Customer Reviews

The Best of Altan

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm an Irish music snob and tend to shun any band that gets too much attention. So I avoided Altan for a long time until I finally picked up this collection. I couldn't have been more wrong about them. Traditional and high-spirited without being too pop. Highly recommended.

I bought this recording having done very little research on the group, but I knew enough about them to know that what I was getting myself into was special. This quintet has the unbelievable ability to alternate between any style of music: love songs sung in gaelic, mazurkas, ballads, vocals, instrumentals-- they do it all. Another pleasant surprise which is not printed on the case is that the recording comes with a bonus live CD that contains another 7 or 8 songs. As an enthusiast of the sound of "live" music, I was thrilled with the bonus CD. I can listen to this CD no matter what mood I am in, and the end result is always the same: pure happiness.

I'm knew to the celtic world and have been diving into buying my music without even knowing what they sound like or whether I'll like them or not. This one I got lucky. I really like this group and album. It took me a few listens to appreciate them but when I did I really did. If your anything like me (and are new to the celtic world) then I recommend this one. It'll make you wanta search for other celtic groups. Altan changes it around pretty well Their instrumentals sound like "blue grass" (Where do you think blue grass got it's roots?) and the singing it'll either make you feel like dancing a jig or holding your love one in your arm. It's never depressing though only either beautifully done or knee slapping good. Give it a shot.

As retrospectives go, this is a good one, and captures the pace that Altan brings to a regular release. The entire history is represented here, at least as it was distributed by Green Linnet. The early trio date with Frankie, Mairead and Ciaran Curran through the final formation as sextet before Frankie's passing with the additions of Ciaran Tourish, Daithi Sproule and Dermot Byrne are well represented. The weaker points come from "Horse With a Heart" which has something missing in Phil Cunningham's production, though I am hard pressed to say what it is that's missing.
Perhaps the element of personnel flux is at its most vulnerable during these early days, as Paul Shaunnesy and Mark Kelly were sometimes on and sometimes off because of their day jobs. It really wasn't until "The Red Crow" that Frankie and Mairead made the decision to leap forward with this band as their career, and it is with that release that Altan really catches fire.
The shadows of Johnny Dougherty, Con Campbell, James Byrne and Robert Cinnamond loom large in the soul of this band, and in no uncertain terms they took the Donegal-Ulster tradition of Irish music and carried it from the back bothrins of Gaoth Dobhair to front and center in the Irish Cultural Renaissance of the 80's and 90's.
But, the real gem here is the limited edition version that carried a live CD with it. Having promoted them live in Philadelphia 4 times, once at my own establishment that is wonderfully recorded on tape as well as shows at Bluett Theatre, whose video capture by Drexel University is just breathtaking, I can tell you that Altan is a Very Different Beast LIVE. No quarter is asked or given. It's all hell for leather and the sheer dynamics of this band wrung you out emotionally, left you dancing ecstatically like some Celtic Dervish or Gaelic Pentacostalist. Their passion live has surely been responsible in part for the Irish American baby boom of the last decade! Green Linnet presents a great, great snippet of their live material, which underscores the whole issue that somewhere, someone, everyone should be hammering IMN, their management company, to get a live box set out, live DVD out, especially of the years helmed by Frankie. The Cabin John appearances in the early days of the DC Irish Folk Festival, following Ashley Mac Isaac, were perfomances of legend. Not to be outdone by the peripatetic Mac Isaac, Frankie and Mairead rose to the challenge and left a crowd of dazed enthusiasts in sheer joyful abandon. Roll the tapes forward and appearances at The National Geographic Society, Wolf Trap, following The Rankins and Natalie Mac Master, are all very possibly the greatest festival performances ever given by any band. Think Duke Ellington at Newport! Their performance here at Duffy's with Mearta Wagar and Brid Ni Chostelloe is still talked about and all I can tell you is that these tapes are the most precious things in my life. I've given you direction where to get some of the masters, so get on with it! This is a band whose every burp should be documented, especially live. Irish music was never this good before and it will never reach these heights whenever they finally hang up their bows and pocket their plectrums.
If record companies and management companies still drop the ball, go catch them live, even if you have to book airfare to Ireland. They have always been and remain the best. Look up "keepin it real" in the dictionary: Altan invented it.

Skilled, practiced, perfectly executed fast reels and jigs. The best version of Dulaman I've ever heard. The bonus CD crackles with the freshness only live performances can give, and I have been known to play track 1 (Con Cassidy's/Neil Gow's Highland/Moll and Tiarna/McSweeney's) as many as seven times in a row. Lovers of Riverdance will love this CD.

While I've casually enjoyed Celtic music when I've heard it on the radio or performed at folk festivals, this recording by Altan, and another called "Blackwater," turned me into a real fan.

With roots firmly planted in the traditional music of Ireland and using traditional acoustic instruments, Altan is not above giving a more contemporary groove or chording to some of these delightful and energetic tunes. No drums or electric bass here, but who needs 'em? This group always lifts my spirits and sets my toe to tapping. Highly recommended!

Altan is a beautiful example of TRUE Celtic folk music! It is often hard to find artists who posess the passion and talent of true Celtic music. And Altan, especially on this album, shows us all aspects of this genre's face. From the fast, up-beat reels, to Mairead's beautifully sung lullabies, The Best of Altan is sure to keep your spirit soaring, and your feet dancing!

When I first dove into cultural music, I began with Varttina, a Finnish group. Then I found Altan, and they're absolutely wonderful. The fiddles, the pipes, the mellow voice of the female, I love it all. Celtic music is truly great.

ALWAYS LOVED ANYTHING CELTIC...THIS BRINGS FIRE, PASSION,ROMANCE,COURAGE,,AND THE HISTORY OF THE IRISH PEOPLE TO LIFE...ALTAN AGAIN HAS BROUGHT FORTH ANOTHER WINNING CD...

A gift from a friend when I badly needed a lift, this album is fun, beautifully performed, and wonderful for any lover of celtic music.