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Big Beef Music Review

By Tim

Click to Hear Gaelic StormAs the month of March winds down and St Patricks day falls farther and farther into the past, my mind wanders to the green fields, the quaint cottages, and tiny pubs of Ireland. Although I have never been to the Island I still am drawn to the culture and history of the place. The people, their past, and their culture has a mysterious lure. Or maybe it is just the accent (joke). Regardless, this feeling caused me to buy some Celtic music nearly two years ago. I liked the music so much that I now have about seven Celtic music cd's. I would like to share the best of them with you today.

Celtic music is a fine mixture of a musical instruments that are not common in the rock bands of America. I am not sure that I can name them all, so here are a few: a fiddle, mandolin, tupan, harmonica, etc. Most of Celtic music, to varying degrees, sounds like a mixture between American music during the Civil War and the music of Western Asia. Well, enough of the history lesson. One of the best Celtic/Irish albums that I have ever heard was put out by Gaelic Storm. The album is named for the band and was released in 1998 under the Higher Octave Music, Inc. record label. This is the first release for the band and is just awsome. For those who recognize the name or the music, Gaelic Storm was cast as the 'Steerage Band' for the movie Titanic.

The music played by GS is a pure Irish sound and is closer to Civil War music than to the more mystic sounds of Asia. All the songs are upbeat and quick. The album is mixed with vocals and instrumentals. The vocals singable and the instrumentals hummable. I don't think I can do it justice so I will use the words of the band from the cd jacket:

This is ocean music: tough weatherworn pieces brought together in new ways...tunes for dancing and carousing; shanties; songs about love, whiskey, and homesickness. All rough and sweet with plenty of thump. We have one hell of a good time playing this stuff...and hope it is half as fun to listen to. Maybe we will see you down at the pub some time..

Track four is about cider so do not be suprised if you here at this year's Cidernationals in October.

Enough said. I rate this album five BB & B's and can say that it is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. The songs are catchy and singable, they may even give you a laugh or two if you listen close enough or sing loud enough.

This album is available at most cd stores in the $15.00 to $17.00 range. Visit CDNow through the link on this websight and listen to and order the cd for $12.

Ranking:   out of 5 BB&B's.

 

Listen to Gaelic Storm

Rankings


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