New Irish Music Releases June 2004
Claddagh Records
Dame House
Dame Street
Dublin 2
Telephone +353 1 6778943 Fax +353 1 6793664
www.claddaghrecords.com mail...@crl.ie
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LIVE 2004. Planxty. COL 5173912000. After a break of 23 years, Planxty came
together this year for a series of concerts in January and February. I was
at the opening night, and the atmosphere was raw with expectation. What
ensued was a triumph of music, memories and nostalgia. Veteran Planxty fans
weren’t disappointed, and a substantial proportion of the audience, who
weren’t even born when Planxty last played, had their eyes opened. It was a
peg to hang a memory on, and the experience was captured on tape. You can
enjoy it now on CD and DVD. The emphasis is on well-tried favourites from
long ago (after all that was what the shows were about). It’s great music
and it proves that these lads are only in their prime. ‘Sean O Duibhir’ is
the hidden track on the CD. While CD and DVD are very close in price, the
DVD has the visual content (naturally), plus five extra musical pieces plus
a documentary.
WITHIN A MILE O’ JAMESTOWN. Mick Mulvey. COOLATHUMA 001. Mick Mulvey is one
of the mainstays of the London music scene. Born there, his parents are from
Galway and Leitrim. He is an excellent flute player, with a spare,
old-fashioned style that is firmly in the tradition of North Connacht. He
has played with all the great Irish musicians in London, and on holidays at
home has played with great players of his family’s acquaintance. It’s a
lovely album, except for an unfortunate recording oversight that maintains a
hiss throughout. Having said that, it is possible to filter it out with the
ears, but it would be much nicer if it weren’t there.
FIDDLE FAIR 2. Various artists. FF02. Fiddle Fair is an annual festival that
’s held in McCarthy’s pub in Baltimore, County Cork. The second CD includes
more than fiddle music, although the fiddle is the dominant instrument.
Worthwhile for otherwise unavailable performances by Altan, Ciaran Tourish &
Paul Brady, Dermot McLaughlin and Liz Carroll.
HIDDEN FERMANAGH 2. Various artists. HF 02. The second volume of companion
recordings to the lovely book that was published last year. Much of the
music featured here is from the Derrygonnelly end of the county, and Cathal
McConnell sings three songs, including the gorgeous ‘Erin The Green’. The
influence of Mick Hoy and Eddie Duffy is clear in the instrumental pieces,
and also that of The Gunn Tunebook. There are also one song each from
Gabriel McArdle and the great Rosie Stewart.
AMHRÁIN M’ATHAR. Martin, Rónán and Torlogh Burke. CNM 0001. Martin Burke is
a well known singer in Limerick. His sons also entertain, and they have
got together to record a fine album, mostly of songs, and mostly of songs
from the Limerick area. Some of the songs are written by Martin himself, but
most of them are traditional. Overall, the impression is of a very superior
pub entertainment, recorded without the attendant noise of the bar.
MEET PADDY CANNY. Paddy Canny, PJ Hayes, Peter O’Loughlin and Bridie
Lafferty. DU 1003. Originally titled ‘All-Ireland Champions – Violin: Meet
Paddy Canny & PJ Hayes’, this recording was made in Dublin in 1959. It has
already been released on CD, but this is the original recording, with the
introductory chords and the running order restored. |It has been spoken of
with awe since its first release.
CAIPÍNÍ. Various artists. DDST 001. This album is subtitled ‘Traditional
Music & Song from West Kerry. ‘Caipíní’ refers to the headgear of the
performers, mainly the customers of two pubs in West Kerry. The songs are
sung unaccompanied, mostly in the Irish of the locality. There are nine
performers, three of whom are women. There is some speech, including a piece
of Fiannaíocht, and some songs in English, including ‘Amore’. A good
document of a local tradition, it must also be said that many of the
participants are quite elderly.
BEFORE SLEEP COMES. Luka Bloom. BSCD 0002. A new departure for Luka, this is
a very low-key recording; he plays a nylon-strung Spanish guitar, and the
songs are gentle and reflective. It is as he says ‘a CD of non-performance’.
MUSIC ON THE WIND and POTSTICKS. Seán Moloney. MOL 002 and MOL 003. Seán is
one of the Moloneys of Ballinakill (his grandfather Stephen Moloney played
flute with the Ballinakill Players, and his father Eddie was a fine
flute-player). He plays both simple-system and Boehm flutes, and is a good
tin whistle player. These two albums are full of tunes from his family
repertoire, from the East Galway tradition and from the wider national
repertoire. Two excellent albums, they are generous in their length,
clocking in at 61 and 66 minutes respectively. ‘Music on the Wind’
concentrates more on the Boehm system than ‘Potsticks’ does.
THE LANDING STEP. Gráda. COMPASS 7 4382 2. Gráda are the young people’s
favourite band of the moment in Dublin. They have a huge following, and they
also have a large fan base in Japan and New Zealand. Their sound is modern,
with drums where they feel it’s appropriate, and it’s a name that you’re
going to hear a lot more of.
AR MHUIN NA MUICE. Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin. HABRCD 001. Bríd is from Ros Goill in
Donegal, although she was born in Kenya. On this CD she sings a good
selection from her own part of the country, with some from further afield.
Two CDs which have been unavailable for quite a while have re-appeared.
They are ‘Live in Dublin’ (James Keane) and ‘Johnny O’Leary of Sliabh
Luachra’.
And lastly, I have to mention Kevin Doherty’s Bloomsday Centenary tribute.
In memory of the fictional day in 1904, Kevin (of Four Men and a Dog) has
brought out a single ‘Bloomsday Morning 8 O’Clock’. As a Joyce fan he has
written a song that is true to the spirit of the book, literate and
literary, yet still a perfect pop-song (a calypso in fact). If you wish you
can hear it at http://www.kevindoherty.ie/ . And if you wish to have the
gorgeously presented souvenir edition you can get it from us.