Chase The Ghost

The Indulgers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 16, 2004)
• Original Release Date: March 16, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Celtic Club Records
• ASIN: B0001IT0JS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,840 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

THE INDULGERS - COLORADO CELTIC MUSIC

Meeting in the state of Colorado in 1998 and bringing a vast array of different musical and life experiences to the band, the five members of the Indulgers have remained the same throughout the last five years. Singer/Songwriter Damien McCarron, was born in Dublin, Ireland where his father had moved to from Wishaw in Scotland to join the Guinness Brewing Company Choir and work at St. James Gate. Growing up, Damien identified with the culture of the Celts, and spent summers at Colaiste Lurgan in Connemara (County Galway) learning the language and traditions of Irish culture. Damien also spent summer months in Perth in Scotland getting a feel for both aspects of his heritage. Damien great-grand mother was Harriette Lavery, a strong force in Irish political circles in the early 20th century. Most of his family reside in the fishing village of Howth, north of Dublin in Ireland.

Multi-instrumentalist, Mike Nile moved home to Colorado after touring the world with the legendary Spirit and swapped his bass in for mandolin, accordion, whistles, electronic pipes and guitars. His grandfather hailed from Dublin and immigrated to the USA, first to San Francisco and then into Utah where Mike was born.

Renee Fine, hails from California and is a former member of the Boulder Philharmonic. Joining The Indulgers has opened a whole new world of bowing, that Renee excels at.

Pat Murphy and Chris Murtaugh are both long band mates who had moved to Colorado from Virginia independently of each other before reuniting to form the backbone on bass and drums. Pat was born in Albany and Chris in Chicago amongst many Irish neighbors giving them a firm feel for Celtic music and craic.

Being Colorado based, The Indulgers travel to all points in the USA, having appeared with Maura O’Connell, Dougie MacLean, Hothouse Flowers, Colm Hayes (Men At Work), The Smithereens, The Sawdoctors, Black 47, Wolfstone, Seven Nations, Young Dubliners, Glengerry Buoys and many other fine artists at festivals and venues in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and the Eastern states of the USA, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The Indulgers are the resident Celtic band of Las Vegas, Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins and will release a new CD "Chase The Ghost" in the new year.

The first release "In Like Flynn" garnered plenty of attention including Ethnic CD of the Year Award 2000 at Just Plain Folks and Celtic Song of the year for it's title track. The band also won the Hard Rock/Jim Beam Backroom Band Search for the Rocky Mt. Region and Westword’s World Music Award. The CD peaked at number #2 in Amazon.com’s, International Independent Chart.

2001, saw the release of "Tan & Black". The CD contained 12 new songs and a Celtic version of an old jazz standard, "What a Wonderful World", helping the band receive CitySearch.com's, "Denver's Best Band" Award.

In 2002, another release, "Celtic Tiger" with 13 new arrangements of songs of a classic, epic or storied nature that helped the band capture "Colorado Independent Band of The Year 2002", from Riff Magazine/Hapiskratch.com.

2003 and the fourth release, "High Road To Heaven" arrived, helping the Indulgers go from strength to strength. In 2003, some major appearances for the band included The Kansas City Irish Fest and Irish Fest 2000 in New York, Scottish Highland Games in Wyoming, Virginia, Las Vegas, Nevada and Colorado.

On March 11th, 2004 a fifth disc of twelve new songs will be released, "Chase The Ghost". Definitely the best CD to-date. Appearances in 2004 will include the ESPN televised Highland Games in Las Vegas and Memorial Weekend in Gaeilge Park, Chicago. The music of The Indulgers is widely played on U.S. College Radio, NPR affiliates, Web and Satellite radio stations.

The band has appeared on all network affiliates in Colorado and beyond. Internationally, The Indulgers are sup

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Indulgers Album Yet., March 25, 2004

By 

"myk-el" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chase The Ghost (Audio CD)

The fifth Indulgers album starts off very strong with the driving "One Forever." Strong Pat Murphy drums and a power chord most rock bands would kill for are present throughout. Somehow, multi-instrumentalist Mike Nile's accordion mixes into this musical force seamlessly. That is the brilliance of the Indulgers. They mix the new with the traditional and it all comes out intelligent and catchy.

The title track "Chase the Ghost" incorporates the odd choice of a hip-hop back beat with the flavor of funk on Chris Murtaugh's bass. Then we go to the beauty of "Sail Away." It features Damien McCarron's smooth vocals and the light touch of Renee Fine's fiddle. It's a delicate sound with pure lyrical poetry and layered instrumentation. Mike Nile and Neale Heywood (who plays guitar on "Sail Away") have tended to overproduce on the last two albums; at times, some of the feeling is lost on those recordings. This particular track is the best at showing that they seem to have found the right balance of using studio techniques while capturing the emotion that comes with their live performance.

"Molly & Me" is the song most familiar to Indulgers fans, as they debuted this one live a couple of months prior to release. The live arrangement hits the beat a little harder, so this is a little different from what the fans are used to live, but it's still a catchy number and fun to sing along to. "Feeling Fine" is the latest, and so far best, in a line of fine fiddle-oriented instrumentals. It makes me want to get up and step-dance, even though I don't know how. "Sirens" is pretty much guaranteed to remind folks living in the western US at the height of the drought in 2002 of the deadly wildfires across Colorado and rest the western US. It rings true and captures the emotion of that time well.

The second half continues with three more traditional-sounding numbers in "Loch Lomand's Arms," "Rain And On The Run" and "Tyburn Hill." "Let It Ride" is not a BTO cover. It gets funky on this one with a nice buzz from the digital electronic bagpipes, a.k.a. Buzzpipes. The pipes hook you and the bass line reels you in. It's the little touches of subtle guitar behind the bass and the play between the pipes and fiddle that bring this together.

The rulebook says to start strong and finish stronger. The last two tracks leave great feelings in their wake. "Dancing on the Tips of Your Toes" is a joyful dance song. Fiddle, vocals, flute and mandolin all rotate in and out, then team up to carry the tune home. It's great harmony and makes an upbeat, pretty little tune.

Last, we have a guest appearance of former Cosmic Pond lead singer Sara Moranville, who shares vocals with Damien. The song is "Promise That It Holds" and it's just beautiful. It sends chills up my spine. It has a hymn feel to it--the sort of emotional uplifting feeling your very best spiritual songs have. Neale Heywood also plays guitar on this song, contributing to the subtle use of guitar and keyboard throughout the song.

"Chase the Ghost" is the best Indulgers album to date. No bad songs exist on the album. The band should be congratulated for this effort.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indulger's Best Ever, March 19, 2004

By 

Ginger Curry (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chase The Ghost (Audio CD)

As a long time fan of The Indulgers, I have watched their music grow and expand both within the boundaries of the Celtic genre and out of it. Chase the Ghost, however, is their most well-rounded effort to date.

You'll get an lively image listening to the overall songs, but...listen to the lyrics to truly appreciate the band.

"Sail Away" is my favorite song on this CD but then I've always been a sucker for a well written ballad. "Sirens" is a moving tribute to the firefighters risking their lives battling fires in much of the southwest over the last few years. "Let It Ride" is a haunting, yet sensual song that stays with you long after you've listened to it. "Promise That It Holds" is a gorgeous duet with Sarah Moranville that calls to mind Scottish castles and pioneers. "Molly and Me" is a happy, upbeat, almost 60's pop-like song and "Dancing On The Tips of Your Toes" is guaranteed to have you on yours.

Indulger fans are familiar with the "Fine" songs on each CD so won't be surprised with "Feeling Fine" however, I personally think this is the best ever. And, even those of us without a jigging bone in our bodies will find it impossible to sit still.

If you like Celtic music, pop music, or just good music, give this one a listen.