Celtic Rock Bands and Clannad
Sriram Ramkrishna
someone give me some information on celtic rock bands like Clannad. I picked
up an album of theirs and really loved it. I picked up two more..are there
more bands like this??? I really like this type of music.
Sri
d...@ai.mit.edu
In article <16...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> a...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
(Sriram Ramkrishna) writes:
Me too! It is a continuing obsession of mine.
Some recommendations:
Fairport Convention - "Liege and Lief" is still the first and last
word IMHBUCO ("In My Humble But Ultimately Correct Opinion") on
Anglo-Celtic folk-rock. It's got everything one could want in a
folk-rock album, milk-white steeds, jealous lovers, etc. along with
tasty guitar and fiddle and exceedingly lovely Sandy Denny vocals. A
true DID. There are jillions of other Fairport records and
approximately a zillion different lineups, but L&L is a good "first"
album for the band.
Steeleye Span - Another "seminal" folk-rock band. Lovely vocals, not
as many personnel shakeups as Fairport, but enough tomake a collector
lose sleep. A good first Steeleye album would be "Hark! The Village
Wait" or the recent "best of" collection called "Portfolio" I believe.
Many more albums though, of varying quality - more info on request.
The Pogues - "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" is the essential album.
Van Morrison and the Chieftans - "Irish Heartbeat". A visionary
album. It's amazing no one thought of it sooner, Celtic songs and
soul vocals, Morrison-style.
The Albion Country Band - "Battle of the Field" is awfully nice, and
generally available at better record stores. Once again, Albion Band
lineups are as plentiful as Mercedes Benz's at Grateful Dead concerts,
but this one has a very solid lineup. Also back in print is Shirley
Collins and The Albion Country Band "No Roses". A marvelous album,
with many Fairporters and a Steeleye Spanner or too in the mix.
Beautiful, haunting, etc.
Pentangle - Folk-Jazz-Blues-thing. Superb playing and vocals,
inventive arrangements, fascinating juxtapositions of different
styles. Very English, even on the jazz and blues numbers. Good intro
to basic Pentangle approach - "A Maid That's Deep in Love", which has
all of the various elements, and even a Velvet Undergound-like song
for good measure.
Hickory Wind - an American Celtic/Country/Bluegrass/World Music
aggregation from the seventies. I believe their album "Crossing
Devil's Bridge" is still in print, and it's a winner. I wonder what
became of them?
Undoubtedly, others will post other suggestions. This is just my
"starter" list of artists I would include if I were trying to show
off my favorite folk-rock bands.
- Dan
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"Do you really mean that? |Dan Parmenter, wealthy young man about
Or are you just being ironic, baby?" |town.
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