Wish I could play like Mike... In his defense.

David Levine · Post by **David Levine** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:25 pm

Say what you will-- the album is overproduced, in bad taste, Flatley is too fat and too rich.... still, I wish I could play like Mike. His tone is perfect, his timing is exquisite, the tempo is restrained and lovely. He is a consumate player. And by the way, he plays an old Rudall.
His version of Ms. McCloud's is gorgeous.... once you get past the synthesizer and electronic stuff. I hope the rest of the new CD is not overproduced.
Mike Rafferty, The Great One, likes Flatley very much. Listen to the cut one more time and try to hear what he is doing on the flute. Then tell me you wouldn't want to play like that.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:31 pm

Yes, the guy is a great flute player. Seamus Tansey regards him highly.

Jack Bradshaw · Post by **Jack Bradshaw** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:32 pm

Are they good stereo tracks ? Maby we could cut the trash out ?

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:34 pm

I wis I could play like Mike too. That remids me of that old saying (well not that old) Like Mike you states people know.

meemtp · Post by **meemtp** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:35 pm

It's a shame he's wasting his talent like that. He's already made a boatload, it's not like he has to sell out now to survive. He'd lose nothing by doing a nice pure drop album.

Corin

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:36 pm

meemtp · Post by **meemtp** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:39 pm

Kindred spirits

Corin

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 3:11 pm

I guess he's not fat anymore; he says that at 46 he's now in the best shape he's ever been in his life and has lost a ton of weight, gone on a diet and hired a personal trainer. I guess it got to him when people started calling him Lard of the Dance.

I remember hearing him play and seeing him dance in the late 1970s in Chicago in a concert with Liz Carroll, and I was blown away.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 3:40 pm

OOOOOOOOOK, you're right, but STILL. A good slagfest is so much fun, especially when the target is so rich and famous .... it's all I've got to keep me warm thru my endless cold nights of pathetic non-entity-ness.

Speaking of ripping flute playing, BTW, has anyone heard Frankie Gavin on "Fierce Traditional"? Yes, Frankie Gavin, on the flute ..... there's a man I *really* wouldn't mind playing like. In fact, he & Flatley kind of have a similar tone ...

Post by **Nanohedron** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 4:18 pm

David Levine wrote:Listen to the cut one more time and try to hear what he is doing on the flute. Then tell me you wouldn't want to play like that.

It was only a matter of time before someone started this thread.

I would love to have MF's abilities (a goal to work toward indeed), but in reference to the resurrected "Michael Flatley" CD, no, I wouldn't really want to play like that. Seriously. Especially the airs. He's a fabulous technician at reels, still and all. I listened well to his rendering of Miss McLeod's and thought it was something worth learning from. He shifted to the key of A after all, too. Probably no big shakes for any player better than I, and I trust they are many.

RudallRose · Post by **RudallRose** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 6:40 pm

Cathy, you're so right about Frankie. (he used to use a Patent Head Rudall)
He's got two albums out with his flute playing.
I got to play with him ....actually right next to him.....a couple years ago when he was here. That was fun. Our styles are quite different, but it was a blast (same as with Linda Hickman just recently, in fact!).
Anyway, Frankie is a terrific professional who pays incredible attention to tone on the flute. He's very much into airs now, as well as researching the sources and history of what he's playing.
If you've never seen him in person, he is truly a great entertainer who will have you laughing so hard you pee in your pants. A wonderful man for sure.
dm

ChrisLaughlin · Post by **ChrisLaughlin** » Wed Sep 08, 2004 9:52 pm

In my experience, Flatley and Frankie have more in common than their styles of playing flute.

Chris

treeshark · Post by **treeshark** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 2:40 am

He is outrageously talented, during the rehearsals of Lord of the D' he danced and played amazingly, but I also remember him turning up in not one but 3 supercars (two driven by assistants) once they were all parked up for us to admire he sent his bodyguard (Six foot four blond and CIA trained, oh, and female and georgeous.) over to tell us not to get paint on them. After three weeks we all, cast and crew were not at all fond of him, we were however very fond of the money he paid us... no wait sec now I remember the money. He's a great guy I take it all back. Oh and all the critics should remember he is also a pro standard boxer!

johnkerr · Post by **johnkerr** » Thu Sep 09, 2004 5:38 am

I haven't been able to listen to these latest Flatley clips, so I can't really comment on them. But for those of you who have heard them, I'm wondering. Has Flatley solved the problem he used to have of playing flat in the upper register? I remember seeing comments from him years ago that yes, he knew it was a problem, but try as he would he was not able to find a way around it. I'm not slagging his playing here, as it's purely a matter of taste, so just let me say that for a Golden Gloves boxer and champion stepdancer, he's not a bad flute player. Obviously he was able to keep his lip intact during his boxing days, and that's no small accomplishment!

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 1:32 am

If this thread is meant to restore a balance that was needed after the more critical thread, I really can't see the point of it. I didn't read all of that thread carefully, it wasn't that kind of thread, but I didn't notice people claiming that Flatley is untalented. What I noticed was people complaining that someone that talented should waste his talent on projects so obviously in bad taste. To the best of our knowledge he doesn't need the money. So, what's up?

The situation reminds me of Elvis Presley. He didn't need the money, the colonel didn't need the money, but out came the product. One movie sound track clocked in at about 13 minutes. RCA charged the faithful punters full price of course.

With Presley it wasn't cynicism on his part. His best performances and the early tracks he chose to cover and how he chose to cover them all tesitfy to his having extraordinary ability and good taste. So it was easy to see the later schlock as a product of manipulation. We now know that was wrong. Elvis loved schlock all along. He wanted to be an 'all round' entertainer which, in his day, meant appealing to people who know absolutely nothing about music. As far as taste goes, he just seems to have been schizoid. In the same heart and mind, the great taste and the schlock coexisted and often, when the chips were down, he preferred the latter. And the chips are usually down in Vegas.

I think a lot of us see something like this at work in Michael Flatley and I don't see why anybody should be accused of sour grapes for saying so. If you didn't regard bloated Elvis in jump suit doing karate kicks for Vegas matrons as sad for a man of his talent you would be demented. Or, to put it more kindly, I'd wonder if you had noticed what talent the man really had if you didn't lament the fact that he so often chose not to use it.

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Wish I could play like Mike... In his defense.

Wish I could play like Mike... In his defense.

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