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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take a journey with Celtic Woman., October 29, 2008
To be honest I used to think that Riverdance and Irish and Celtic
music shows would be boring and stupid and the idea of going to an
Irish or Celtic show or concert would have been a waste of my time and
boring even though I'm part Irish. That is until that fateful night
back in 2007.
You see that is when I first heard of Celtic Woman almost by accident
I was just flipping channels one night looking for something to watch
and I happened to stop on my local PBS station to see what they were
talking about and I'm glad I did because if I hadn't then I would have
missed out on a truly wonderful program and that was Celtic Woman: A
New Journey live at Slane Castle.
It featured the talented original Celtic Woman members:
singers Chloe, Lisa, Meav and Orla and fiddle player Mairead
It also featured short time member Hayley Westenra.
I was immediately hooked and went on a quest to get the Celtic Woman
CDs and DVDs as well as the girls individual solo CDs and DVDs as
well.
Fast forward to March 10th, 2009 7:30pm at my local Dunkin Donuts
Center it was a night not like any that I will ever forget.
You see that is where I got to see the Celtic Woman show live and in
person for the second time and it was a sold out show and there wasn't
an empty seat in the house to be had it was packed with every one from
8 to 80 years old and it was truly a magical night again and most
likely the best concert I have ever gone to and it featured the
talents of original members Máiréad Nesbitt, Chloë Agnew, Lisa Kelly
and newer members Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe.
It also featured a band and choir that were beyond exceptional.
The singing was memorable and you could really tell that the girls
enjoyed what they were doing and I will never forget the singing, but
the real stand out was Mairead Nesbitt and her fiddle playing, she had
so much energy and excitement and ran around the stage like a fairy
flying through the air.
The show was about 50/50 new song to older ones and the newer songs
were great especially the song Isle of Hope which is about 15yr old
Irish girl coming to America in the 1800's.
Mairead had about 3 new solos and all the girls came out to sing
Orinoco Flow and they did an amazing accapella version of Danny Boy
and Lynn did an amazing version of Dulaman, and the duet with Chloe in
Last Rose Of Summer.
So now onto the CD, it features a mix of traditional, world and folk songs that are memorable and a delight to listen to.
You might be saying to yourself why should we buy this Celtic Woman collection if we already have their other CDs.
Well I'll tell you that this collection is not just a greatest hits collection or a best of, it features 4 brand new tracks recorded just for this collection and they are ("The Call", "Pie Jesu", "Ave Maria", "You Raise Me Up" backed with a gospel choir) and four previously unavailable songs on CD -- "Somewhere" from the Live at Slane Castle DVD and "Shenandoah" from the deluxe CD of A New Journey "Spanish Lady" from Live at Slane Castle DVD and "Green The Whole Year 'Round"
The tracks were remixed and let me tell you they sound better than ever.
You might also be saying but isn't "Ave Maria" and "you Raise Me Up" already on their first CD and you would be correct in saying that. These versions of "Ave Maria" and "You Raise Me Up" were rerecorded just for this collection and they sound better than ever.
This CD was under the musical direction of David Downes, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection captures the stunning voices of Lisa Kelly, Méav Ni Mhaolchatha, Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe, and the inspired fiddle playing of Máiréad Nesbitt performing their most beloved and memorable songs. This essential collection gives new fans the opportunity to catch up on Celtic Woman's phenomenal success and old fans a chance to reminisce and hear the new songs.
There is a combination of solos by the girls and group numbers, often featuring stunning harmonies.
So it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that the former music director of Riverdance, David Downes is also man behind the creation of the latest Irish show to capture the attention of mainstream America, Celtic Woman. With a cast of originally five experienced Irish folk music performers, now six, (Chole Agnew, Orla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Malread Nesbitt, Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe) they scored instant success with their first release back in 2005. In only three years they have combined sales of CDs and DVDs totaling over three million, and have appeared in concert halls across North America to sold out audiences.
Numbers like these are unprecedented for world music groups so you have to think they must be doing something right. Now with the release of a greatest hit package, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, you have a great opportunity to check them out if you haven't done so yet.
Celtic Woman is not just a collection of pretty faces, and David Downs shows the willingness with the music as to not restrict the music of Celtic Woman to that of just the Irish folk music catalogue.
The second indication was the individual talents of the women involved. Each of them not only have natural ability when it comes to singing, they also have been well trained in how to use their voices. Their voices seem to smoothly ascend and descend the scale without much effort and without ever faltering.
David Downes does a wonderful job of creating arrangements that play off the girls voices to the best advantage, so while they are never overwhelmed by the orchestra or other instruments, neither do they completely dominate the proceedings. One of the smarter things that he's done is have all the songs performed on what would be considered Irish instruments as well as regular orchestral and popular ones.
This ensures that no matter the song the atmosphere never changes. The women aren't being made to try and accommodate any radical adjustments in style which gives them a comfort zone that guarantees their best performances possible.
If you've not heard Celtic Woman before, and were wondering what the fuss is all about, this is the perfect disc for you.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it! , November 7, 2008
Celtic Woman fans and music lovers alike will enjoy this release! If you are new to CW, I would recommend this CD. It is what it says it is: the essential collection. Compiled in this CD are many of the most loved songs that the group has released over the span of the past few years. For those who are not familiar with them, it is a good way to have a look at what they are all about.
In addition, there are two NEW songs that CW fans will go nuts for: "The Call" (lyrics by Brendan Graham) and "Pie Jesu," which is a duet between Chloe and Lynn. It is lovely to hear Lynn on these two songs, as she has a fantastic voice and is such a perfect addition to the group! "The Call" is an absolutely beautiful song. It's very powerful, very uplifting and has an almost haunting quality to it. In my opinion, it may end up being one of their best songs yet, and certainly one to look forward to hearing on the upcoming tour!
Also, for those of you who love CW's Christmas DVD, you'll notice that "Green The Whole Year Round" is on this CD! It has never before been put on one of their CD's (it wasn't on the Christmas CD, just the DVD), so that's very exciting! It's a lovely song, one of Lisa's best, so I was elated to see it on this album!
To me, this is the perfect "essential collection" or "greatest hits album," if you will. Most of the favorites are on it, and two new (AMAZING) songs are included.
The only negative I see is that I feel it is missing a few of their most amazing songs, most notably "Sing Out!" which is a favorite of mine. At the end of the day, however, it is difficult in deciding which songs to put on an album like this, especially because they have had so many lovely songs.
To sum up, Celtic Woman fans will love this release and will more than likely want to have it ASAP, even those of you who are more anxious for something completely new. Folks who may be curious about the group and interested in hearing their music should definitely get this as well.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
nothing new, December 4, 2008
I love Celtic Woman, that means I already have all their dvd's and cd's. I was so disappointed that this dvd was made up of clips from each of their previous dvd's (Celtic Woman, New Journey, Christmas). If you don't own any of their other dvd's or cd's then I would recommend this for you as a "best of" album but, if like me, you already have all the others you might be as disappointed at the lack of new material as I was.
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