Y'all were probably wondering when I would weigh in, weren't you?DaleWisely wrote: I sometimes avoid defending Joanie Madden and CTL on this forum. I have a conflict of interest because Joanie is a friend.
I am pretty much in the same boat as Dale, as I value my friendship with Mary and Joanie much more than music, theirs or anyone else's.
chas wrote: I'm with Dub on CTL. I've seen them twice, ill-advisedly bought a couple of their discs, and they simply don't do a thing for me.
Take for example my EZFolk site. Dub and Chas probably wouldn't like it, but I'm OK with that. Yes, I know it's decidedly non-trad, heavy on the Carolans, and mostly recorded in two or three takes directly to the computer. Add to that, I'm no Mary Bergin and I'm also no Eric Clapton. Some listeners are probably saying "brilliant", while others are saying "how can this eejit call himself a musician?"DaleWisely wrote: And, of course, in matters of aesthetic taste, there's really no arguments to make: People are free to like or not like the music.
Anyway, I know of at least one appreciative listener here on this board.
I like CTL. I like Fairport Convention and Clannad, too.DaleWisely wrote: Joanie & CTL get attacked sometimes for not being traditional enough--the age-old debate about pure forms of a musical genre vs. more broadly- appealing approaches (and more commercial) applies here.
But, putting aesthetics aside, I'll just point out that no person(s) on the planet, in my opinion, with the exception of The Chieftains, is more responsible for public interest in Irish music than Joanie Madden. Among other things, there'd be no C&F had I not heard Joanie play.
All this having been said, allow me to weigh in on the original post:
I recorded the entire Imus show, then transferred it to another tape, keeping only the parts that had to do with CTL. Yes, I left both Imus comments on the tape, but it makes what happened on the last song even funnier. Dale, when you watch your recording again, please notice that the last song was one of those creepy old Elizabethan songs, and pay special attention to Heidi's and Joanie's facial expressions. When I played the tape back, with this song directly on the heels of Imus's second comment, and watched Heidi and Joanie, I nearly fell out laughing! I definitely think our Ladies got the last laugh in this situation.
So high-fives to the Ladies, and Joanie, if you're reading this, you can always count on my support. Love ya!
Slainte,
Jim