Customer Reviews

Heritage

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While it may not have the sense of drama and excitement of a live performance, the newest collection from the Irish Tenors is a wonderful recording. The disc features a few old tunes like Red is the Rose, Fields of Athenry, and The Harp that Once Through Tara's Halls, as well as their signature Danny Boy, but all in new arrangements that are absolutely breathtaking. And then there are the new tunes like Off to Philhadelphia, My Heart Will Go On, the Dublin Medley, and South of the Border all of which are very light-hearted and pleasing to the ear. Their performance is their best yet with a very unified sound and blend of tone. For once, Ronan's voice doesn't come out as being thin and whiny, it's as full and rich as it sounds in concert. The incredible London Symphony plays marvelously under the direction of Arnie Roth, you may know him from his work with the Mannheim Steamroller recordings. Anyway, the sound is great, the performance is top notch, and the songs are wonderful and aren't so depressing as to drive you to drink which has been the case with most of the other recordings. A particular treat is their rendition of My Heart Will Go On, the epic love theme from Titanic. Highest Recommendation.

I have never really been a fan of Traditional Irish Music and had never even HEARD of the Irish Tenors....That is until a friend of mine introduced me to the recording of "Live In Belfast" Instantly, I was hooked. I have become addicted to a lot of these songs. Especially the goofier ones they sing. like "Phil the Fluther" and "Courtin in the Kitchen" When Heritage was released I was estatic....As I had loved all the songs they had released before. Even though they recycled some of their songs. I loved the way they re recorded "Red Is The Rose" with Finbar in place of John and also "Fields Of Athenry" I Found this version to be better than the other one. I found it really bizare that they would sing "My Heart Will Go On" as that is not an Irish Song...Ireland was where the Titanic sank. but still. I really enjoyed listening to it. "South of the Boarder" and "Golden Jubilee" along with "Little Brigid Flynn" were quite entertainingly cute. I really enjoyed Anthony's "The West's Awake" and "The Parting Glass" and "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls" I would, too also love to see Anthony put out a solo album.

I highly recommend this album to all fans of Irish music. This is the last album with Ronan as a memember and it is one of their best. Ronan's "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" is wonderful, so too is Finbarr's "South of the Border". The theme from the Titanic "My Heart Will Go On" is the best version since Celine Dione's. My favorite track is Anthony's "The West's Awake" . One point to note is that this group is one of the few out there who can perform live with an equally good recorded sound. Having listened to them at Meadowbrook NH the night of Ronan's farewell I can assure you that live or recorded they have a fantastic sound. I highly recommend this CD to all fans of Irish music.

Isaac Chute

This CD is terrific! All of the songs are sung so well. I highly recommend this CD to anyone. I absolutely love "My Heart will go on".

I think this is the best cd by The Irish Tenors yet. Their voices are crisp and clear with beautiful harmony, and the London Symphony Orchestra is just fantastic. It was nice to hear new versions of songs that were on previous cd's. These new releases makes it feel like your hearing the song for the first time. This new CD brings me back to when I first discovered The Irish Tenors and fell in love with their music. They just get better and better!

I am a "regular" at their concerts, but I must agree with the previous reviewer re the "reuse" of songs from previous CD's. Why listen to the "Red is the Rose" on this CD when you have the BEAUTIFUL rendition (with John McDermott) on the Belfast concert.
Same goes for "The Fields of Athenry", and "Danny Boy". And if I hear "God Bless America" one more time........it was better on the Ellis Island concert.
The new songs were well done and I thoroughly enjoyed them (even "My Heart will go on" was a nice touch...especially the intro by Finbar) Best cut on the CD....."The West Awake" by Anthony Kearns. Of course, he's head and shoulders above the other boys, though I do enjoy them all.

Keep em coming guys.....but use different tunes...there's plenty of them out there !!

i saw the previous reviews of this cd--i loved the cd and the songs that were chosen for it--do you not think that perhaps they sang some of the "old" songs since it will probably be the last they make together--it could well be they chose these songs as some of their favorites together, as ronan is leaving---of course, i am prejudice-i think everything they do is wonderful--saw the atlanta concert and the "lads" were magnificent!!!!!! one hour and forty-five minutes of pure bliss!!!

This is another delightful effort by Anthony, Finbar and Ronan.
My favorite songs were "Off to Philadephia" (Anthony) and "My Heart Will Go On" (Finbar). I didn't even mind the repetition of some songs heard on past CDs - but wondered about it, until I learned of the departure of Ronan Tynan. I am curious to see the kind of arrangements they have included on their new CD, due to come out later this year, which they made upon the return of John McDermott. John is a Canadian of Celtic descent, whose voice, though pleasant in a folksy way, does not seem to blend as well with Anthony and Finbar as did Ronan's trained vocals. I would be very pleased to see Anthony make a solo CD, including such ballads as (my all-time favorite) Bantry Bay and some of the wonderfully playful Irish ditties he sometimes performs at his solo concerts.

First off, let me say that I love the Irish Tenor's music. This might cause me to rate this CD higher than some people would, but I also have higher expectations of them than some people might. This CD disapointed me for several reasons. First, a third of this CD is just redone versions of songs from previous CD's. This seems like a rip off to me. While I like the sound of the new "Fields of Athenry," I found these remixes to be little or no improvement over the originals. Second, it is obvious that they are running out of original Irish tunes. That is why they had to re-do their old hits and incorporate American tunes. As hard as they try to tie Ireland into "My Heart Will Go On" (which is beautifully done), they fall short and it is obvious that they are resorting to songs that have already proven themselves in America. In the end, we are left with remixes, American songs, and a few mediocre new Irish tunes. Don't get me wrong though, the music is georgeous. In fact, this CD will probably grow on me; but right now, it's a let down. If you're an Irish tenors fan, realize that this $14 CD will only have a few tunes you haven't heard before. If you're new to the Irish Tenors, I would recomend you purchase "The Irish Tenors" or "The Best Of The Irish Tenors" before you buy this CD.

When the Irish Tenors burst upon the public scene not too many years ago, they were heralded as a refreshing change in the sea of musical mediocrity. The original trio of McDermott, Kearns and Tynan thrilled us with their exuberance and vocal virtuosity and frankly, I miss that. (Please note: since I originally wrote this review the threesome has changed to McDermott, Kearns and Wright with Tynan having left the group).

As one of their latest efforts, "Heritage" is an "okay" album, but it certainly lacks the freshness and fun of the Irish Tenors' earlier efforts. Of course, there are notable exceptions such as Kearns' roguish "Off to Philadelphia", the sprightly "Golden Jubilee" and the beautiful "The West's Awake" solo by Kearns. Wright's "Little Brigid Flynn" is downright fun but his "South of the Border" is oddly out of place. With too many recycled songs and a little too little Anthony Kearns, I personally found "Heritage" to be the weakest effort in the generally stellar Irish Tenors' discography.