Customer Reviews

Celtic Tides [VHS]

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

 

 

I purchased this video because I already owned and enjoyed music by all of the artists involved. But, with two exceptions, had never seen them perform live or heard them talk about their music. This video filled-in those blanks spectacularly. It blends beautiful scenes from the three primary Celtic strongholds (Ireland, Scotland and Canada's Cape Breton Island) with artist interviews and concert footage. The musical lineup includes The Chieftains, Loreena McKennitt, Clannad, Mary Black, Altan, Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, The Rankin Family, Capercaillie, Dougie MacLean, Seamus Egan, Mary Jane Lamond and Old Blind Dogs. This is the first video production from the excellent world music label, Putumayo and I hope they continue. The overall production values are solid, the editing is crisp and the storyline holds together well. Each of several narrative segments are introduced by one of the musical Rankin sisters, all with enthusiasm and sincerity. Musically, we've all seen The Chieftains and Loreena McKennitt appear in the media recently. But "Celtic Tides" provides us the opportunity to view such individuals as Ashley MacIsaac (an intense fiddler who has been labeled the king of "Grunge Celtic" by his fans and critics), Natalie MacMaster (who's shown step dancing while simultaneously performing a fiery fiddle solo) and Karen Matheson (the lead singer of Scottish group Capercaillie, who has universally been described as having the most beautiful voice in contemporary music). I would recommend this video to hard-core Celtic music fans and those "newbies" who were introduced recently by such mainstream vehicles as "Riverdance", "Titanic" and Michael Flately. I only have two minor quibbles. First, I would have loved to see it last longer (it clocks in at 50 minutes). And I would have really enjoyed seeing more of my favorite Celtic artists (Leahy, Solas and Connie Dover, for instance). But,those two points aside, I really got my money's worth from this video.

This video is a showcase for a variety of Celtic artists. The best part of the DVD is the music and the interviews... unfortunately, it is the worst part as well. While the music, interviews, and aritsts are all credible, the video never gives us even one complete tune. So if you're looking for a good cross section of modern Celtic aritsts from Great Britian and Canada, and you don't mind the snippets of music, this may suffice. If you are looking for the music, you may be disappointed.

I've bought this DVD and have enjoyed it over and over. I'm a fan of the music of Capercaillie, Altan, Loreena McKennitt, Mary Jane Lamond, the Rankins and others, but this DVD provides a chance to see and hear them talk about their music. If you want a concert video, DON'T buy this DVD--the music is fragmented between the interviews and there are no complete numbers. But if you already know the music of these artists and want to know more about them, this is the DVD for you. Watching it is particularly poignant now that the Rankins have disbanded. They will be missed.

Like Reviewer Jon Mau, I feel disappointed and cheated with this DVD. I am a great fan of Celtic Music and expected something more than a documentary with snippets of music. OK for viewing ONCE, hardly something I would want to see again. "Very misleading packaging! '"

I bought the book that goes along with this DVD in Scotland a couple of years ago and realized that it was essentially interviews with some musicians from various streams of traditional Irish and Scottish music (including the Canadian versions). So I did not expect this to be a music DVD. I enjoyed it and have watched it several times. I like seeing the musicians in the native landscape and hearing them chat about various aspects of the tradition (I did fast forward through replays of one fellow who's a little too "out there" for my taste). This is a good DVD if you know what you're getting, and I also recommend the book of the same name. I also have the CD which goes with it and which is in fact, a musical compilation without interviews. I enjoy all 3. If you like any of these musicians, you'll like seeing them in an informal setting as portrayed in the DVD. If you just want the music, get the CD. If you just want to read what they have to say (in more detail), get the book.

This is an excellent way to acquaint the newer Celtic music fan with some of the current artists' style and material. There are samples of Irish, Scottish, and Canadian musicians' work, and the interviews with the musicians give different perspectives on Celtic music. Although I had heard of Capercaillie, the Chieftains, Mary Black, and Old Blind Dogs and knew some of their work, I found the best part of this very professionally done DVD was being introduced to many artists new to me: Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIssac, Seamus Egan, Mary Jane Lamond. This DVD opened the door for me to more Celtic music than I would have had access to otherwise. The opening recording of Cookie Rankin singing to Natalie MacMaster's "Drunken Piper" alone was worth the price of the DVD! Highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about Celtic music.

I enjoyed what was presented. I wanted more though. I liked the interviews but I was more drawn in by the sessions. Each group represented different aspects of Irish music. If you have ever been curious about Irish music and its roots, then this is required watching.

"A Musical Odyssey" this is not. It is more aptly labeled, " A Musical Travesty." Uninspired voiceovers mar every track on this disk. There is not a single track that is left complete. -Maddening. Buy this DVD only if you wish to infuriate yourself.

This DVD was useless. It had nothing to it. There was nothing that you could possibly get out of this DVD.