Celtic Music

 I remember hearing Capercaille nearly twenty years ago and thinking this Irish band was a bit different - as most know, Capercaille isn't Irish at all; but Scottish - a band that can sound ancient or somewhat modern but at the same time rooted in Celtic music.

 Their double cd GRACE AND PRIDE: THE ANTHOLOGY 2004-1984 is a bit different from most as it starts with music recorded in 2003 and by the time you get to the end of the second cd, you're back in 1984, still listening to the beautiful but subtle vocal stylings of Karen Matheson, co-founder of the band, along with accordion/keyboardist Donald Shaw.

 Most Celtic bands would never use electronic beats, but Shaw and hence Capercaille used them throughout the 1990s and continue to use them to add color and to update the music.

 To fall in love with Karen's voice, listen to 'Dean Cadalan/Servant to the Slave' from 1992's GET OUT. Do you like Enya? Or Joan Baez? Try 'Fear a Bhata' from 1888's THE BLOOD IS STRONG, or 1984's 'The Little Cascade'.

 Capercaille shows the close ties between Scottish and Irish music, and GRACE AND PRIDE is definitely a winning keeper.

 What's a Canadian singer doing in the European issue? Mary Jane Lamond sings a style of Celtic music usually associated with Scotland: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia has had a large Scottish popular for two hundred years, primarily rural and deeply traditional despite years of authorities trying to wipe out the language and the culture. Now people are trying to preserve and even revive it (does this sound familiar? How about the Cajuns of Louisiana?).

 STORAS is Mary Jane Lamond's second cd we've heard of her Cape Breton Celtic songs ( her first, GAELIC SONGS OF CAPE BRETON, was very traditional with only vocals, a pipe and fiddler for accompaniment). (Reader's note: her other cds include Lan Duil, Suas E, and Bho Thir Nan Craobh (which is apparently no longer in print or
offered).)

 On STORAS Mary Jane keeps it simple, sometimes signing unaccompanied, at other times with a small group 'painting pictures' in the background.  Lamond treasures these tunes and treats them with great respect. Most of her music is gentle, it's all acoustic: some of it's very sad.  Cut 4 (translated as 'The Most Beautiful Brown-Haired Maiden') is the closest STORAS gets to a dance tune.

 For the computer literate  STORAS is an enhanced two-cd set, so you can have all kinds of fun with it while also listening to the music.

   SWEET LIBERTY is not just the name of a tune on the album, but an attitude Susan McKeown has toward Irish/Celtic Music. Susan has her own group but records with guest artists including whole groups; some of whom do not play Irish or any kind of Celtic music (how about mariachi real de Mexico?)

 Take a slow song or even a dirge and pep it up, stretch the idea of Irish music without completely leaving it, and you have the essence of SWEET LIBERTY.

 Susan was born in Dublin but currently resides in New York City. She has a background in Irish folk and classical music and also a reputation as a singer/songwriter, yet she's not afraid to sing a song that's hundreds of years old like 'Johnny Scott', which is similar in sound to the popular English folk song 'Matty Groves' (the high and low whistles of Joanie Madden are particularly outstanding on this cut).

 The biggest surprise in SWEET LIBERTY is the next cut, 'Oro Mhle Gr' ('A Thousand Times My Love'): this song features a Tuareg group from North Africa whose lead vocalist offers a shocking contrast to Susan's pretty voice: the ulating (sort of a yodel) behind Susan's vocal is a great, unique touch.

 Strangely enough the title song 'Sweet Liberty' is pretty much a standard Irish-style folk song.

 To my mind Susan's main gift (besides her voice) is to take songs with depressing lyrics (usually originally done in a way to emphasize the sadness of the lyrics) and change the music and thus change the mood: nothing seems as sad when Susan gets through with it!

 Stone Circle is a harp and flute-anchored group whose main focus is Celtic music. Occasionally Stone Circle (duo plus guests) gives a sound you could call Irish chamber music or folk music, and their twenty-some tunes could even be marketed under the 'new age' banner - but Stone Circle can kick up their heels and do a jig with the best of them, too.

 They branch out from Irish music to other Celtic styles and beyond to American, Canadian, and Scandinavian tunes.

 Chief harpist Michael MacBean has studied Latin American harp traditions as well as Celtic: he's recorded solo and duo harp configurations alike.

 Beth Kolle plays flute, pennywhistle and harp and guest musician Mike Saunders plays fiddle (listen to his fiddle work out on Jay Ungar's 'Ashoka Farewell') and guitar.

 Johhn Peekstock is a Norwegian percussionist.

 I played this cd during Thanksgiving dinner: all hands gave it a rousing thumbs up, including our resident Irish/bluegrass musician!

 Has it really been twenty years since Altan formed? I can remember when Altan was the hot new thing: everyone wanted to hear them and musicians wanted to play with them.

 On LOCAL GROUND three outstanding leaders in the Celtic revival get to do just that: Triona Ni DHomhnail (pianist, founder of the Bothy Band), Steve Cooney (on bass) and Carlos Nunez (bagpipes from Galacia/Spain) guest.

 Altan has mellowed a bit over the years -  most of the group members have become parents - but much of their music is still danceable and female vocalist Maidread Ni Mhaonaugh's voice is so pretty that the not-so-danceable tunes are a joy just to listen to.

 Twenty years ago traditional Celtic bands were popping up everywhere. Most disappeared after two or three recordings (the lucky ones who got to record, that is). Altan and a few others like the Chieftains endure.

 Like the Chieftains, Altan just keeps getting better: not just many collaborations with famous singers and musicians, but a home-grown quality from the local ground keeps their music rootsy yet varied enough to attract new listeners.

 Of the hundred plus recordings of Irish music in our collection, ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC has to be one of the best anthologies ever. The artists presented on these twenty-two tracks are all top-notch: some have already achieved legendary status.   Not all of Ireland's greatest traditional bands are here, but musicians of all those bands are here.

 One of the best things about the Rough Guide series - and ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC in particular - is the copious, well-written liner notes.  I learned more about the revival of traditional Irish music from these notes than I did from the last book I read on the subject.

 If you love great fiddle or great singers (listen to Mary McPartlan), you'll appreciate ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC.

 If you don't have a collection of Irish music already, ROUGH GUIDE is a great place to start. 

 If you have a gang of people coming over for St. Patrick's Day ever year who demand better music each year, get ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC: that should shut them up for a year at least: the awe lasts that long.

  Juliet Turner is not the type of singer we usually feature, as she's a pop singer/songwriter more in the style of American singer/songwriters like Edie Brickel, whom Ms. Turner sounds remarkably similar to. Most of her songs tell of the rocky world of love relationships and her disappointments in same.

 Is she as unique as the Irish press thinks? Maybe in Ireland; but internationally speaking, no.

 Is she as good as the American and Canadian singers we compare her to? In a word, 'yes' Although she does repeat lines over and over, which we found unnecessary, she doesn't repeat a line anywhere as much as some African singer/songwriters like Thomas Mapfumo.

 Will Juliet Turner have a brilliant career internationally? She's already hot in Ireland now: she should do just fine - her sound is diverse enough to appeal to a wide general audience of listeners.

1. In All Things
2. Lakefield

  Leahy is a breathtaking family band from Canada, so they really don't technically deserve to be in the European issue, though their music is most definitely Irish/Celtic in style.  Leahy is composed of four brothers and sisters; all of whom sing, play instruments, and dance (Irish tap style). They're an awesome group to see live or on TV (where we saw them) and their cds are all quite good (they have three out so far, their latest is recorded live.)

 The fiddle playing in particular stands out: this family kicks instrumentally. The vocals aren't outstanding, though all the vocals are much better than many of the pop/rock singers of the last thirty years.   Leahy's music moves from pumped up Irish jigs to straight-ahead pop similar to the 'belly button girl' style so popular today - though done with a lot more class.

 Of the two cds we listened to, LAKEFIELD and IN ALL THINGS, I've changed my mind a dozen times as to which I prefer.  I personally like the more traditional sounding tunes, especially the instrumentals: Leahy satisfies strongly in both areas.