Celtic Thunder (Ireland) - Heritage *

Artist:

Celtic Thunder (Ireland)

UPC:

602527602431

Description:

Composer: Phil Coulter.
Personnel: Emmet Cahill (vocals); Neil Byrne, Ivan Gilliland (guitar); Seana Davey (harp); Brendan Monaghan (whistle); Dave Cooke, Phil Coulter (keyboards); Conor McCreanor (double bass, bass guitar); Declan O`Donoghue (drums, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Phil Coulter.
Recording information: Amberville Studios, County Antrim (04/2010-05/2010).
Creator: Sharon Browne.
Arrangers: Dave Cooke; Phil Coulter.
After drenching themselves in pop music for It`s Entertainment! and the seasonal Celtic Thunder Christmas album in 2010, Celtic Thunder return to their own brand of shiny new age Celtic-flavored music with Heritage. During the sessions for the album, one of the quintet`s original vocalists, Paul Byrom, left the group and was replaced by Emmet Cahill -- though both appear here. The material on Heritage is a mix of traditional tunes, Phil Coulter originals, covers, and even a revisit of "Come by the Hills" from the group`s debut album -- sung here in a Gaelic version, "Buachaill ?n Eirne," and in a very different voice by Damian McGinty (he was only 14 when he sang it the first time). Ryan Kelly leads an unusually uptempo and rock-tinged version of "Black Is the Color," and Keith Harkin and Neil Byrne duet on the electric guitar-saturated "Whiskey in the Jar" (inspired no doubt by, but not holding a candle to, Thin Lizzy`s definitive version). Byrom is present in a very sentimental "My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose," accompanied by Coulter`s piano before the rest of the musicians and orchestra kick in. "Home from the Sea," a Coulter-penned tune, showcases the entire quintet (with Byrom) in chorus-line solidarity. Cahill`s showcase is on "Kindred Spirits," a harp-driven folkish ballad written especially for him by Coulter. His theater singer`s tenor works seamlessly inside this group`s silky voices. "Gold & Silver Days" is another Coulter number that evokes all the archetypal Irish images of the days of yore; it`s sung effectively and nostalgically by Kelly and George Donaldson. The strangest moment here is the adaptation of Steve Earle`s rough-and-tumble "The Galway Girl," which melded Texas honky tonk and Celtic melody; here it is strictly an irish drinking song with whistles, fiddles, bodhran, and kit drums sung in chorus by the quintet (with Cahill). It`s a wild transformation that anyone who`s heard Earle`s version will never be comfortable with. That said, given that most of Celtic Thunder`s audience has probably never heard of the songwriter, it will please them to no end. For those fans of the Celtic Thunder song-and-dance stage show and the group`s pre-pop recordings, this is no doubt a welcome return to form. ~ Thom Jurek

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Dutchman, The
2. Buachaill ?n Eirne
3. Black Is the Color
4. My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose
5. Home from the Sea
6. Just a Song at Twilight
7. Galway Girl, The
8. Gold & Silver Days
9. Noreen
10. Kindred Spirits
11. Whiskey in the Jar
12. Red Rose Caf?
13. Place in the Choir, A

Album Information

Release Date:

02/22/2011

Type:

Performer

Genre:

International

Subgenre:

Celtic

Label:

Decca (USA)

Producer:

Sharon Browne; Phil Coulter

Catalog Number:

BOO15195

Original Release Year:

2011

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Runtime:

46 : 56

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