Customer Reviews

Give Us a Penny & Let Us Be Gone

5 star:		(3)
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Failte! (Greetings) Give the lads more than a penny and let them stay! On December 26 each year, St. Stephen's Day (sometimes known as Wren Day) roving groups of boys are dressed in straw woven head gear. Teada's album cover is a 1947 Dublin photo of a typical group of boys going from house to house, pub to pub, to play music and gather their donation before they would leave. This is an excellent, new, Irish traditional music band of five lads playing in the traditional way. Their music is somewhat similar to Danu.

This might be characterized as more chamber style music that you might hear at a pub instead of studio music. For that reason, without typical studio ornamentation it is perhaps closer to the traditional style. Oisin Mac Diarmada provides beautiful Irish Gaelic vocals and strong fiddle leads. John Blake provides excellent flute leads and guitar backup. Paul Finn provides excellent button accordian and concertina leads and backup. Sean McElwain provides some of the best bouzouki playing that I have heard in a long time as well as tenor banjo. This is a strong four person team typically providing double and triple leads and counterpoint harmony. Tristan Rosenstock offers compatible percussion on bodhran, although some adjustment to a stereo equalizer is needed at times to bring percussion up to an equal mix to hear the excellent technique.

Taken altogether, this is a very strong offering to Irish traditional music. As I feel keeping the tradition alive is critical, I would rate this at 6 stars if I could. If they came to my door on St. Stephens Day, I would definitely invite them in for a jam session and drinks. US CD distributors need to keep their CDs in stock, as it takes awhile for popular bands in Ireland to gain full support in the states. Eire Go Brach! (Ireland Forever!)

Traditional, straight on music is delivered, slightly raw, on a wooden platter. Yummy! I don't profess to know much about Irish music other than having been to the local (American-Irish,) pub a few times to hear the musicians, but I can tell slick from the real and this is the real stuff. (I am not so in love with Natalie MacMaster's style, if that helps in telling you where I'm coming from.) "Give us a Penny..." is Irish, not overly produced, clean, but not too clean, and full of heart, containing a mixture of reels, jigs, and other songs. I hope these young musicians are around and playing for a long time to come.

I am a big fan of Danu and have started liking Teada as well. I have heard both bands play live and it is a real treat. I really enjoy the energy in "Give us a penny ... " CD.