Please give me your top 3 recommendations for Tommy Peoples & Paddy Keenan albums. (solo - near solo - not the Bothy Band)
Thanks in advance,
Don
Peoples & Keenan CDs
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colomon
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I've got some compositions up at http://www.harmonyware.com/tunes/SolsTunes.html - Location: Midland, Michigan
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Well, I know I looked at it, and said, how the heck would I answer that?
I mean, first off, is it 3 of each, or 3 of both combined? The former makes more sense, it seems to me, but then, as far as I know Paddy only has four albums, so it becomes which album is the least good. And since I've only ever heard three of them, I don't know how to answer.
Second off, what's the perspective? Best albums for learning tunes? Best albums for learning whistle technique? Best for casual listening? Why ask a question about Tommy Peoples albums on a whistle forum, anyway?
I guess I can ignore the question and just talk about the albums of theirs I know.
So... Molloy, Brady, Peoples is a must-have Irish music album. Loads of great tunes, sterling playing. A blast to listen to. Zero whistle content. All tunes played up a half-step from concert pitch.
Paddy Keenan's self-titled is merely okay for listening. Some slightly odd versions of tunes, and the tune names get mixed up. Three or so soprano whistle tracks. I rarely listen to the whole album, but certain tracks I've played over and over and over for both studying and pleasure.
Na Keen Affair -- solid listening material, lots of great tunes. Nice Newfoundland input on a couple of tracks. Minimal soprano whistling, but I think a couple of the airs have low whistle bits.
Long Grazing Acre -- great for listening, with some nice song selections. Not a lot of standard trad tunes, though there is an awesome jig set. Again, nice low whistle on the airs.
I mean, first off, is it 3 of each, or 3 of both combined? The former makes more sense, it seems to me, but then, as far as I know Paddy only has four albums, so it becomes which album is the least good. And since I've only ever heard three of them, I don't know how to answer.
Second off, what's the perspective? Best albums for learning tunes? Best albums for learning whistle technique? Best for casual listening? Why ask a question about Tommy Peoples albums on a whistle forum, anyway?
I guess I can ignore the question and just talk about the albums of theirs I know.
So... Molloy, Brady, Peoples is a must-have Irish music album. Loads of great tunes, sterling playing. A blast to listen to. Zero whistle content. All tunes played up a half-step from concert pitch.
Paddy Keenan's self-titled is merely okay for listening. Some slightly odd versions of tunes, and the tune names get mixed up. Three or so soprano whistle tracks. I rarely listen to the whole album, but certain tracks I've played over and over and over for both studying and pleasure.
Na Keen Affair -- solid listening material, lots of great tunes. Nice Newfoundland input on a couple of tracks. Minimal soprano whistling, but I think a couple of the airs have low whistle bits.
Long Grazing Acre -- great for listening, with some nice song selections. Not a lot of standard trad tunes, though there is an awesome jig set. Again, nice low whistle on the airs.
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Cayden
Peoples' Iron man.
Someone gave me a tape two days ago of the two of them playing together. The two of them got on as a house on fire after they met pre-Bothy during the 70s, 'two mad alcoholics' [not my description and referring to the situation at the time]up t oan awful lot of mischief. There's one [of several] great story of how during one Willie week they stole a bike off a nun, the two of them cycling around the street with the nun on their tail.
output of a few whistleplayers often paraded here as the 'greats'.
Mary Bergin [in the Blooming Meadows] rightfully quotes as Peoples as one of the most influential and emotional musicians she knows, his music actually bringign tears to her eyes. How relevant to her music do you think that will have been. Whistleplayers [and other instrumentalists] should look beyond their own instrument for inspiration.
There is another Keenan album by the way, 'doublin' with Paddy Glackin from 1980.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-11-12 08:56 ]</font>
Someone gave me a tape two days ago of the two of them playing together. The two of them got on as a house on fire after they met pre-Bothy during the 70s, 'two mad alcoholics' [not my description and referring to the situation at the time]up t oan awful lot of mischief. There's one [of several] great story of how during one Willie week they stole a bike off a nun, the two of them cycling around the street with the nun on their tail.
All questions aside [and I think the question would have sat better on the ITM board next door], I think you can learn more about your whistle music listening to the album I named above than the combineddOn 2002-11-11 23:29, colomon wrote:
Second off, what's the perspective? Best albums for learning tunes? Best albums for learning whistle technique? Best for casual listening? Why ask a question about Tommy Peoples albums on a whistle forum, anyway?
output of a few whistleplayers often paraded here as the 'greats'.
Mary Bergin [in the Blooming Meadows] rightfully quotes as Peoples as one of the most influential and emotional musicians she knows, his music actually bringign tears to her eyes. How relevant to her music do you think that will have been. Whistleplayers [and other instrumentalists] should look beyond their own instrument for inspiration.
There is another Keenan album by the way, 'doublin' with Paddy Glackin from 1980.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-11-12 08:56 ]</font>
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StevieJ
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Anything by Tommy Peoples is worth its weight in gold to an embryo traditional musician.
He made two early LPs on the ITM equivalent of garage labels - one is called simply "Tommy Peoples", I believe, and is of solo playing, some of the tracks being recorded at a small gathering, with little bursts of applause and appreciation from the listeners. You'll probably never come across it except in the LP collection of some old f*rt like me (I don't have it though) but if you do, beg a recording of it.
The other was called "Tommy Peoples - Master Fiddle Player". It disappeared without trace but reappeared about 10 years ago on cassette published by a label called Ovation. I don't know if it's been made into a CD, but you just might be able to find it as a cassette in Irish gift shops - I saw it in one a while back. If you do, grab it.
This is simply tremendous music - Peoples is not in a particularly wild or excited mood, the playing is almost restrained and yet very lyrical. It's easy to tune out the ho-hum bodhran and guitar backing which, I read somewhere, was added on afterwards. I think I learned more about "the music" and fiddle playing from this album than any other.
Then there's the Shanachie album, High Part of the Road, with Brady. This is also tremendous, but in a very different way. Brady seems to wind Peoples up to fever-pitch. There's a two-sentence eulogy to Peoples in the original sleeve notes that puts it very well, saying something about the contrast between his recklessness and tenderness, his embracing life one moment and telling it to take a walk the next. It's music to freeze the blood one second and make it boil the next. The tone of the fiddle is extraordinary - it smoulders.
I read an interview with Peoples in which he said that the Shanachie album was made in a morning - starting at 9am on a morning when he and Brady had terrible hangovers after tying one on in New York City the night before.
The Iron Man isn't my favourite album by peoples - maybe because of Daithi Sproule's guitar backing. But Peoples shows his amazing gift for inventive melodic micro-variation in a number of tunes.
Apparently heartily sick of not earning money from his recordings, he released one on his own label a couple of years ago, The Quiet Glen. It has tunes with titles like "La Cosa Mulligan" and "Don't touch that Green Linnet" which express his feelings about record companies pretty clearly.
You can find it in shops in Ireland or apparently buy it by mail order directly from Tommy. It's a good album overall, with a fair sprinkling of fancy tunes in which Tommy shows of his technique. You get to hear him playing the monster and very popular fiddle reel he composed, "The green fields of Glentown". But since getting the CD I haven't listened to it often.
The point about the High Part of the Road being made on a hangover makes you wonder about the glorious days of recorded ITM in the 1970s. A friend of mine was making a film about tourism in Ireland as a college project and ended up in the studio while Keenan and Glackin's "Doublin'" was being recorded. They started at about midnight and both had a skinful. The producer wanted to capture a live sound, but found that the results were better if he recorded them separately.
At one point Keenan was in the studio and everyone else in the control room. A tremendous crash was heard and on looking up they saw that Paddy had fallen off his chair and was in heap on the floor with his pipes.
This sheds some light on the apology in the sleeve notes for the recording sounding rough and ready... It's a great record by the way.
He made two early LPs on the ITM equivalent of garage labels - one is called simply "Tommy Peoples", I believe, and is of solo playing, some of the tracks being recorded at a small gathering, with little bursts of applause and appreciation from the listeners. You'll probably never come across it except in the LP collection of some old f*rt like me (I don't have it though) but if you do, beg a recording of it.
The other was called "Tommy Peoples - Master Fiddle Player". It disappeared without trace but reappeared about 10 years ago on cassette published by a label called Ovation. I don't know if it's been made into a CD, but you just might be able to find it as a cassette in Irish gift shops - I saw it in one a while back. If you do, grab it.
This is simply tremendous music - Peoples is not in a particularly wild or excited mood, the playing is almost restrained and yet very lyrical. It's easy to tune out the ho-hum bodhran and guitar backing which, I read somewhere, was added on afterwards. I think I learned more about "the music" and fiddle playing from this album than any other.
Then there's the Shanachie album, High Part of the Road, with Brady. This is also tremendous, but in a very different way. Brady seems to wind Peoples up to fever-pitch. There's a two-sentence eulogy to Peoples in the original sleeve notes that puts it very well, saying something about the contrast between his recklessness and tenderness, his embracing life one moment and telling it to take a walk the next. It's music to freeze the blood one second and make it boil the next. The tone of the fiddle is extraordinary - it smoulders.
I read an interview with Peoples in which he said that the Shanachie album was made in a morning - starting at 9am on a morning when he and Brady had terrible hangovers after tying one on in New York City the night before.
The Iron Man isn't my favourite album by peoples - maybe because of Daithi Sproule's guitar backing. But Peoples shows his amazing gift for inventive melodic micro-variation in a number of tunes.
Apparently heartily sick of not earning money from his recordings, he released one on his own label a couple of years ago, The Quiet Glen. It has tunes with titles like "La Cosa Mulligan" and "Don't touch that Green Linnet" which express his feelings about record companies pretty clearly.
You can find it in shops in Ireland or apparently buy it by mail order directly from Tommy. It's a good album overall, with a fair sprinkling of fancy tunes in which Tommy shows of his technique. You get to hear him playing the monster and very popular fiddle reel he composed, "The green fields of Glentown". But since getting the CD I haven't listened to it often.
The point about the High Part of the Road being made on a hangover makes you wonder about the glorious days of recorded ITM in the 1970s. A friend of mine was making a film about tourism in Ireland as a college project and ended up in the studio while Keenan and Glackin's "Doublin'" was being recorded. They started at about midnight and both had a skinful. The producer wanted to capture a live sound, but found that the results were better if he recorded them separately.
At one point Keenan was in the studio and everyone else in the control room. A tremendous crash was heard and on looking up they saw that Paddy had fallen off his chair and was in heap on the floor with his pipes.
This sheds some light on the apology in the sleeve notes for the recording sounding rough and ready... It's a great record by the way.
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Cayden
In reaction to Steve above, I haven't really listened t othe Iron man in ten years or so, lps seem to disappear into the background but I remember it for the wonderfull subtle variations Peoples used on it.
The two others Steve mentions [or maybe two different ones again] are still available here as CD. One is sitting in the Cd drive at the moment, TmmyPoples Traditional Irish Music played o nthe fiddle [how's that for an original title]Trad HCD 008 issued by GTD Heritage recording Co. Galway 1993. Lovely stuff even with the accompianist on it. One track with daughter Siobhan [who has a new one of her own with Murt Ryan].
Custy's has it most of the time
On top of that there is a tape that acoompanied a fiddle book by Peoples, himself playing and Manus Lunny whacking the bouzouki in the background.
[edited to add CD details]
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-11-12 14:35 ]</font>
The two others Steve mentions [or maybe two different ones again] are still available here as CD. One is sitting in the Cd drive at the moment, TmmyPoples Traditional Irish Music played o nthe fiddle [how's that for an original title]Trad HCD 008 issued by GTD Heritage recording Co. Galway 1993. Lovely stuff even with the accompianist on it. One track with daughter Siobhan [who has a new one of her own with Murt Ryan].
Custy's has it most of the time
On top of that there is a tape that acoompanied a fiddle book by Peoples, himself playing and Manus Lunny whacking the bouzouki in the background.
[edited to add CD details]
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-11-12 14:35 ]</font>
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dlambert
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That's awesome guys. Thanks for the history and recommendations. What a great resource this board and its contributors are.
I asked the question about Peoples and Keenan because I have a CD with Tommy on it called The Maiden Voyage. A collection of tunes done session style in Pepper's Bar with Kevin Crawford and other notables. Simply amazing fiddle. I also have a CD by James Kelly, Traditional Irish Music, with Paddy Keenan on two tracks. Great stuff.
I asked the question about Peoples and Keenan because I have a CD with Tommy on it called The Maiden Voyage. A collection of tunes done session style in Pepper's Bar with Kevin Crawford and other notables. Simply amazing fiddle. I also have a CD by James Kelly, Traditional Irish Music, with Paddy Keenan on two tracks. Great stuff.
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ChrisLaughlin
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Cayden
He is I know, I tried to be careful about what I said, there were wilder times though and last week I got a whole rake of stories and adventures that took place during the late 70s, some hilarious stuff though maybe not all to go on-line. Liked the image of the nun running after the bike with the two on it coming down mainstreet Miltown.On 2002-11-12 11:10, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
By the way, Tommy is completely alcohol free these days - he's a cranberry juice or coffee kind of guy and he's inspired the rest of us to go easy on the drink. He's also one of the kindest, gentlest, most patient guys I know.
Best,
Chris
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boyd
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Drink and locomotive transport are never a good mix.
As a young man,my uncle got a job with a "breadman" driving round the countryside of County Derry in a van selling bread door to door. Worked for a character called Wilby Smith, a Derryman.
They wore big white coats and hats.
This was back in the late 50's.
Anyway, there was a heatwave, and the two of them were sweltered in their outfits.
Wilby kept on saying he "couldn't get air" because of the heat of the sun on the van, even with both windows screwed all the way down.
Even after a nice cool pint, he was still saying it over and over.
"I canny get air th'day, hi". It was annoying his passenger more than a wee bit.
My uncle Charlie leant back in his seat, put both feet up, and booted the windscreen, which promptly fell out as they drove along.
"There Wilby, is that enough f****** air for ye?"
I met Wilby again last year and he confirmed that this was a true story.
[Most of the others are not printable]
Thought I'd share it with you.
Boyd
http://www.strathspeyinmay.com
As a young man,my uncle got a job with a "breadman" driving round the countryside of County Derry in a van selling bread door to door. Worked for a character called Wilby Smith, a Derryman.
They wore big white coats and hats.
This was back in the late 50's.
Anyway, there was a heatwave, and the two of them were sweltered in their outfits.
Wilby kept on saying he "couldn't get air" because of the heat of the sun on the van, even with both windows screwed all the way down.
Even after a nice cool pint, he was still saying it over and over.
"I canny get air th'day, hi". It was annoying his passenger more than a wee bit.
My uncle Charlie leant back in his seat, put both feet up, and booted the windscreen, which promptly fell out as they drove along.
"There Wilby, is that enough f****** air for ye?"
I met Wilby again last year and he confirmed that this was a true story.
[Most of the others are not printable]
Thought I'd share it with you.
Boyd
http://www.strathspeyinmay.com