Customer Reviews

Island Angel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I own all their albums, this by far is my favorite Altan record. Harvest Storm was their first masterpiece, but this is Altan's crowning achievement. While there were fine performances on there earlier recordings like The Red Crow, they hadn't yet refined their exhilarating mixture of sweetness & fire. More recent major label recordings, unfortunately, saw too much smoothing of their edges (although 2000's "Another Sky" was a return to form). Island Angel perfectly captured that balance & was the last album to feature late, founding flute player Frankie Kennedy. An album every Celtic/Irish music lover should own and the place to start any Altan collection.

I'll apologize right away for a short review! Now that I consider myself pretty well schooled in celtic music (at least modern), I can safely say I consider this to be a classic of the genre. As a matter of fact, I believe it's my favorite celtic music album altogether! The diverse songs do a fine job of highlighting Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's beautiful singing voice, but the thing that stands out to me most are the numerous fast-paced fiddle tunes that I consider among the best to be found. I could play track #10, "Glory Reel, The Heathery Cruach" over and over and over, and tracks one (Tommy Peoples, The Windmill, Fintan McManus's) and three (Fermanagh Highland, Donegal Highland, John Doherty's, King George IV) are outstanding as well. Dual fiddles at their finest, with Altan's typical musical excellence and wonderful collective sound. An exceptional album from an exceptional band. . BUY IT, you will NOT regret it!!!

This is an exquisite collection of celtic music, sung and instrumental. Only makes me wish I could speak or understand Celtic. Beautiful, beautiful music!!!!

Not one for sentimentality, in fact often brutally humourous, Frankie Kennedy left us with "Island Angel" (Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh?) as his coda on a career that established him as the most creative, inventive and dynamic leader in Irish music ever. Losing his battle to cancer, he virtually willed this album into being, refusing to let his bandmates slip into the tragedy, and insisting that they join him in leaving a final document to his passion for interpreting a tradition ad moving it forward, and I can think of no other musician in any discipline who did so more heroically than Frankie Kennedy.
Dermot Byrne was on board by this time as a full time member of the band and brought considerable writing skill to the team, as well as a new dimension to te sound. It is as though Frankie knew what would be needed when he passed and had the foresight to make a bold and important move for the future integrity of Altan. But by this point, all of them knew that they had reached a sort of Crispin's Day. And each of them rose to the occasion.

What you have here then is the companion piece to "Harvest Storm." All the components are in tact: brilliant musicianship, with Ciaran Tourish establishing himself more confidently, particularly on stage when Frankie's health would at times impede his dynamic presence, and most especially when it would all come crashing down. The Philadelphia Folk Festival appearance was a defining moment: Frankie was home in very drastic straights, the team soldiered on, but the pain was visible. Tourish rallied his colleagues bravely for what was the most difficult performance I've ever seen a group give. It was not their best show, it was certainly their finest hour.

And so, the Phoenix was born with this album, and it is as mystically beautiful as "Harvest Storm" was tempestously passionate. It is a stellar acheivement for any creative person to reach the mountaintop in their creative lives. To do it twice in succession is unparalleled. With this CD, Altan set themselves apart forever. This is a loving farewell to a visionary from those determined to take that vision forward. Frankie would have expected nothing less.

Farewell, Frankie...

I often put this CD in and press "repeat." The music is inspired and the vocals are haunting (even though I can't understand a word). A great mix of jigs, reels, ballads. Keep up the great work, Altan! Highly highly recommended.

I once had this album on the box at work and someone asked if this was the Chieftans. I asked him if he was for real. How could he like Celtic music and not know the most important group of the '90s? I loaned him my copy. "Dulaman" is now his favorite traditional Celtic song, and "Island Angel" is his favorite Celtic instrumental. I'd say he has good judgement.

You will not be disappointed by this delightful album! This may be sacrilege, but the Chieftains can get old after a while (well, they ARE old)...and Altan is certainly a breath of fresh air. These folks know what they're doing, and you can hear it in their whimsical reels. I look forward to getting more of their stuff. Highly recommended.

Review's of Altan's first Album described lead singer Mairead NiMhiuni's voice as "smokey"- In Island Angel her clarity and bell-like tones dance over your ears like happy butterflies weaving stories full of laughter, sadness and history. Her dynamic and expert fiddle playing, accompanied by the rest of this incredibly talented band make you long for a dance floor, a full pint or a warm fire as they share the musical history of their homeland. Your toes will tap, your mind will long play over the simple yet exquisite musical selections included on this release. The only note missing is that of Frankie Kennedy's tin whistle, Mairead's husband and co-founder of the group who most sadly died of cancer a few years ago. Altan has grown and in so doing, honored his memory and their own reputation! Island Angel is superb!

If you're looking for good traditional Irish music, and/or the fiddle is your favourite instrument, look no further than Altan. This album wouldn't be a bad starting point, either. It is also the last that the group made before flutist/"Mairead's husband" Frankie Kennedy's death. Island Angel contains amazing reels and jigs (the most outsanding example being "Glory Reel/The Heathery Cruach"; there's a reel you will listen to over and over again!) together with some more unusual instrumental music such as "Mazurka", all of it of great quality and, more often than not, heavy on the violins, of which there are two in the group. Ni Mhaonaigh's singing appears to divide opinions, many fans of Altan being fans precisely because of it, others calling her voice shrill and singing technique unprofessional. Personally I belong to neither group, finding Ni Mhaonaigh's voice often girlish, technically far from perfect, but nevertheless pretty, and, more importantly, suitable for the songs that she performs. If you're a fan of her singing, you are sure to enjoy the songs of this album. However, the real interest of this album lies, in my view, between the songs. The instrumental music is energetic and inspired, and while listening you could easily picture a group of musicians and good friends seated at their local pub and happily losing themselves in the wonderful music they are playing. Of the songs, "Dúlamán" contains a nice violin theme, and "Jug of Punch" is the one that I would count among Altan's finest. What is there in that simple little song that it should wring my heart thus?...

Island Angel is a supurb record filled with haunting songs, along with reels and jigs that are fast and dynamic. This record also contains Altan's finest song: An Mhaighdean Mhara as well as Dulaman, Jug of Punch, and the title track.

However, somehow the record just doesn't hang together like Harvest Storm does. Perhaps the transition from reel to song is too violent. I personally find the reels enjoyable, but...

Is this an angry record? The co-founder of the group, Frankie Kennedy, died from cancer a bit more than a year after this music was recorded. Perhaps the reels are a shade too "aggessive" as a result? Who knows.

In any event, this record is so good you won't believe that better music can be found, until you hear Harvest Storm.

If you like Loreena McKennit, Enya, or Clannad, I'm sure you will like this.