I was watching Transatlantic Sessions 4 and wanted to strangle Allison Moorer et alia for the wrecking job they did on Carrickfergus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNEgKGEDfOk
Tell us something.: Love playing trumpet and modern flute at church as well as Irish trad flute in a band. Been playing Irish trad and 18th century period music for about 15 years.
BigDavy wrote:I was watching Transatlantic Sessions 4 and wanted to strangle Allison Moorer et alia for the wrecking job they did on Carrickfergus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNEgKGEDfOk
It is amazing how good players and musicians can destroy a perfectly good song for you.
David
I'd agree with your opinion of Raglan Road, but I thought the Carrickfergus rendition was lovely. It may be a little slower than I'm used to, but I really liked it. The steel guitar gives a nice counterpoint to the pipes, too. Diff'rent strokes, I guess...
As Martin Carthy once observed, the worst thing you can do to a traditional song is not sing it.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
Mention of the Carthy dynasty reminds me of the worst travesty of a great song ever committed. Listen to Nic Jones' sublime singing of "Ten Thousand Miles" (if you can get hold of a copy of the album "Noah's Ark Trap," and, if you can't, write a very nasty letter to a certain Mr Dave Bulmer), then listen to Eliza Carthy's absolute murdering of the song. You really do need to hear both before judging the latter, to be fair to Ms Carthy, otherwise you won't know what you're missing.
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
To be honest, I frequently find something missing from Ms Carthy's music. I regularly find myself impressed by her talent and underwhelmed by her taste, but she does have her fans, I suppose.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
plunk111 wrote:
I'd agree with your opinion of Raglan Road, but I thought the Carrickfergus rendition was lovely. It may be a little slower than I'm used to, but I really liked it. The steel guitar gives a nice counterpoint to the pipes, too. Diff'rent strokes, I guess...
Pat
it went on for ever! we were fast-forwarding it on i-player hoping they would do somthing a little more up-beat after it and then the credits rolled
Then again - our house has a bit of a hate-hate relationship with that song.
I only ever want to hear Luke Kelly singing Raglan Road, just like I only ever want to hear Shane McGowan singing Pair of Brown Eyes (sorry, Christy) and like I only ever want to hear Jacqueline Du Pré playing the Elgar cello concerto. Purely subjective notions I know!
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
I really like Sinead O'Connor's version of Raglan Road. It is beautifully sung, and she keeps it simple. I really like the version of the Chieftains album, Tears of Stone. I don't know who the singer is, but it is a beautiful rendition.
"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." John Bunyan
Nah. Neither of those. Where's the grit, the soul, the scorned lover's anger and arrogance! The angel and the clay! The delusion!
"Last night, among his fellow roughs,
He jested, quaff'd and swore."
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the life that'll never, never die.
I'll live in you if you'll live in me -
I am the lord of the dance, said he!
Tell us something.: I'm a fiddler and, latterly, a fluter. I love the flute. I wish I'd always played it. I love the whistle as well. I'm blessed in having really lovely instruments for all of my musical interests.
Location: Unimportant island off the great mainland of Europe
