Customer Reviews

Mcnally's Row of Flats

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

 

 

Nick Moloney's efforts in bringing back to us the music of late XIX century NYC vaudeville are to be applauded, but after the delightful opening track that gives its name to the record, it becomes less an alive musical experience and more a museum expedition. I know, a difficult trick to pull off, but their treatment of the "McNally's Row of Flats" track shows that it could have been done...

These were the pop songs from the late 19th century but because they weren't recorded we've lost them, until now. What a wonderful bunch of songs not only as history but because they're great music. They fit very well in the Stephen Foster tradition. The recordings are excellent. Great singing, great playing, great arrangements. Now, who will stage one of the Harrigan and Hart shows?

The songs of Harrigan and Braham, written for musical shows towards the end of the 19th Century, are a lost treasure of American culture -- brought to vivid life again in fine performances by Mick Maloney on this CD. You can't get closer than this to the roil and energy and sweet aspiration of immigrant life in 19th-Century New York, when people from all over the world laughed and complained and butted heads with each other as they struggled to find a way of being Americans together.

This is a very enjoyable album for me. I find the excellent musicianship enhances the songs of a bygone era. The listener is carried away to a different time with lyrics that actually tell a story. If you need a break from our hectic times, and you long for some good old-fashioned music that has some meaning, give this album a try!