Category Archives: Music

Christy Moore’s Smoke And Strong Whiskey

Everyone knows Christy Moore, a central figure in the Irish folk revival of the 1960s and indirectly a significant contributor to the English folk revival that paralleled it. We know of his work with Moving Hearts and we are familiar … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Christy Moore’s Smoke And Strong Whiskey

Christy Moore’s Live in Dublin 

What is there to be said about a CD by Christy Moore? It’s not new music — it’s a reissue of a 1978 recording from Dublin — but here it is! Christy Moore is so highly regarded by his countrymen … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Christy Moore’s Live in Dublin 

June Tabor at Minnemeers Theater

I have seen June Tabor live numerous times in recent years and I thought I knew what to expect at her concerts. I own just about every recording she ever made, the first review I wrote forGMR, when it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on June Tabor at Minnemeers Theater

Whirligig’s First Frost

First a word of warning. This is not the only group named Whirligig. There is at least one more recording group of that name. This Whirligig is a four-piece band with Steve Lawrence on assorted instruments, including stringed ones, pipes … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Whirligig’s First Frost

 Whirligig’s Spin

Ed Dale penned this review. It is really a delight to listen to the first 10 seconds of a new CD and know that it’s a keeper. Whirligig’s second CD, hopefully to be followed by many more, is a 50-minute gas; … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on  Whirligig’s Spin

Ronan O Snodaigh’s Tip Toe

Jennifer Byrne penned this lovely review. Ronan O Snodaigh is probably best known as the front man with Irish band Kila. A poet, songwriter, percussionist, vocalist, and landscape gardener, it seems the ridiculous O Snodaigh talent knows no bounds. He has … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Ronan O Snodaigh’s Tip Toe

Kila’s Tóg É Go Bog É

I’ve had this particular album sitting on my shelf and in my CD player for several months now. This is a lot longer than I usually let things sit, but it couldn’t be helped. You see, I couldn’t write any … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Kila’s Tóg É Go Bog É

Various artists’ Hungarian Noir, A Tribute to the Gloomy Sunday

If you’re familiar with the song “Gloomy Sunday” it’s probably from Billie Holiday’s version of it, which popularized it in the U.S. in 1941. The BBC banned that record from the airwaves because its mood was deemed too somber for … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Various artists’ Hungarian Noir, A Tribute to the Gloomy Sunday

Steindór Andersen’s Rímur: A Collection From Steindór Andersen

If linguists can postulate the existence, sometime in the distant past, of an “ur-language,” a Mother Tongue from which all other languages have descended, can there not as well be an “ur-music” from which all of our modern music derives? … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Steindór Andersen’s Rímur: A Collection From Steindór Andersen

Danú’s Think Before You Think 

It’s a great pleasure to begin the a new year with an album of Irish music that is filled with stellar arrangements, tunes and songs that don’t pop up on every second disc, fine musicianship and a one of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Danú’s Think Before You Think