1975: The First Album

The Bothy Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 26, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: MULLIGAN RECORDS
• ASIN: B0014GFHPW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,046 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Folk > British & Celtic Folk > Celtic Folk
  • #84 in Music > Folk > British & Celtic Folk > Irish Folk

Editorial Reviews

The electrifying fiddler Tommy Peoples, making his first and only recorded appearance with The Bothy Band, propels the group through a brilliant selection of jigs, songs, and especially reels. This album shows why, without question, The Bothy Band has been often imitated, but never topped.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bothies vs. Planxty vs. Altan, October 13, 2001

By 

kbwong (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Album: 1975 (Audio CD)

To amplify a bit on the two reviews that clashed a bit:

It's important to remember that the Bothies and Planxty were pioneers at the time. They each added to the tradition in different ways. The Bothy Band added a drive and percussive sound that has come to be identified with Irish traditional music -- indeed, many people who only know the more modern bands and artists such as Lunasa and Altan are almost shocked to hear the pure-drop stuff now, as it generally has no accompaniment like guitars or bodhrans or basses or such. Each were pioneers in the 70's and changed much about the face of traditional Irish music.

Altan, now, is a wonderful band. Paddy Keenan said (in a Irish Music Magazine interview in Sept. 2000) that it's groups like Altan and Dervish that are now holding open the door, "opening the gateways, bringing the music to new audiences and putting their own mark on it, which is the way the tradition should evolve."

Irish traditional musicians and fans Who Know still revere and love The Bothy Band. Without The Bothies and Planxty, groups like Altan and Dervish arguably could not exist.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Very Best of the Celtic Millennium, December 18, 1999

By 

Sheila M. Phelan (Stamford, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Album: 1975 (Audio CD)

If the Bothy band ever announces a reunion gig in Ireland, I'll be on the fastest plane over there. Like the Beatles, they didn't have many years together, but what years they were, and what an influence they had! Their music became the benchmark for anything "celtic" that came after it. You simply can't own a collection of Irish music without including the Bothy Band.

I still remember hearing their first album for the first time back in 1977. I envy any of you the sense of exhileration you feel when you discover something real. You won't look back.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the classics, May 21, 1998

By 

P. Lozar "plozar" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Album: 1975 (Audio CD)

The Bothy Band lasted only a few years in the mid-1970's, but its influence on contemporary Irish music is indelible. Its personnel went on to distinguished careers: the O Domhnaill brother-and-sister team anchored the groups Relativity and Nightnoise, Tommy Peoples (who appeared with the Bothies on this album only) made a number of solo and duo recordings, Kevin Burke (who succeeded him) has recorded with several groups including his own Patrick Street, and Matt Molloy joined the Chieftains. This recording captures a group of outstanding musicians just coming into their own individually, and the combination is electric. As the late Frankie Kennedy of Altan remarked, they played the tunes straightforwardly, but "they had the fire in their bellies" ... and it's nowhere more evident than on this album.