Celtic Woman is a group now comprised of vocalists Lisa Kelly, Choe Agnew, Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe along with violinist Mairead Nesbitt. The group was made popular by thousands of showings on PBS stations across the country. In fact, that’s how I first became familiar with Celtic Woman a few years ago. The CD, Songs From the Heart, showcases Celtic Woman’s take on several well known and traditional songs including “Fields of Gold”, “Amazing Grace”, “Nil Sen La”, “My Lagan Love”, “When You Believe” (The Prince of Egypt), “The New Ground/Isle of Hope”, “The Coast of Galicia”, “Non C’e Piu”, “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress”, “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan), “Goodnight My Angel”, and “Galway Bay.” “The Lost Rose Fantasia” and “O, America” are two Celtic Woman originals.

I’ve really enjoyed listening to this CD today…so many times I completely lost count. Now I skip over a couple of songs (”When You Believe”-from The Prince of Egypt and “You’ll Be In My Heart”-from Tarzan) because I’ve heard other versions of them a little too frequently on my son’s MP3 player. “Fields of Gold” is a cover of the song Sting made popular and I still prefer his over this one…probably because of familiarity. Bagpipes and “Amazing Grace” go hand in hand. Add beautiful voices, piano, and drums for an obvious winner. My boys were singing along and really enjoyed it as well. I really liked Lisa’s voice in “The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress.” Very pretty. I’ve listened to many different renditions of “Galway Bay” and I have to say that Chloe did an excellent job and hers is now my favorite.

My favorite song on this CD has to be “Nil Se’n La”. I loved the violin reels, drums, and lively tempo. It’s disappointing that I’ll never be able to learn all the words and sing along with the pristine voices (I looked all over the internet and couldn’t find the correct lyrics). Maybe I’ll just have to settle for dancing…that should work, right? I’m sure the neighbors would prefer dancing over my singing anyway.

If you prefer watching Celtic Woman instead of just listening, there is a DVD (Songs From the Heart-Live at Powerscourt House & Gardens) that aired on PBS as part of the network’s quarterly pledge drive. Better than that, why don’t you check out the tour schedule and go see these girls in person! With shows planned from Washington to Florida and New Hampshire to California, there’s a chance they’ll be at a town near you within the next several months. If you want to hear a new, satisfying twist on some familiar songs, I recommend the CD Songs From the Heart by Celtic Woman.

Slainte,
Julie

Ku’ula-kai is a bloody amazing instrumental, featuring straight up kickass whistle, bagpipe, fiddle, guitar, and accordion playing. Immediately after playing it the first time, I played it again. Leaning back in my chair with my eyes closed, I found myself smiling and happier than I had any right to be.

Three Brothers is an original song written by Alan Reid, who is a founding member of Battlefield Band. Alan plays accordion and provides lead vocals on this track, which tells the story of (you guessed it) three fictional brothers caught up in the Alaskan Gold Rush. This is balladeering at it’s best, and one of my favorite songs from the album. I used to dislike the accordion, before I figured out that I was incredibly close minded and wrong. Accordions are awesome, if you don’t believe me, give this song a listen and it might just convince you.

I almost always listen to albums in order, because I think that artists put a lot of thought into the arrangement of songs so that there is a progression, and I want to experience the music in the context that was intended. That was a lot of waffle just so I could say in this case I didn’t do it. I had to skip straight to Plain Gold Ring. I am a rabid Nina Simone fan, and I couldn’t wait to hear Battlefield Band’s interpretation of a song I’ve listened to Simone sing hundreds of times. I wasn’t disappointed. While there is a distinct traditional Scottish flavor to the Zama Zama rendition, particularly Alasdair White’s excellent fiddling, it retains the plaintively soulful quality of the original. This is my favorite type of cover, one that stays true to the spirit of the song while also making it sound like something straight out of the band’s own repertoire.

If I have any criticism of the album, it’s that I’m not the biggest fan of instrumentals, and they do represent about half of the songs on the CD. have been thoroughly scolded for my preferences in that department, yet I remain addicted to lyrics. It’s a weak attempt at criticism anyway, as the instrumentals are among the best I’ve heard and I enjoyed some of them immensely.

Zama Zama … Try Your Luck is a remarkable album - musically, lyrically, and in every way. I wanted to write about every last song on the CD, and the only reason I didn’t is because I decided that none of ya’ll would want to read “Zama Zama … Try Your Luck: Bonnie’s Exhaustive Analysis With A Twinge Of Fangirl Enthusiasm” when you could be listening to the album instead. So, do that! Really, do, and then come back here and we can talk one another’s ears off about it - sounds like an incredible good time to me.

* Zama zama is a South African term for illegal gold miners. I highly recommend this article, Dying For Gold, for background on the dangerous and often fatal process of illegal gold mining in South Africa.

** Battlefield band’s current line up consists of Alan Reid, Mike Katz, Sean
O’Donnell, and Alasdair White.

I’m not a person to preach. It’s not my style, really, and I don’t like doing it. However, the images filling up my television screen the past few days demand action. The devastation in Haiti is unfathomable. In so many ways, the scenes from Port-au-Prince remind me of other places that all of our Celtophilia family have visited in Jamaica. The faces remind me vividly of the people I met there, and for a short time, ministered to and cared for deeply. The poverty and desperation, the homes built from scrap plywood and salvaged tin, all take me bodily and hurl me back in time. When I see the suffering of these people who have lost what meager belongings they had, I feel like I know them.

It is easy to feel helpless. Like so many people, we struggle to pay our bills. We don’t have the fortune of celebrities, major corporations, or internet millionaires on our side. Despite this, I feel the weight of a moral responsibility to make an effort, however small, to help these people. I don’t mind saying, I feel that every person in the world who doesn’t have to wonder if they’ll sleep in the street tonight, or where their next meal will come from should really feel this responsibility as well.

To this end, I have created several new designs to add to the Celtophilia store, to support the relief efforts in Haiti. There are t-shirts, coffee mugs, water bottles, stickers, buttons, and magnets. You can check out the new store items on the Support Haiti Relief Page. If you like them, please consider making a purchase. $3 from the price of each item sold will be donated to the Unicef US Fund, to support disaster relief. We will take no profit from these items. If you don’t like them, please, please find some way to help. Unicef is taking donations. The American Red Cross is taking donations. Every other charitable support organization in the world is taking donations. Give them a dollar, if that’s all you can part with, but do something.

Celtophilia Store Support Haiti Relief Page.

Celtophilia: So, who are Michael Sturm and Charley Beekman, and why would we want to listen to them spinning Irish music on a weekly basis?

TCIrish: It’s not so much that you are listening to us, we just happened to be the ones that put it together and decided to put in the time and the effort. When you tune into the Twin Cities Irish Music Podcast, you are listening to the huge amount of talent that is in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and really all of Minnesota. When we play our band, The Langer’s Ball, then you are listening to us! But TCIrishMusic.com isn’t really about the hosts, there isn’t a ton of witty banter or commentary, it’s about the musicians and the music.

Celtophilia: Why did you feel it was important to put together a site and podcast specifically focusing on Celtic music from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area?

TCIrish: Just look at the bands page, We’ve got some huge talent in Minnesota, From Boiled In Lead & The Wild Colonial Bhoys, to having players like Dean Magraw, Laura MacKenzie, Daithai Sproule of Altan, Martin McHugh & Paddy O’Brien! Plus some great troubadours like Tom Dahill, I think that Minnesotans are extremely lucky to have this level of music going on almost every night of the year, and usually for free. Our Goals with the Podcast are to let people know what their missing by staying home, because they didn’t have a place to turn to find out where to go, and they didn’t have a podcast to let them know just how good the music is! Whether you want a Ceili Band, or trad music, a session or to hear some pub tunes, The Twin Cities has it all. Plus, take a look at the top 20 list from PaddyRock.com for best CD’s of 2009, Both The Wild Colonial Bhoys and our Band, The Langer’s Ball are on it! That means 10% of the best Celtic Rock & Punk albums of last year came from our city. That’s why we think people will tune in.

Celtophilia: I really like the inclusion of several instrumental tracks in Episode 1, which of course are fundamental to the Irish music tradition. How important is it to you to include the more trad-focused music along with more modern arrangements?

TCIrish: Like we said, Minnesota has it all, and I want to include it all. At first we thought we’d put together a really rockin’ podcast, but then where do we draw the line? It’s all really great music, and all these people are our friends and colleagues. There just isn’t anyway we couldn’t include the great trad and folk music as well as the rock and pop and everything in between. And if our listeners are like us, there is a place for all the music.

Celtophilia: You’ve assembled quite a lineup for Episode 1, can you give us some names to look forward to in the coming weeks?

TCIrish: Well, we’re adding musicians as they get back to us to give permission, so who you’ve heard so far is who has replied to our request for permission. However, we just finished episode 2 and since episode 1 came out, we’ve added The Wild Colonial Bhoys, The Sweet Colleens, The HiBs, and a few others, beyond that, you’ll just have to tune in every Monday at 8:00pm Central.

Celtophilia: It seems like you are really trying to create an all-inclusive site for Irish culture in the Twin Cities, with pubs, gigs, bands, dance schools, etc. How can anyone who is interested in being included contact you?

TCIrish: We are trying to make it all-inclusive. We’d like our site to be the one that anyone can turn to and find out what is going on and where, no matter what Irish Music related activity they want. On every page on the website it lists our email, which is info@TCIrishMusic.com, and we’d love to hear from anyone, especially touring bands as they come through the area. Our goal is to get people out to see and support the music, and to make the Twin Cities synonymous with Irish Music like Chicago and the blues or New Orleans and Jazz. In just the 1st week we’ve been live, we’ve had well over 500 unique visitors to the site, we just started a facebook page, and I just checked it it’s at over 520 friends since just last Saturday, this tells me that this is something that has been a long time coming and well needed.

Again, huge thanks to Michael and Charley for taking the time to answer our questions, and we are looking forward to many episodes of the podcast in the future. If you want more info about the Twin Cities Irish Music website and podast, check them out over at www.TCIrishMusic.com.

Slainte,
Mike

For most of you, I don’t have to really “introduce” Battlefield Band. Legendary barely even begins to describe them. In one incarnation or another, the band has been releasing music since 1977. Their newest CD, Zama Zama …Try Your Luck…, has been tearing up music charts in the last couple of months, and we took this opportunity to talk to them a little about the new disc, keeping an enduring icon of Celtic music alive over 30+ years, and, of course… hurricanes.

Celtophilia - Do you feel that Battlefield Band has been so extensively involved in the Celtic music scene for so long that it puts an even greater than usual amount of pressure on the band when you guys produce a new album?

Alan – Yes that probably is the case. It is always hard to do an album after all these years, and after 30 albums it always is. Once you get started it does begin to flow. This album has a theme, so that makes it a bit easier. We have been thinking about this for a long time, but you can’t always do that as it gets a bit boring, so here’s to the next one.

Celtophilia - The latest album, Zama Zama…Try Your Luck, has some pretty clear political and social commentary involved in the lyrics. Has that been received in a mostly positive way? If there’s been criticism, what’s the worst thing that you’ve heard or read about the album?

Mike – Yes it may seem to have a political content, but that was really because when we were making it politics and the financial world went into a downward spin. I have to say it would have been nicer if it didn’t happen, but when it did happen and we were describing men searching for gold and riches, naturally the content began to reflect what was going on in the wide world outside the studio. We look on it more of a description of what was going on, how could you describe what is going on in any other way. I have to say, I think purely political albums that are beating you over the head with a big stick can get pretty boring and turgid. Our main concern was to play good music, and I hope you will agree that was the main theme of the record. I also hope that nobody is surprised that traditional music and musicians respond to contemporary situations. As far as we are concerned traditional music is not a backward looking thing, it is here and now and living in Scotland.

Celtophilia - I love how Zama Zama was inspired first by gold and then influenced by issues including wealth and global finance. Was this a theme that immediately appealed to everyone in the band?

Alasdair – The idea for this album was brought up two or three years ago, but we found difficulty in progressing with it at the time. It slowly developed and people came up with ideas of songs and music about gold, and reading things in the newspaper etc., etc. That Zama Zama story is unbelievable isn’t it? We had never heard about these people until there was the big disaster in the mine in South Africa. Lots of people were killed because they live underground, and mining in an unused shaft. They are obviously making a good living from it, but not doing much for their health, especially when something blows up. We are found of the album, and I think the idea came from our producer Robin Morton. I don’t think the idea appealed to everyone, but slowly it did. Slowly serendipity took over and Bernie Madoff did his thing. A couple of big banks went down and our wonderful MPs were caught at it. I suppose we knew they were at it for a long time, I suppose it was just it became very obvious. As Mike says it’s the music that counts, that’s the first thing. Enjoy the music. The rest of the stuff is in addition to the music.
Robin – The thing about politics is that it can get very boring. Did you ever hear the story about Bono – U2 were playing at Hampden Park (I hope this is true). They were playing to a full house in Hampden Park (something which Battlefield Band have still to achieve, that is fill Hampden Park!). Anyway, Bono as you know will never miss a chance to preach. He said to a hushed audience – “Everytime I clap my hands another child dies in Africa”. Some hero from the back shouted up “don’t f….. do it then!” He could also have shouted just write a cheque Bono! As the lad said, please listen to the music.

Celtophilia - Most bands who released their first albums in 1977 are either dead, dying or disappeared from the face of the earth. How do you account for the lasting endurance of Battlefield Band and your continued ability to make music that speaks to audiences all over the world?

Alan – I have been around for all that time. One of the ways to do it is it just happens organically. People come, people go, and they all add stuff to it. They then leave the Battlefield Band University and go on and do other things. I suppose the new people bring something in which speaks to audiences. Anyway, that is the idea, and it seems to work.

Celtophilia - Since Battlefield Band is, for all intents and purposes, a force of nature, how do you feel the band would fare if you were called upon to battle a Hurricane for the fate of all mankind?

Sean – I am the new boy that Alan is talking about. So I get to answer this question. My first thought go to the bathroom with a pile of Beano’s and hope that the world would still be there when I came out. I would also like to have my guitar there of course, and would practise like mad!! A bottle of Guiness would be nice, or maybe 2. A big plate of Haggis, Tatties and Neeps. Really would hope there would be some Haggis left alive after the storm.
Like all sensible people, I would try and pretend it was not happening anyway. Whoops!! got to go mow, the wind is rising. I have to batten down the hatches, where are those Beano’s? See you later.

Our sincere thanks to the lads for taking the time to answer our questions, if you want to find more information about the band, hit their website at http://www.battlefieldband.co.uk/

Slainte,
Mike

This CD was presented to me as a collection of recordings for folks that wanted to hear something very akin to what Terry’s pub show is like. I’ll tell you a secret: I love this sort of live music, but don’t get to hear nearly enough of it, so this CD might as well have been created for me personally. While I do enjoy the complicated, multi-layered sounds of modern music from time to time, I can be perfectly happy to hear nothing but a guy and his guitar just doing what they do best. That’s exactly what Songs From The Pub is about, and it delivers in a massive way. Now, the big challenge is going to be getting over to Pittsburgh to see Terry perform live.

One of the things I love about getting to listen to traditional Celtic music is hearing how different people will take a trad song and make it their own. In Terry Griffith’s renditions of several Celtic standards, what I hear the most is a real passion and understanding for the music and the lyrics. Listening to Black Velvet Band on this CD is like hearing it for the first time, and actually feeling the bitterness and frustration of a man being transported halfway around the world. “The Town I Loved So Well” puts on an equally raw and passionate display, and this being one of my all-time favorite Irish songs, instantly becomes my favorite on this CD.

Sometimes I have a problem that I don’t like to talk about… no, not THAT. It has to do with reviewing CDs. While it’s all well and good for me to claim that “The Town I Loved So Well” is my favorite track on “Songs From The Pub,” the simple fact is that it ignores the fact that there are no less than a dozen tracks on this CD that could easily rank up with the best Irish tunes I’ve ever heard. Several of them I’m not entirely familiar with, but they’re rebellious, or lonely, or emotional, or various perfect combinations of those three.

Do yourself a favor, head over to CDBaby and buy this CD, look Terry up any and everywhere you can find him playing, and go see him live. If you want more information, you can find it at www.pittsburghirish.org/griffith

Slainte,

Mike

Happy Halloween, Merry All Hallows’ Eve, and a glorious Samhain to you from all of us at Celtophilia! in lieu of candy, we hope that you will accept this hilarious video, featuring American Sign Language, and a zombie.

Slainte,
Bonnie, Julie, and Mike

My very first review on Celtophilia and they gave me an instrumental CD? Pretty big challenge! At least the artist is Marc Gunn and I already have a lot of respect for him and his musical abillities. His CD, Heart’s Ease, is a compilation of fourteen songs played entirely on an autoharp. Never heard of an autoharp? Not surprising. Neither had many others before becoming acquainted with Marc’s work, both solo and when he was a member of the band, Brobdingnagian Bards. (For more information on autoharps, click here. If you’ve never listened to an autoharp, you should really give this CD a try. You would never imagine the extensive assortment of melodies achieved using only one instrument.

If you aren’t hooked by the first song, Stardust Serenade, don’t give up. The first song was a little long and monotonous, repeating the same lines over and over; however, Marc makes it work with his use of feeling through changing dynamics.

Heart’s Ease was by far my favorite. To me, it was light-hearted, lively, and cheerful using a wide variety of tones. It was one of the shorter songs and was over long before I tired of listening to it.

She Vanished in the Mist was a very lovely, yet melancholy song that put me in a solemn, thoughtful state of mind.

Desire…do I even have to go there? Out of the whole CD, this was the thorn in my side. I gave it chance after chance by listening many times, and I couldn’t learn to love it. I completely respect it for what it is and I’m sure Marc put his heart into it as all of his other songs, but it just wasn’t for me.

Wildflowers of Party Field literally made me want to run, skip, and jump over a hill covered in wildflowers. What a wonderfully happy tune! The next time I am feeling blue, I’ll be sure to pop in this CD and turn it up so I can flounce about my living room and turn my attitude around!

There were a multitude of very interesting notes and sounds in Return to Lonely Mountain. It was a very entertaining song and not nearly as sad and lonely as you might gather from the title.

I enjoyed this whole CD more than I would have imagined before listening to it. Marc has a brilliant selection of both the merry and the somber to suit whatever your current mood, whether you need some cheering up or had rather drown in your own sorrow. Go ahead and draw a tub of water, (don’t forget the bubbles), light a few candles, and prepare to relax and soak up some autoharp.

Disclaimer: I purposely saved this for the end of my review so I could warn you not to read it until you’ve listed to the CD on your own. I certainly wouldn’t want to ruin your opinion or cause you to hear something you wouldn’t have otherwise by sharing my insight of one of my favorite songs on the CD. Listened already? Okay, read on…Summer’s End had a different feel to it. Call me crazy, and Marc, please forgive me, but this song totally made me think of Lightning Crashes by Live. I’m not saying it sounds just like it or anything to that extreme, just reminiscent. Please don’t think it’s a bad thing because I thoroughly loved this tune! Please, Marc, pretty please…don’t hate me!

Well, now that I’ve completed my very first CD review, feel free to critique me. Disagree with me? Let me know! We at Celtophilia are starved for feedback, so any opinion at all is welcomed. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed a new perspective enough the guys will let me hang around and feel useful a little while longer.

Slainte!
Julie

Get to the point, Mike. Oh, right. Well, see, here’s the thing. Anyone who was paying attention might have noticed that Bonnie and I have been a WEE bit unfocused lately as to writing reviews. The fact is, several of our good friends have written to us asking ever we were even still doing reviews. The answer is… well, yeah, we MEAN to be, but life keeps getting in the way. So, in the interests of spurring the two of us laggards to actually write reviews, schedule interviews, write interview questions and the like, we’re bringing a responsible adult onto the team. I, for one, think it’s about time. Bonnie has been leaving her dirty dishes all around Celtophilia studios, and it’s time someone made her clean them up!

Ok, seriously, what does this mean? For one, it means a third reviewer. You can expect her first review to come rolling out sometime next week. For another thing, it means one more Celtophilia.com person to follow on Twitter. It also means actually having someone on the team who is willing to simply walk up and talk to people. If anyone ever introduces themselves to you as “that person from Celtophilia.com,” there’s a good chance that it will be her. Lastly, it means ANOTHER Twitter box over in the corner of the screen! I know you’re thrilled about that, right? Right? RIGHT?

Anyway, Bonnie and I are thrilled to have her aboard, and we look forward to new shenaniganery (new word, I’m claiming it) in the days and decades to come.

Slainte!

M

PS - for those of you into symbolism. Yes, there is some meaning to her Twitter widget being the white one between Bonnie and I. =)