Zz Top Best Album
Jarvarious Hunsaker
Pop is, I reiterate, a way of listening, the only way of listening I ever learned or cared for. It means giving everything a chance, but letting nothing off the hook. The only way of listening I ever wanted to express.
They have the same sense of something pre-pop and ancient, some heat from the dawn of time that afforded a jump-off to any point in the history & future of the cosmos, that same use of something seemingly prehistoric to create something pulverisingly modern in the best, warmest sense.
Were comparisons with Raincoats/Slits/Delia Derbyshire simply lazy gosh-there-are=ladies-style journalism or was there an attempt in Pram to reclaim/rediscover/redefine what gender could mean in music? You were never Riot Grrl but I still felt that political force to what you did.
With all sorts of odd kit on stage, the presentation also added to the thought that Pram were, in an almost old-fashioned sense, a real band that lived together, jammed together, were engrossed in each other. Like the Monkees.
His 2014 self-titled debut showed that he is a talented musician, with cuts like the famous Take Me to Church, the bluesy To Be Alone and my personal favorite track, the warm but emotional Cherry Wine. In 2019, Hozier released Wasteland, Baby! which was a suitable sequel to his debut, even if it felt a bit empty in a few spots.
The standout tracks really lift this album. The fuzz-laden Francesca gave the record an energetic kick. My personal favorite track here is I, Carrion (Icarrion) which is an honest, emotional acoustic track that has become synonymous with Hozier. Another track I loved was the gorgeous All Things End. Hozier was able to blend pop, rock, folk, R&B, funk and traditional Irish sounds into his 62-minute opus.
These iconic supergroups are responsible for elevating the status of traditional Irish music and bringing it to global audiences worldwide. But who are these groups and what exactly have they done to revolutionise the world of Irish music? More importantly, which of their albums have made the final cut and which one stands a little bit ahead of them all?
Sen Riada is one of the best known names in traditional Irish music. He is perhaps most commonly known for his masterful score of the film Mise ire which fused traditional Irish airs with classical arrangements. His legacy is so much more than that however.
Riada fused elements of classical and Irish music together, exploring harmony and new exciting arrangements. He looked at traditional Irish music through a new lens and was unafraid to explore new sounds and ideas.
His harpsichord playing can be heard on most tracks on the album but shines through on his solo track, An Chad Mhirt Den Fhmhar/Na Gamhna Geala. Why not have a listen for yourself and see what you think?
Chieftains founding member Paddy Moloney had a vision. He wanted to create a sound that had never been heard before. He was keen to experiment and his collaborative work with Sen Riada allowed him to do just that. Paddy realised there was now an eager audience for this fusion of styles and instruments. To fully realise the sound that had so long eluded him, he formed The Chieftains in 1962.
It will come as no surprise to you that my favourite track is the mighty whistle duet The Musical Priest. The accompaniment you hear in the background is Martin Fay plucking away pizzicato style on his fiddle:
Planxty found great popularity on the British folk scene and, similar to Ceoltir Chualann, succeeded in bringing their music to concert halls and theatres. Venues where Irish folk ballads would not previously have been heard and celebrated!
Driven by the fiddling talents of a young Frankie Gavin and his right hand man Alec Finn on bouzouki, De Dannan were a powerhouse act who succeeded in bringing Irish music to the world stage.
Alec Finn on bouzouki was revered for his unique style. Along with Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine he was one of the pioneers of bouzouki playing in traditional Irish music. The opening track Trip to Athlone/Tripping Up The Stairs highlights his brilliant playing:
This arrangement excels in its simplicity and subtle harmonies. A beautiful duet between Charlie Piggott on banjo and Alec Finn on bouzouki. It showed the promise of what was yet to come.
Yes, their predecessors played a vital role in revolutionising traditional Irish music, but The Bothy Band took the blueprint and made it their own. They opened the door to groups like Lnasa, Altan, Dervish and more. But in my opinion, none have ever been, nor will be as innovative as The Bothy Band.
Imagine my delight to be then greeted by the masterful flute playing of Matt Molloy and the brilliant uilleann pipes playing of Paddy Keenan. I knew this album was going to be something special, and I was right.
With 14 tracks on the album, and only three of them songs, The Bothy Band were offering something different to Planxty. This album is an exciting fusion of trad, folk and rock that draws you in from start to finish.
Peoples uses this tune with its distinctive, punchy rhythm, as a prime opportunity to show off his technical skills on the rapid descending phrases. This is a showstopper of a tune, ideal for solo performance, but difficult to master as an ensemble. So needless to say the group then launches into a faster version of the same tune, giving a lively finish to what the listener originally thinks is going to be a melancholy track.
Thank you Paraic, great selection and the line is blurred between trad and folk rock. A great LP is just that, it crosses all borders and genres. #1 is The Bothy band not that it's my favourite LP but it's the most powetful and groundbreaking album. It broke the mould. I cannot forget Midnight Well, Hark the village wait, Tr na ng Jonathan Kelly Dr Strangely Strange Loudest Whisper. What an exciting time that was. Thank you again.
Hello my name is Paul O Hara and I am a mature studying at Ballyfermot college making Uilleann Pipes and studying Irish Traditional Music. Im just finishing a thesis on Sean O Riada and how his unique style of merging classical with traditional music was groundbreaking and that brought me to your blog for my research. This is a brilliant piece of information about the albums and I was wondering can I take some of your writing for quotes and use it in my thesis and if possible would you be able to answer a couple of questions about my topic ?
No problem if you're too busy. Also I live in Beaumont and I see your in Baldoyle so maybe I could drop in and say hello and bring my pipes along to show you
Thanks
Paul O Hara
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception."[1] Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959. Taylor Swift has won the award for a record four times.
Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album, and the award is presented to the artist, featured artist, producer, songwriter, mastering engineer, and recording engineer or mixer with significant contributions to that album. The similarly titled Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the artist, producer, mastering engineer, and recording engineer or mixer for that song.[5]
Serban Ghenea (as engineer/mixer) is the most frequent winner in this category with five awards. Taylor Swift (as performer); John Hanes (as engineer/mixer); and Tom Coyne and Randy Merrill (as mastering engineers) have won the award four times.[6] They are followed by Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon (as performers); Jack Antonoff, David Foster, Daniel Lanois, Phil Ramone, and Ryan Tedder (as album producers); Tom Elmhirst and Mike Piersante and Laura Sisk (as engineers/mixers); and Bob Ludwig (as mastering engineer) with three victories each. Coyne, Ghenea, Hanes, and Ludwig are the only people to win the award in three consecutive years. Paul McCartney leads all performers with nine nominations: five as a member of The Beatles, three for solo albums, and one as a member of Wings. McCartney's former bandmate George Harrison has a total of eight nominations: five as a member of The Beatles, one for a solo album, one for a live album with friends, and one as a member of the Traveling Wilburys. Sinatra leads solo performers with eight nominations: seven for solo albums and one for a duet album. Barbra Streisand and Taylor Swift have the most nominations amongst female artists with six each.[7][8]
Christopher Cross and Billie Eilish are the only artists to receive Grammys for Album of the Year as well as Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, each winning all four "general field" categories in a single ceremony year. Adele was the first artist to win awards for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist on separate occasions. Five artists have won both Album of the Year and Best New Artist in the same year: Bob Newhart (The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart in 1961), Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1999), and Norah Jones (Come Away with Me in 2003) along with Christopher Cross (Christopher Cross in 1981) and Billie Eilish (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2020) mentioned above.
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