Customer Reviews

Fire In The Head

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As this album attests, Emerald Rose's success is built on the energy of their live shows, which feature a perfect blend of good-time energy, enjoyable original songs, reverent interpretations of traditional tunes, and sheer comic playfulness. And it's all here on 'Fire in the Head.' Recorded in a small venue, this live album has a warm, intimate feel to it, with audience noise never distracting from the performance.

The CD opens with "Star of the County Down" and closes with "Donald McGillivry," anchoring the band in their contemporary interpretation of traditional standards. But most of the space on this CD is given to Emerald Rose's original tunes, all of which are memorable, danceable, and singable. Their signature song, "Freya Shakti" is greatly enhanced by the enthusiastic vocals of the audience. The band's harmonies shimmer on "Worlds Wedding" and "Merry Mayfolk," while "A Pict Song" resonates with the darker energies of the ancient outlaw Celts.

If you think that Celtic folk musicians take themselves too seriously, two show-stopping tracks on this CD will lay your anxieties to rest forever. "The Chicken Raid of Cymru" takes themes from Welsh mythology and, er, barbecues them. As clever and twisted as a Monty Python skit, this stream-of-consciousness song-story recounts an unfortunate event involving magic, trickery, and Celtic `warrior chickens.' It will amuse all listeners thanks to its sheer zaniness--although if you know Welsh myth enough to get the full impact of the joke, well, your side will hurt because it makes you laugh so hard. And then there's the "Vampire Girl from Orn." This bizarre excursion into the twilight zone of the science-fiction erotic underground sounds like something the B-52s should have recorded. If your kids hear it, be prepared to explain what `prosthetic' means. As playful as these comedy songs are, they point to a basic quality of this band: Emerald Rose knows how to have fun, and their audience loves them for it.

My only complaint about this CD is that it leaves the listener wanting more. As a single disc with a mere thirteen tracks, some of the band's best original tunes ("Penny in the Well," "Hills of America") are conspicuous in their absence. One can only hope that this means a second volume will appear down the road some day.

If you're new to Emerald Rose, this is a fine place to start. If you already know this band, you won't want to miss this CD.

Fire in the Head is my second ER CD (I own Bending Tradition as well), and I must say, it was a wonderful choice. The CD combines Celtic, Pagan, and some just plain weird songs in a wonderful combination of music. Also, as a lover of live CDs, I can appreciate the small audience interaction. For a quick review, this is an awesome CD!

Star of the County Down - Wonderful music and a nice little story to accompany it.

Fire in the Head - This is arguably the greatest track on the entire CD. This live version is about 300x better than the recorded one from Bending Traditions, and its virtues cannot be extolled enough. Absolutely amazing music combines with a Pagan theme to create one of ER's best songs.

World's Wedding - This song gets a bit slower, but Logan's voice is truly shown off. Although not among the greatest tracks on the CD, this is certainly a wonderful song.

Drowsy Maggie / Morning Invention / Green Groves of Erin - Fire in the Head's three-song collection of Celtic music. You just can't go wrong with it. Great music. Morning Invention especially is very exciting and fast-paced, with guitar, bodhran, and whistle.

Merry Mayfolk - This was one of my favorite songs from Bending Tradition, and I don't think that the live version meets the quality of the studio one. That said, it is still a good song to hear.

A Pict Song - A very slow and mournful song, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but rest assured that you will enjoy hearing it.

Vampire Girl from Orn - Opening with "That doesn't sound very Celtic", this is definitely among the oddest songs I've ever heard (though admittedly, Chicken Raid of Cymru beats it). This is a funny story of an alien vixen who lands in a small town. Very funny, and VERY enjoyable. I especially love the way in which certain lyrics are said, that adds a whole new level to the song. This is certainly among my favorite songs on the entire CD.

Summerland - This is a more serious song that is more of a ballad than a folk song. And while it's not among the CD's best, this track is still very enjoyable to hear.

Call Me Home - If there was one song that I had to say was my least favorite, this would be it. Featuring mostly a singer, it just doesn't hold my interest. It's not nearly as exciting as some of the other songs, and while the music is good, the lyrics don't hold my attention.

Never Underestimate - A small combo of a good song and a bit of social commentary, this is the story of a Christian who comes to a Pagan gathering and tries to preach to them. A catchy tune with a little humor thrown in, this song is also among my favorites.

Chicken Raid of Cymru - The single weirdest song I've ever heard. Ever. This is also the longest track on the CD. This is the story of a Celtic warrior who fights with "a teeny weeny little itsy bitsy wooden shield, and a chicken." It's full of lunacy, and though it doesn't stand out in its lyrics or music, the comedic commentary more than makes up for this.

Freya, Shakti - This song will likely become a staple of Wiccan learning at some point in the future. As if the studio version was not powerful enough already, this live version adds the energy of an audience into it. I still shiver everytime I hear the live version. There are no words to express how wonderful this song is, and I cannot recommend hearing it enough.

Donald McGuillivray - A great song. The lyrics are nice and musical, but the true catch of this track is the music. The drums here are absolutely amazing. The vocals also simply have the sound that fits perfectly with this sort of song. Another great song.


All in all, this is another CD that I can listen to nonstop, several times over. I cannot recommend it enough.

Some bands are better in the studio, and some are better live. Emerald Rose is great either way, but they shine their brightest when playing to a live audience. I own all of their CDs, and they are all wonderful, but this one captures more of the energy and zest of their live concerts.
Yes, many of these songs (not all of them) are available on studio recordings. Personally i like to listen to both versions, live and studio, but the energy and tempo in this CD really make you wan to get up and dance... or fall over laughing...
The songs on this CD range from traditional Celtic songs, although played with more energy and beat than i usually hear, (Star of the County Down)to the comedic (Chicken Raid of Cymru).
There are some of the obviously Pagan songs like "Freya Shakti", "Summerland" and "Never Underestimate" as well as the wonderfully funny, very weird, "Vampire Girl from Orn", so this isn't the CD to play for your non-Pagan-friendly friends or family.

(If you want a CD that is NOT obviously Pagan from them, i suggest "Celtic Crescent" which has more of the traditional folk songs on it)

These 4 are from my county and I get the luxury of seeing them live fairly regularly. For those not from around here, this CD is a remarkably close second. It lives in the CD player in the truck. It's got great renditions of traditionals like "Star of the County Down" paired with the zanier creations of Larry, "The Chicken Raid of Cymru" and "The Vampire Girl from the Planet Orn"

All of them are incredible pieces of art, have alot of engery behind them and are fun to boot. Not to mention they stick in your head for days.

Get this cd. Enough said

Wonderful celtic music with a back beat and an actual lyric, not just screaming. marvelous and highly recommended; matter of fact, I always buy
whatever ER releases, I love them that much.

Anyone familiar with Emerald Rose knows that, good as their recorded music is, it doesn't hold a candle to seeing them live. This cd comes close, though, capturing some of the mad energy that makes their shows such a blast. From the top, then:

1) Star of the County Down: is this the only traditional song on the cd? I think it might be; I'd have to recheck Donald McGillivray. Regardless, I love this arrangement of one of my old favorites. It's a good bit faster than I'm used to (I usually hear this one sung slow and gentle, for some reason); the word "sprightly" comes to mind. The pennywhistle intro sets the tone, not just for this song, but for the whole cd.

2) Fire in the Head: fire in the blood! This song is sheer energy, with a driving beat and someone doing something interesting and complicated on a drum in the background. The lyrics are resonant with myths that I almost know, I should know, but I don't quite. (They're on the tip of my brain, so to speak.) It's tantalizing.

3) World's Wedding: it took me a long time to warm up to this song. I don't really know why; it just never caught me. It was always the one I skipped past when listening. It was the lyrics that finally won me over; I saw them online and was hooked. Then, of course, I had to listen to the song, really listen, so I could learn the lyrics, and of course once I did that I adored it. It's slow and very beautiful, half love song and half paean to the turning of the seasons, with vivid, poetic imagery.

4) Drowsy Maggie, etc.: starts off stately, picks up quickly. If you don't want to dance by the end of this one, get your feet checked. (An aside: I usually don't have the patience for instrumentals. Emerald Rose seems to be the exception to this.)

5) Merry Mayfolk: this is so my Beltaine song! It's upbeat, it's playful, it's funny, and the underlying spiritual message is one I'm awfully fond of. On the surface, it seems to be poking fun at Christianity, and I know there are some sensitive souls that might find that offensive. To me, though, it came across as more lighthearted than mean-spirited - the way you might tease a brother or sister whom you love dearly but who needs to lighten up a little. (Incidentally, that's something I admire about this band. A lot of times I pick up on some thinly- or not-so-thinly-veiled hostility towards Christianity from the Pagan community; I've never gotten that sense from ER's music.)

6) A Pict Song: my fiance's favorite, this song is eerie, intense, and a little unsettling. It's a complete change of pace from everything that came before, and (to me at least) signals that the album's about to get a little different for a few songs. The lyrics come from a Rudyard Kipling poem, and to understand it you have to remember that back in the day, people believed the Picts really were a little people, physically smaller than other races. Keep that in mind, listening to this song, imagining the Picts against the might of the Roman Empire, and you will get goosebumps. The vocal harmonies in this song are haunting and entirely appropriate to the bloodthirsty lyrics.

7) Vampire Girl from Orn: and now for something completely different... This belongs to ER's "random silliness" genre. It took me a couple listens to catch all the lyrics, but when I did they cracked me up! It's just... it's just bizarre, is what it is. As another reviewer pointed out, the way Larry sings the words is half the amusement factor.

8) Summerland: Ok, seriousness now. This song was one of the biggest factors in my own decision to start exploring Pagan ideas; the opening lines about the "long and winding" path makes for a fantastic metaphor, and some aspects of Pagan beliefs are addressed. For me, though, the biggest impact was simply that this was the first time I had ever heard someone just come out and openly discuss Paganism and Goddess-worship as a normal, valid religion. Call me sheltered, but it's true, and hearing the song just gave me one of those forehead-slapping "Oh! NOW I get it!" moments.

9) Call Me Home: This song made my mother cry, but that's because she used to live in Ireland and misses it dreadfully. Haunting melody, lyrics filled with yearning, the sort of song you want to sing while wading in the ocean under a full moon, staring east across the Atlantic.

10) Never Underestimate: A fun song. Never gonna rock my world like some of the others on the album, but it's a good song to boogie across the living room to. Made me giggle.

11) Chicken Raid of Cymru: Know how I said the last one made me giggle? Yeah, well, this one makes me fall on the floor in helpless laughter. It all starts somewhere in Wales... or maybe somewhere in Texas... we're not quite sure. Like so many ER songs, this one is responsible for furthering my education, as after listening to it a few times I had to go research the story of the pigs of Pryderi so I could get more of the jokes (I swear, if I'm going to listen to this band I need to just go buy me a copy of the Mabinogion...)

12) Freya, Shakti: It's "Freya, Shakti," kids. It's "Freya, Shakti" live; what more can you ask for? A great song, a great chant, at once thoroughly reverent and taut with wild, bubbling energy. I love the harmonies (I say that a lot with this band, but then, the harmonies are always good!)

13) Donald McGillivray: Best song *I've* ever heard about the Glorious Revolution, I can tell you that. Now, of course, most people aren't geeks like me and therefore don't get all excited about late 17th/early 18th-century British politics, so it's a good thing the song's good in its own right! Energetic, driven, a good solid foot-stomping and butt-kicking song. That interesting drum is back. And while there are puns, they're less painful than they could have been. Definitely another song for dancing.

(Edited to correct a horrid misspelling. Bad me. *slaps hand*)

A friend of mine knows this group and even journeyed to Ireland with them. On her recommendation, tried them out with this CD. You would not believe that they are American!

There is a strong Wiccan flavor to much of their music, but don't think its so much that it should turn you away, just don't be surprised to hear it on certain tracks. Mostly original work, ELP's "Lucky Man" is delivered in a satisfying manner - not imitation, but not denying the songs source.

Found myself doing a jig around the house and having a grand old time. First rate music from a first rate group.