In Concert [Live]

Clannad | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Shanachie
• ASIN: B000000E6Y
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,154 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bhean A Ti

2. Fairies Hornpipe Off To California

3. Neansai Mhile Gra

4. Mhaire Bruineall

5. Planxty Burke

6. An Giobog

7. Down By The Sally Gardens

8. Nil Se'n La

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Live Performance of Folk-Era Clannad!, August 6, 2000

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Concert (Audio CD)

The music featured in this live album by Clannad back before they went contemporary and became internationally famous is mostly Gaelic folk oriented, and is a wonderfully acoustic treat featuring with all the amazing virtuosity this very musically-talented extended family of sisters, brothers and uncles from a small village in rural Ireland is noted for. Although I enjoy their newer work, I am always drawn back to this particular album as well as several other folk albums they produced in the late 1970s. From the opening frets of the traditional ballad "Bhean A Ti" to the stirring instrumental "Fairies Hornpipe Off to California" to the evocative and dramatic "Neansai Mhile Gra" sung with singular emotion by Maire O'Brennehan, this album showcases the group at the apex of their folk powers, and they never make a false step here.

My own personal favorites are "Planxty Burke", a wonderful harp instrumental work written by a legendary Irish harpist named Paulin O'Carolin, and "Down By The Sally Gardens", which is a poem by William Butler Yeats put memorably to melody in this cautionary song sung both in English and Gaelic about the fateful dangers of not living one's life in the present moment. The final song, "Nil Se'n La", is the group's signature song, their first hit, and is a gorgeously improvised Gaelic song with an extended instrumental section. All of the songs included are wonderful, and I was lucky enough to see a well-produced BBC production of the concert including these as well as other songs caught live over the airwaves of BBC-1 when I lived near London for a while in the early 1980s. Whenever I hear the album I remember the gorgeous Celtic countryside and the time I spent in Galway along the Irish coastline. This is authentic Gaelic folk music at its best! Enjoy

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly clear gaelic vocals, January 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In Concert (Audio CD)

I was given a recording of this album years ago and it continues to be one of my all-time favorites. It's simple. It's unpretentious. It dips into jazzy fusion at points, but, being a concert album...and a small venue it must have been....there's little in the way of 'theatrical' tricks with the sound mixing. All we hear is pure, clear music crowned by heavenly female vocals......I recommend all Clannad fans buy this album in order to understand Clannad.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spaceflights over Glens and Bens, June 9, 2009

By 

PHILIP S WOLF (SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In Concert (Audio CD)

When I discovered the music of Clannad in the mid-eighties, while living in Northern Scotland...I discovered musical riches.

This live CD of the early days of the band, is my favorite recording from this western Irish family of two brothers, one sister snd two cousins. With the fantastic vocals of: Maire N i Bhraonain, front and center surrounded by a million strings, reeds and percussion, this timeless music from the Emerald Isle. These tunes are as clear and sparkling as a mountain stream. Most of the songs are in the gaelic tongue, and the music is a cross between ancient and modern stylings.

The music performed is so happy and free that you forget just how tight and precise this musical family plays. To call this music: "uplifting" would be an understatement. This CD is a joy to listen to, and it it always sounds fresh and new, everytime I play it. And there is a surprise with the very last track on this disc: "Nil Se'n La" that is a 10 minute workout of rock & jazz, that sounds like a Jethro Tull tune streched to the outer limits of the galaxies....Amazing music, my only wish would be to hear more of what these wonderful musicians produced for their concerts.
Five Stars !!!