Customer Reviews

Coolfin

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Donal Lunny has assembled a group of top Irish performers - and produced a record that is about the best in contemporary (but based on traditional) Irish music. Ireland is riding the crest of an economic boom right now. There is an accompanying wave of Irish culture sweeping the world: in dance, film, theatre and music. I would regard this as cutting edge music - and representative of the new confidence and joie-de-vivre in Ireland. Irish music has moved with the times, away from the sentimental stuff that may be more familiar in the USA. Try this.

Donal Lunny is an icon in the Celtic music industry and not for small favors. A virtuoso musician in what was, arguably, one of the best Celtic bands of all time (The Bothy Band), he was also instrumental in introducing musicians who have subsequently become the best of the best. Altan and Sharon Shannon head up a very long list. With the popularity of Riverdance has come an upsurge of Celtic music (a quick trip to any upscale music store and you'll concur) and with it a whole lot of those "get on the bandwagon with whatever we can" CDs. Those people who have had an interest in the genre for a time will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff. Those who have not will do well to start with this CD and move on to any of the other musicians listed in the credits. Stick with that path and you'll avoid the "200 of Irelands Top Tenors Sing Danny Boy" fare that, by comparison, is just taking up space on the shelves. This is the real deal, wire-to-wire: buy it!

Donal Lunny does it again: puts together a group of virtuoso musicians who play great solos AND play together as a tight ensemble. And they can play REALLY fast, too. Coolfin delivers traditional Irish and original tunes with spirt and virtuosity. The time changes made my jaw drop. The electric bass and drums pack a wallop and contribute to making the traditional music contemporary and fresh. Meanwhile, the band can also slow down and play some lovely original tunes. Nollaig Casey's fiddling on her tune, "The Mousekin Shoe", can carry you gently to a very nice place. An added plus on this cd is that you get to hear Triona Ni Dhomhnaill, a Bothy Band mate of Lunny's from the 70's, sing some more. Traditional Irish music won't stand still. Now go buy Sharon Shannon's "Spellbound", too, so you can hear more of the tunes Lunny and his friends play when she joins the band.

Highly recommended if you can still find it. A wonderful set of traditional tunes (not all Irish - Moldavia and Poland get a well integrated look-in) and Lunny originals given the odd boot by a modern rhythm section, rarely obtrusively so. What shines out are the passion and emotional tug of the outstanding soloists, fully in the Irish tradition. This is music with real roots, played with immense feeling - it's wholly modern and wholly Irish - in other words, it lives. On the fast reels the sense of a good pub jam comes irresistably across. I knew nothing about Donal Lunny and his illustrious status in Irish music, but was simply compelled to buy this CD simply through hearing an excerpt on the radio, which says in a way all you need to know about the quality of the music. The ultra-swinging "The Mouseskin Shoe and Dancing In Allihies" is worth the ticket price alone.

More great music from a talented veteran...Lunny has been around for a long time, but his music is as alive as it was 25 years ago.

GET THIS CD!! Not your traditional irish music, nor your antiseptic "Riverdance" clone either, Donal Lunny (veteran Bothy Band member and performing artist) has assembled some of the finest Irish performers around for this superb celtic band. My wife and I saw them live at the Iron Horse performance space in Northampton, MA (USA) last month. They put on a brisk and tasty show. My only complaint is that they are very heavy on percussion including traps, something I am not particularly fond of in any form of music other than rock & roll...but that's just me.

Heard this on NPR's Thistle and Shamrock and knew I needed this for the collection. One of those rare albums where all the tracks are worth listening to! Some great tracks with slow and fast complex rhythms played together that make these guys worth their musical weight. Includes a track featuring Eddi Reader, another favorite of mine... Definitely worth a listen to if you like the traditional Celtic instruments played alongside the modern in a contemporary Celtic fashion. Will certainly be on the lookout for more albums from this group!

Donal Lunny and the group that played "Coolfin" with him are absolutely phenomenal. I was lucky enough to see them live in a little town south of Shannon, Ireland about 8 years ago or so when they were touring around. I picked up "Coolfin" on the way out and it became my soundtrack to my Irish vacation. Songs like "Kickdancer" and "Glentown" make any other irish contemporary seem boring. Can't go wrong buying this for sure!

During my visit to a few local pubs in Dublin I began to appreciate the traditional Irish music played live there. Although the music in this CD has a different flavor than the music played live in the Dublin pubs, I can still recommend it. Lowlands of Holland is specially great.

I purchased this C.D. because of a lady violinist that was in this group then. Her name is Mairead Nesbitt. The most beautiful and talented lady violinist, I have ever had the pleasure and honor to meet. Whatever happened to her, you may ask? Well, now she is in another group of wonderfully talented singers & musicians. A group by the name... Of Celtic Woman. Thank you.