Corner Boys

Patrick Street | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 1996)
• Original Release Date: January 16, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Green Linnet
• ASIN: B000005CPT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,365 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Irish folk music consists of two distinct traditions--instrumental dance tunes played by a soloist and accompanist, and songs delivered by a vocalist and accompanist. It was only with the emergence of the Chieftains in the '60s that the concept that one group could handle both traditions took hold. Patrick Street--an all-star band composed of Bothy Band fiddler Kevin Burke, De Danann accordionist Jackie Daly, Planxty singer Andy Irvine, and Battlefield Band guitarist Ged Foley--achieves a near-perfect balance of dance tunes and songs. On the quartet's fifth album, Corner Boys, Burke and Daly forego all tentative and ornamental notes to carve out confident, surprising melodic variations in the instrumental medleys. With the possible exception of the Chieftains, there's no better Celtic-music group in the world right now than Patrick Street. --Geoffrey Himes

Product Description

Corner Boys by Patrick Street

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Harps No Angels, August 24, 2000

By 

Scott Brennan-Smith (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corner Boys (Audio CD)

I've never understood why the name Patrick Street is not on the lips of every Irish music fan as the outstanding proponent of the genre. Indeed they are, and indeed this album stands as the high point of their recorded output. From the intricate and textured arrangement of dance tunes (the interpay of fiddle, accordian, harmonica and mandolin as lead instruments with a dense and driving underpinning from guitar and bazouki) to the sweet and lyrical voice of Andy Irvine on songs he has composed from old ballads and verses, Patrick Street has managed to do what so many more bands have tried to do but failed: remain true to the melodic and ornamental traditions of Irish music while providing an exciting and updated approach to arrangement. There's not a tune or song here that doesn't stand out as a perfect synthesis of the old and new, but the centerpiece of the album is Irvine's elaborate "Pity the Poor Hare" suite, based around his own intricate bazouki style. Irvine has elsewhere utilized the narrative of the hunt to embody the fate of the Irish throughout their tortured history (The Creggan White Hare, for instance), and on this album the effort is every bit as convincing. It is the overlooked song on an overlooked album by a generally overlooked band. The problem, perhaps, is that Patrick Street is so consistently good that people may take them for granted. Sad that we can feel disappointed when we cannot be surprised by yet another brilliant effort. Perhaps Patrick Street is too much the real thing; it is certainly not the new age harps and angels people seem to expect from "celtic" music. Thank heavens.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bretons got no luck at all., April 20, 2001

By 

Creighton (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corner Boys (Audio CD)

Celtic music, especially the music of Bretagne, Ireland and Wales, celtic music touches the heart with smiles. It's better to cry one's tears in laughter than in pain.

When I first saw this CD, 'twas in a bin of forgotten treasures (the cut-out bin! OK!).

Just buy it. If you don't like it, I'll buy a pint for you in any proper pub within, within a robust trek to the tavern!

c