad for what it is-- but what
it is sure ain't Celtic by a long shot! I'd reccomend picking
up either _Old Lead_ (a compilation of their first two albums) and
working forward, or starting with _Antler Dance_ and working
backwards.
You might also find it worthwhile to explore some
of the music of seventies artists, like Horslips and Alan
Stivell. Horslips was straightforward Celtic rock-- and
they were very good at it. I've only heard two or three
albums of theirs, but they were all excellent.
Alan Stivell is considered by some to be one of the fathers of
"Celtic rock".His albums are really a mixed bag and they range from
hard-edged Celtic rock, to fairly traditional acoustic music, to spacey
new-age accompanied by spoken-word poetry, so be careful with
what you get. I'd strongly reccomend any of his three live albums:
_A l'Olympia_, _In Dublin_, and _Tro ar Bed: 3rd Live_, if you
can find them. His earliest albums are generally considered to
be his best (and most rocking) material, and I would also
reccomend _Reflets_, _Chemins de Terre_, and _Renaissance of the
Celtic Harp_ (although the latter is a little less rocking than
the other two). A good way to check out Stivell's early material
is by picking up the Alan Stivell compilation disk that is available
as part of Polygram France's Master Serie. I haven't heard _Avant
d'accoster (Before Landing)_, but I understand it's supposed to be pretty
rocking too. Still, I think his live albums are his best.
Well, I've said my $.02 and, although I can think of several
other bands worth mentioning here, I'll pass the torch to someone
else.
-- Jim C.
==========================================================================
| James A. Chokey jch...@leland.stanford.edu |
| |
| The infinite, expressed finitely, is the essence of beauty |
| |
| --- Schelling |
==========================================================================
btet...@vnet.ibm.com
>In article <42l7fa$g...@dingo.cc.uq.oz.au>, rob...@cltr.uq.oz.au (Robert
>Hammond) wrote:
>
>
>most of their work (whatever their undoubted poetic & philosophical
>depths). A band that's taken Celtic modes by the scruff of the neck is
>Scotland's Wolfstone. At times *very* rocky, they nevertheless maintain
>that melodic and instrumental edge that keeps them in the Celtic camp (and
>is just plain delightful to listen to). It could be the influence of Phil
>Cunningham, their producer, who is himself a wonderful player and composer
>of tunes (ex-Silly Wizard, Relativity etc.).
>
are brilliant and inspiring.
A group that probably very few people know about is "Ossian" from Iona.
They have resisted the temptation to follow the Runrigs' of the Celt
music scene and as far as I can remember still record mainly Celtic / Broad
Scots type music.
I can supply a record label etc if anyon really wants it.
I might even be prepared to send some sample stuff if anyone is suitably
interested.
PS Big Country were great until recently. The Sear is one of their best albums
Regards
Bob Tetstall btet...@vnet.ibm.com
SD Technical Support , AIX Voice +44 1475 895769
ISSC , IBM Greenock , Scotland Cell. +44 378 645707
Disclaimer : All expressions of any nature are strictly my views and
not those of IBM.
j.p. kiernan
There's an up-and-coming band out of London Ontario with a very
pop-rock celtic sound. They're called the Gurriers. Excellent live show
and a good CD to boot.
Another band that's more of an English folk-rock would be the
Levellers, but they're not very "celtic" in the Irish/Scotch sense of the
word.
--jpk
Craig Cockburn
pet...@delm.tas.gov.au. "Peter Grant" writes:
> In article <42l7fa$g...@dingo.cc.uq.oz.au>, rob...@cltr.uq.oz.au (Robert
> Hammond) wrote:
>
> > Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
> > are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because I
> > feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
> > musical construction.
>
Try Shooglenifty and Capercaillie. Shooglenifty recently supported
Capercaillie
--
Craig Cockburn (pronounced "coburn"), Edinburgh, Scotland
Find me in "E-mail addresses of the rich and famous" ISBN 0-201-40893-7
Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Gha\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e.
MikeD57932
> Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
> are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because
I
> feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
> musical construction.
You might also want to check out my band, Celtic Aire. We are a celtic
rock group centered around bagpipes. Most of what we do is traditional
piping arranged with a rock rythym section, but we also do some rock and
roll - Rock around the Clock, Wild Thing and Wipe Out to name a few.
Our 2 CDs "Under the Influence" and "Pay the Piper" are independent
releases available through Rampant Lion Celtic Traders 708-832-6608 in the
US and several Canadian dealers whose names and numbers I do not have
handy at the moment.
Mike
Craig Cockburn
rob...@cltr.uq.oz.au "Robert Hammond" writes:
> Are there any fans of Big Country around. I loved their first album 'The
> Crossing', which had a deliteful sweet Scottish sound of a traditional
> Celtic style. However, their subsequent albums (I haven't heard 'The
> Seer' yet) seem mostly to have switched to traditional western scales,
> and lost that lovely sound.
> Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
> are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because I
> feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
> musical construction.
Have you listened to Runrig at all?
JT flute
released their 7th studio album entitled, "Why The Long Face." They have
kind of branched away from their celtic sound a bit but then again they
have retained it. There is a mailing group that discusses all things BC.
To subscribe write to bc-re...@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
As Craig said, you may want to check out Runrig as well. Another
brilliant band.
Lance
JT flute
ChrisRHood
You might also try Gary Moore's "Wild Frontier" album. Nice Celtic rock:)
Nothing's Forgotten,
Christine (Chris...@aol.com)
Spirit of Sherwood--The Official Robin of Sherwood Fan Club & Cybermerries
Email list:)
Weekend in Sherwood IV--A Robin of Sherwood Convention
Check out our RoS webpage at http://www.interport.net/~logomanc/ros.html
Tuned 2
This band comes from Germany and I saw them at the South by Southwest
Music and Media Conference in Austin a year and a half ago. A very unusual
group in that they have taken some traditional songs and put them to a
heavy metal style of music, both in English and German. I play their CD
frequently, and loudly.
Not that I am an expert of bagpipe music, but I did play a couple of songs
for Jack Baker of Rampant Lion, (they sell celtic tapes and CDs at
festivals), last weekend and he was quite impressed with them, going so
far as to get the addresses and numbers of the liner notes to order some.
Seeing them live, I was quite impressed with them as well. I am a rocker
with an affinity towards celtic music and appreciated both their heavy
metal appeal, and the fusion of the traditional. Yes, I banged my head to
the Queen of Argyle and The Keach in The Creel, but at 120db, it worked.
In case anyone is interested, here they are:
Subway to Sally Management
Eric Fish
Potsdamer Str.7
D-15711 Konigs Wusterhausen
Germany
tel/fax 03375-291092
Costbar Records
(a division of Autogram Records)
Burgstr. 9
D-48301Nottuln
Germany
tel 02502-6151, fax 1825
Slan,
Rick
Stuart Paterson
They're from Skye and have the same sort of "bagpipe" guitar sound.
They are very popular in Scotland especially with the Highlander. Well
worth a listen.
If you haven't heard "Caipercaillie", you should have a go at getting
a hold of some of their stuff. And then there is Shooglenifty from
Edinburgh. Brilliant!
Incidentally, have you seen the movie "Restless Natives". I reckon the
soundtrack is Big Country at their best.
All the best
Stuart
>
slinkster
Robert Hammond <rob...@cltr.uq.oz.au> wrote:
>Are there any fans of Big Country around. I loved their first album 'The
>Crossing', which had a deliteful sweet Scottish sound of a traditional
>Celtic style. However, their subsequent albums (I haven't heard 'The
>Seer' yet) seem mostly to have switched to traditional western scales,
>and lost that lovely sound.
I agree that "The Crossing" is their best album, but "Steeltown" is damn
good too... "The Seer" was next; also a good album, though a bit more
understated. After that came "Peace in our Time", which was a bit more
straight-ahead rock'n'roll. That trend continued with "The Buffalo
Skinners", which despite the obvious classic rock influences is a very
fun album. I haven't heard their new one yet ("Why the Long Face?"), as
I can't find it anywhere.
>Does anyone know of any bands that still have that Celtic sound, and yet
>are also rocky (or dare I say -- funky?). I'm not much into U2, because I
>feel that much of their music is directionless, and lacking in depth of
>musical construction.
Check out Wolfstone. Excellent Scottish band that melds traditional
Celtic music with rock. Their first two albums, "Unleashed" and -- oh
hell, what's the second one called...? -- are more traditional, while
their latest one, "Year of the Dog", is a little more rock'n'roll. At any
rate, they're all good, and Wolfstone is an incredible live band.
Also check out the Levellers. They take a healthy dose of traditional
Celtic music and mix it with punk/alternative. The result is great.
They too have three albums out: "The Word is a Weapon" (or something like
that), which is a bit more acoustic; "Levelling the Land", which is IMO
their best, and quite energetic; and "The Levellers", which incorporates
more general World Beat influences. Supposedly they have a new one
coming out sometime in the near future.
If you're into the punk/alternative thing, you'll also want to give New
Model Army a try. Many argue that their best album is "Thunder and
Consolation"; it's probably got the most obvious Celtic influences
anyway. Also check out "The Ghost of Cain", "Impurity", and "The Love of
Hopeless Causes". Personally, I like "Impurity" the best, I think,
though all their albums are great.
Another possibility is the Skids, the pop-punk band Stuart Adamson was in
before forming Big Country. You can definitely hear that typical Stuart
Adamson sound in his guitar playing. Unfortunately, some other guy
sings, and I find his voice pretty annoying.
Then of course there's always the Pogues or Shane MacGowan and the Popes...
Finally, a band well worth checking out is Cordelia's Dad. They actually
perform American folk music, not Celtic, but as traditional American folk
is often drawn from Celtic influences, they end up having that sound.
Their first album, "Cordelia's Dad," is almost entirely electric (and
includes some traditional British/Scottish folk songs); their second one,
"how can i sleep?", is about half and half electric and acoustic, and in
my opinion one of the best albums I own; and their third, "Comet", is
entirely acoustic except for one electric track tacked onto the end of
the American CD release. The only problem with this band is that they're
on a small label with limited distribution, so it's virtually impossible
to find their CDs. If you're interested in them, email me and I can give
you their drummer's email address.
Hope this helped! :)
--Mark
Hugh S. Selsick
rock/folk music.
WWBanquo
Cliffs of Dooneen is a Boston hard rock band with some Celtic
influence...Johnny Cunningham of Silly Wizard & Nightnoise did a guest
shot on their first album, "The Dog Went East & God Went West". Saw them
at a New Year's show a while back and it was intense, though not terribly
Celtic.
Other suggestions...Johnny Clegg & Savuka use mostly Zulu influences, but
one track on their last album had bagpipes. Fish, the former lead singer
of Marillion, has gone back to his Scottish roots, more or less, and
there's a bit of Celtica on his first two albums. Then again, watch out
for the disco bagpipes on the track "Something In the Air" on the
"Internal Exile" CD.
Finally, there's Oysterband & Boiled in Lead...both Celtic folk-punk bands
that are simply all over the musical map. Hope this helps.
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