If you recall, I wrote about the The Buachaills in my previous post. I am really glad to get to listen to “At your Call” ahead of the official release. The album will be available on May 10th 2014. So all you music fanatics and supporters of the genre, let this album bolt out of the doors when it hits the stores. Make it a great event!
The album has good opening and closing track.
At Your Call which is the title track reminds me of the lost glory of 90s Alternative bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket and Jars of Clay. My friends at The London Celtic Punks already wrote a review so you might want to check that out. Combining the beauty of Irish instruments and good songwriting, this song is unique, explosive and inspiring. The chorus has vocal melodies that goes ” Someday soon we’ll find the words to say.” The lyrics and the melody float together making this a perfect song. If they need me to carry the torch all the way to top 40 radio for modern rock tracks then I will carry it for this song!
The same goes for Baker Street (Which is their first single with an awesome video above). If you like something by Chris Isaak, Bible Code Sundays, Alice in Chains and anything with these bands combined, then you will love everything you hear in At Your Call. You Couldn’t Have Come At A Better Time, showcases the perky tin whistle and sing along chorus.
King of The Fairies pays tribute to the Irish myth. In this tune, they explored their haunting and atmospheric side. This is actually my kind of ‘Celtic music’ as the genre is meant to transport you.
There is another surprise. It’s the brilliant remake of Will Ye Go Lassie Go(Which I originally heard from Mountain Goats). Lovers of Light has pure rhythmic fun as it showcases world favors on top of the irresistible beat and sumptuous uilleann pipe sounds. Little Creatures closes this beautiful album with its energetic and haunting nature.
The band’s strong point are the following: Their use of vocal harmonies. The second is their songwriting style which is very contemporary and which has the capacity to jump genres. Next is of course, the instruments.
Be sure to get this album when it comes out on May.
The album was produced by Ciaran O’Shea http://ciaranosheamusic.com/ who has worked with Linken Park , Bush and the Frank and Walters to name a few.
It was mastered in New Zealand by Darren O’Reilly (Clannad).
A sample of his new harp cd ‘Cumha’.
Pibroch Prelude/Sheila’s Cumha
This week’s big shout out goes to harp maker Timothy Des Roches who recommended this video to me. Through his keen sense of music I was able to listen to more of Brendan Ring . I think it is a kind of music I can listen to all day and just forget that world out there is chaotic. There is that delicate style that he has mastered playing this amazing Celtic harp. The instrument is small but boasts a resonating factor to the soul.
Brendan Ring
Cumha is his new album. It is a Scottish Gaelic term which is synonymous to the following: lament, elegy, dirge. The first part is really slow and sad but it builds up into something hopeful. It’s saying something like, physical death is not the end of everything. There is another world that continues to live on after this world is gone. The Celts have this deep belief in the immortality of the soul. All things are interrelated. I think this makes sense in a level of quantum physics. We continue to live as our energy is transformed into something else. And there is also that theory of parallel universe and the many versions of us based on the decisions we make in life.
It is wonderful how music reminds us both of our humanity and also that we are made of the same stuff as the stars above. Brendan Ring has creative a ripple in the Celtic music world with his beautiful music and what it stands for.
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I really enjoyed last Saturday’s radio show as I introduced tunes you probably never heard anything yet.
The Album features an all star line up of musicians including Pete Jupp (FM) Drums, Bob Skeat (Wishbone Ash) Bass, Pat McManus (Mamas Boys and Celtus) Fiddle, and Brian Kelly (Shane McGowan) on Banjo. Paddy Rock takes on a new twist with this guitar driven traditionally influenced release. It’s a journey from mayhem to melancholy, stopping at every pub in between-Creeds Cross Website.
Harnessing the power of a broad musical spectrum, Creeds Cross crafted an album that will appeal to many listeners. They also made a good musical representation with their (visually pleasing) video for The Irish Band. The album has eleven tracks that celebrate the passionate spirit of Irish rock. What I admire about this recording is its natural vibe that flows. It doesn’t matter what tempo, the passion rubs on you right away.
The Irish Band is a perfect introduction to the music of the band, and I guess that’s the main reason it is their first single. Fiddles, banjos and other instruments wrapped this uplifting tune. Precision is the thing that marks their playing. No loose ends there.
I like the way the drummer(Pete Jupp) hammers the snare in One by One. People can call their music Paddy rock or any way they want to call it. But for me it is simply this: Beautiful music! A kind of album you should take with you when you go on a trip somewhere far away. The energy screams caffeine and after several listens, you will realize how easy it is to memorize all the songs in Gods & Fighting Men.
Good Enough is a good power ballad suited for a huge arena. Bart Foley proves that he has remarkable vocal pipes, enough to make the gods stop in their tracks. The title track Gods & Fighting Men sounds like it has a potential for second single. It has this loud and confident style that most young people really dig these days. I’m Coming Home has a very Americana feel. I love it because it makes me smile when I hear it. Two thumbs up for the banjo player(Brian Kelly). I also love Half a Chance for its power to make me want to dance-pogo dancing that is…
For those who are into the softer side of music, listen to A Lullaby. It’s really a good song with awesome mandolin playing. When you reach the chorus part it feels like you are flying.
The Journey So Far (The Best of Loreena McKennitt) might initially make you think that it is another compilation album. It is indeed a collection of her best songs spanning a career which started in the mid-80s. I listened to the double CD and there are tracks that have been altered. There are songs that get shortened. For example, the Lady of Shallot which is originally more than ten minutes has been trimmed to just above four minutes.
There are also new arrangements of album tracks like in the case of The Old Ways. The sound of drums and other instruments have been removed while others are thrown in front of the mix. Still, there are more songs in The Journey So Far that are different from what you originally heard in the album versions. I am glad for the inclusion of The Mummer’s Dance(radio edit) and other singles.
My personal favorite is a different take on Full Circle( from The Mask and the Mirror) in which though maintaining her powerful singing, the CODA has a rhythmic, almost reggae feel. Though there are those who might find contentment in their old McKennitt collections, new as well as die-hard fans will definitely enjoy this album.
The selling point in all her releases is always her amazing voice. Check out her live songs and you will know that she can carry a tune with exquisite technique inside and outside of the studio. There are many musicians who can reach her vocal range but to have an amazing technique within an already fascinating voice is a rare gift.
You can buy the album in different formats including the delicious vinyl through her Quinlan Road store:
I think that the decision for the placement of Salsa O’Keefe by Black 47 as the opening track of The new album Last Call( and perhaps their final one before disbanding later this year) celebrates their years in the music world as the one and only band that fuses Irish and Reggae while maintaining that Punk Rock energy. Wow the last one? You mean to say that perhaps we will never get to hear them together again? But knowing how passionate these guys are, I am sure we will hear them in various incarnations. I guess it is not easy to carry a huge band like this especially in this changing landscape of the music industry. Maybe these questions will be answered once I hear from the main guy Larry Kirwan.
Last Call could be the unapologetic tongue in cheek take on what it means to be Irish in New York city. But when I read the press release it says here that : , (Last Call)explores the life and psyche of Irish playwright, Brendan Behan, model for Shane McGowan and a host of Celtic rockers. No wonder I feel that poetic passion all over the songs. Culchie Prince features a fantastic uilleann pipe, tin whistle and a whole bunch of traditional Irish instruments on top of what could be one for the greatest modern rock song in history.
Let the People In celebrates diversity and explores themes covering immigration. You check out the lyrics because I know this will stir up that patriotic string in your heart and reminds us the reasons why America is called the land of the free. There are thirteen songs and every song has its ‘style’ to show. It closes with an interesting cover of Stephen Foster’s Hard Times. Like I said this could be the last album you will hear from this legendary band so better grab your copies. We fans keep the music alive!
Press release:
‘LAST CALL’ for BLACK 47
“On ‘Last Call’, Black 47 serves a 200 proof cocktail made with a shot of funk and two fingers of Irish malarkey thrown in for good measure. Larry Kirwan saves the best for last, using roots, rock, and reggae to bring the final curtain down on the most influential Irish American band in history.”
Mike Farragher, The Irish Voice
In November 1989, Ed Koch was serving out the last days of his mayoralty and an earthquake had recently hit the World Series in San Francisco when Black 47 set out for its first gig in the Bronx. After 2500 shows and 14 CDs the “house band of New York City” will disband in November 2014 exactly 25 years later. Rather than resting on any laurels, Black 47 will release its final album, Last Call on Feb. 25th.
“We decided to go out when we’re ahead and, as always, on our own terms,” said leader, Larry Kirwan. “The band has never sounded better so why not record some songs and explore new ground.”
That they do, the lead track Salsa O’Keefe rips into a Rock-Salsa groove while describing the sassy daughter of an inter-racial couple from Bayamón, Puerto Rico and Cultimagh, Co. Mayo. Always interested in filling the dance floor, Black 47 explores the world of EDM in Dublin Days, a hymn to lost love and international student exchange.
On The Night The Showbands Died Kirwan looks back at a hero, Fran O’Toole, killed in the 1975 Miami Showband massacre in Northern Ireland. While the band takes no prisoners in US of A 2014, a state of the union Rap-Rock anthem, and Let The People In – a demand for more logical & humane immigration laws.
Black 47, a pioneer of rock biography songs, explores the life and psyche of Irish playwright, Brendan Behan, model for Shane McGowan and a host of Celtic rockers. Oona Roche, niece of The Roches, makes a vital debut on Johnny Comes a’Courtin a Reggae account of a young woman exiled by Oliver Cromwell to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean. But overall Last Call is a testament to the band’s belief in Rock ‘n Roll redemption as they swagger along on Culchie Prince, Queen of Coney Island, and Shanty Irish Baby until they round off the album with an uplifting version of Stephen Foster’s Hard Times – fitting enough given Kirwan’s recent success with his musical about the father of American music.
Formed by Chris Byrne an NYPD detective and Kirwan, a playwright, Black 47 – who took their name from the worst year of the Irish Potato Famine – caused an immediate stir by introducing original music and political context into the Irish bar scene. “It was a bracing sound, we were setting Irish jigs and reels to Hip-Hop beats, singing about James Connolly and Michael Collins, while creating pub anthems like Livin’ in America and 40 Shades of Green.” Soon Black 47 was signed to EMI Records, Funky Ceili lit up FM Radio and MTV, and the band became a feature on Leno, Letterman and O’Brien.
Geoff Blythe (saxophones), Fred Parcells (trombone/whistle) & Thomas Hamlin (drums) are the other three original members. Joseph Mulvanerty (uilleann pipes/bodhran) joined when Chris Byrne left in 2000, and Joseph “Bearclaw” Burcaw (bass) came aboard in 2007. All members add their own spin to the arrangements of the songs from Last Call, described by Kirwan as “a very up, horn driven, celebration of American and Irish life.” Then again, that’s what Black 47 has always been about. It should be a great final year for “the only band that matters,” as their friend Joe Strummer once described them.
Celtic Music Fan 