Customer Reviews

Harvest Storm

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Harvest Storm is the perfect Altan album. There is not a weak song here. The playing, the singing, the arrangements are all perfect. The song "King of the Pipers" is just about the best song they ever recorded (only An Mhaighhdean Mhara from Island Angel is better).

Truth is, Island Angel (their very next recording) and this record are two of the most beautiful records you will ever hear.

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here. What is so special about Altan? Well they play Irish/Celtic music. Very traditional yet somehow modern in the way they approach the music. They take this music VERY seriously. Not that they aren't having a good time but this music matters and they play it with a cool but fierce passion.

Whatever their motivation, Altan picks great songs and then plays them BETTER than anyone has ever played them before. They don't write much original material (usually one or two songs per record) but when you hear their version of the song, somehow, it feels right!

One must also mention the singing of Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. She doesn't sing on every track, about half of each record is pure instrumentals. But when she does sing, she can break your heart.

There is only one thing you need to know about this disc: It is the best CD of Irish Music ever created. Altan is every bit the artistic and creative equivalent of the Miles Davis group with Coltrane and Evans. In the jazz world, the music never ever got that amazing after them, and the world was by no means ready for works like "Kind of Blue."
Say the same for this outfit. Especially since at the time of the recording, leader Frankie Kennedy knew his life was running out. Maybe that is what infuses every breath he plays on this CD with a sense of urgency. Maybe that is what took his remarkable colleagues to unprecedented heights on this collective outpouring of emotional and compelling music. This is genius from the very beginning note until all dissolves painfully away in "Dobbins Flowery Vale."
One more disc with this lineup would follow and it would be Frankie's coda, and leave a legacy that will be treasured and preserved long, long after all of us are gone. But right here is when it all went supernova. Mairead is the greatest Irish fiddle player ever in the entire history of the tradition. She rips through these reels, schottisches and slips jigs with unbridled passion. Her voice comes from someplace mystical and transports the listener to the realms only aislings can see. She brings the very best out of Ciaran Tourish and Daithi Sproule as they counter her parries on fiddle and in daithi's case on vocals. Holding down the rhythm as no one else, including the esteemable Mr Lunny, is Ciaran Curran. As co-founder with Mairead and Frankie, he knew well the precipice they were approaching with Frankie's illness. Bravery infuses his indomitable spirit in centering all the proceedings on this disc. Live at this stage, they were incandescently brilliant. White hot! In the studio, a sense of the divine settles in and the entire confidence that Music brings to those who are devoted from the heart pours out at times on fire, at times like honey.
If you are only to own 1 CD in your life of Irish music, this is the one. This is the Holy Grail of an entire tradition. The remarkable thing is they did it again with "Island Angel."

For those of you who think Celtic music is limited to Riverdance or those droning new-age "Celtic Moods" compilations, welcome to Altan. This is exciting, traditional, Saturday-night-at-the-pub music that will have you dancing one minute and crying the next. But just when you think you can't deal with one more second of fiddling, here comes "Si Do Mhaimeo I" with its unusual accompaniment. I love this CD and so will you!

There are certain albums that rank somewhere above "excellent," which are almost mandatory pieces of a Celtic music collection. Silly Wizard's Live Wizardry is one. Leahy's debut album is another. And then there's Altan's Harvest Storm.

Altan lays claim to an extremely talented bunch of musicians who keep the instrumental pieces tight and lively. They are, without doubt, among the best ensemble players calling Ireland their home.

I first saw Altan in TN, now I try to see where they are playing in the US and what is close to me. They are fantastic. Never listened to this type music until I saw them. So much enegy, musical ability and perfect voices. I play their music all day at work--it's keeps you calm.

I like all the recordings from Altan's first ten years, but this is my favorite. It has all the characteristic Altan sounds: lively reels, bumptious humor (Donal agus Morag), and lovely vocals. But the final track, Frankie Kennedy's flute solo (with electronic accompaniment, uncredited but I suspect it's Donal Lunny) is one of the most haunting pieces of music ever recorded: two versions of a traditional tune, beautifully played, and with a melancholy undertone that perhaps reflects Kennedy's struggle with and impending death from cancer. No lover of traditional Celtic music should be without this album.

Wonderful musicianship. Infectious rhythm. I'm thankful to all the other reviews. I never get tired of this one. I would prefer the flute in unison with their outstanding fiddling. The band in general features its two fiddlers with good reason, but it would sound lacking to one who enjoys flute and fiddle in the florid melodic line. A very strong band and very danceable. The flute,where used,is very good.

I love traditional and modern celtic music and this CD has both with hauntingly beautiful female vocals as well.

This cd rocks! I recommend this cd to anyone who likes celtic music. The fiddling is fast and furious and the vocals are beautiful. BUY IT!!!

Selections from this album are always popping up in my iPod's list of favorite songs. Some days, when I need some energy, I'm playing their pub music. Other days, when I'm crashing on a deadline (or working on my Irish - WHAT a hard language! - learning songs really helps drum the crazy consonant changes into the brain), it's Maighr?ad all the way! Her voice is so beautiful (although it's higher than I usually prefer) and her delivery is so precise that I often listen to her pieces over and over again. Great music!