Customer Reviews

Past Present

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PastPresent, I believe is an excellent name for a milestone in the career of Clannad.

This compilation of songs ranging from the album Magical Ring to the later Sirius, is a great way to get to know the beginning of Contemporary Irish Music.

Clannad started off as a family ensemble that paid homage to its Irish Roots. They sought to preserve the enriched traditions of Irish song. However, destiny would have other plans for this talented group. In a monumental decision, Clannad changed direction in the early 80s by incorporating Pop elements into their music.

I like to think of Clannad as the instigators of Irish Pop but in the most classic sense.

While PastPresent fails to review the roots of Clannad, it still gives you an excellent indication of their charm and musical prowess. The first song that leads PastPresent is the Theme From Harrys Game. This is the first song in Gaelic to ever reach Number #1 on British Music Charts. Quite an accomplishment to have wooed a country whose main language is English.

Clannads PastPresent offers something for every kind of Irish Music Lover and also reflects a range of moods from the melancholic to the whimsical.

Here is a brief review of each track:

1) Theme from Harrys Game  a short track but potent in character. This song reflects seriousness understated by the protruding soft whisper of common hardship.

2) Closer to Your Heart  a song about the plight and wildness of love. Fun and excellent to drive your cares away. Excellent song to listen to while driving.

3) Almost Seems (Too Late to Turn)  a classic representation of Irish melancholy. While you could never sink too deep, it reminds you of lifes enduring struggle.

4) The Hunter  a passionate plea about what one must do, even though wrong, in order to make something right. Very simple message but backed by Maires (pronounced Moya) angelic vocals and solid musical accompaniment.

5) Lady Marian  a charming instrumental and ode to the babe of Robin Hoods eye.

6) Sirius  a song depicting mans vices and the eternal hope of recovery. While a very saddening subject, the vocals and music compliment with a projection of light and uplifting hope.

7) Coinleach Ghlas an Fhómhair  the title translates as The Green Stubble-Field of Autumn. The song is a traditional song that speaks of the hidden love of two people. Maires vocals flesh out a story of swelling love and lingering passion. Her voice is finely matched by the touching guitar ebbing in response.

8) Second Nature  is a joyful chorus. Maire is joined by the backing vocals and musicianship of Bruce Hornsby. The song depicts the concept of how people seem destined or born do something. A friendly and uplifting melody backs her optimism.

9) World of Difference  an echoing and haunting melody.

10) In A Lifetime  is a song that affirms the struggles of friendships and relationships. With Maire vocalizing the side of women and Bono the men. A somber song that speaks to the essence of humanity.

11) Robin (The Hooded Man)  a song depicts the nobility and righteousness of Robin Hood but yet still retains the rustic charm and earthy legends of Medieval England. A very simple song that is utterly charming from the chorus of the group to the skillful rhythm of their instruments.

12) Something To Believe In  another melody shared with the talents of Bruce Hornsby. Their voices compliment each other very nicely. Tenderness and strength. The title spells out the message clearly. Everybody's rushing around, Trying to keep a hold/ On some piece of mind/All the time/And somebody's lookin' around/Tryin' to find /Something to believe in..

13) Newgrange  is a definite homage to the cultural legacy of Ireland and its mysteries such as that of the Druids and Celts. Clannad is gifted in the area of harmony and have practiced the timing of their music. This song, full of fairy tale charm, paints a vision that is very Tolkienesque  Knights, Forgotten People, etc

14) Buachaill An Eirne  a kind and willowy tune about love forlorn. The video shows Maire amongst the ruins of perhaps a church singing as if she remembered an old tale that her grandfather might have told her.

15) White Fool  a very strong song backed by vocals from Steve Perry. A song that depicts the blight and hardship faced by American Indians from the exploring English. This is how I interpreted the song but one might also compare it to the conquest of other places by the White Europeans. One cannot help to identify with the message. A rare socio-political protest from Clannad.

16) Stepping Stone  Maires voice betrays a new beginning, a new strength. I suppose you could also call it conviction. A song whose message is about the power to move forward. The young girl waiting / She's waiting there/With a suit case in her hand/ She won't look back on the land.

I hope you find this review helpful. This CD is a great way to introduce yourself to Clannad if you are not familiar with their music.

This compilation album, put together by RCA in 1989, does a good job at summarizing the celtic band's first nine albums. It includes, among other tracks, the famous "Theme from Harry's Game." However it misses on later outstanding works such as Banba and Lore. For a truly comprehensive compilation of the band's work, get a hold of "A Magical Gathering: The Clannad Anthology."

What more can I say after dialiom1's passionate review? (Amazing, by the way!) I too have been a Clannad fan for many, many years - and I have collected every album I could get my hands on, first on audiocassette, then later on C.D. Record companies (in Ireland, the UK, Europe, and the States) have released many "best of" Clannad collections over the years, and this one is probably the earliest still in circulation... even though they had a strong traditional Celtic music career in the 70s before they became more contemporary. There are two VERY important reasons to own this C.D. however: the additional tracks "the Hunter" and "World of Difference". They are two of the best Clannad tracks I have ever heard, and as far as I can tell, they exist ONLY on this C.D. Nowhere before or even after... yet they are worth the album price alone (even if you already own their 80s albums "Magical Ring", "Legend", "Macalla", and "Sirius" - the source for all of the other tracks).

Being a devout fan for going on eight years, I am currently the proud owner of 14 Clannad CDs, and this is one of those CDs I always take with me on the road in my cd-case (along with Clannad 2, Anam, Banba, Landmarks, and a few others). A truly wonderful collection of the songs of that moment when Clannad achieved their "sound", and "World of Difference" (one of the two new tracks on the album) is one song not at all to be missed. Anyway, this is one to definitely add to your collection!

`Past Present' is a great introduction to the haunting music of Clannad. An Irish band comprising three siblings and their twin uncles, Clannad have been making music since the seventies and were especially big in the eighties when they performed the music to the TV series `Robin of Sherwood'. That theme features here as `Robin (the Hooded Man).

They have been described as new age, folk rock and Celtic and they have been all these things at different times. I adore the track `Coinleach Ghlas an Fhomair' which soothes me every time I hear it, I also love `Something to Believe In' with the keyboard and bass intro before the vocals kick in. The vocals can be a bit willowy for some tastes but suit the music perfectly. The artist Enya was in this band before leaving to go solo and is a good representation of the style of vocals on offer.

There is a later best of collection of this band but it always seems very expensive when I have searched for it online and `Past Present' still offers a great slice of this band for those new to their music. I like nothing more than putting this on a foggy day before settling down with a good book and recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest, it is still enjoyable even after repeated listening and all these years later.

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All of the other reviewers have covered the basics of the album, which is fantastic! I thought I would relay a story as to how Clannad and Bono hooked up. It seems Bono was driving around the outskirts of Belfast when Harry's Game came on the radio. He was so mesmerized by the beauty of the song and Diedre's voice that he lost his concentration and drifted into oncoming traffic and was nearly in a head-on accident! He swerved off of the road and into a ditch and spent the next minute or so in the ditch listening to the end of the song. After he returned home safetly, he phoned his manager, Paul McGinley up and had him get in touch with Clannad. They eventually got in the studio and recorded In a Lifetime.

PastPresent was released in 1989 as a "best up until now" compilation for the Clannad family group of musicians. This was a key turning point for the band, when they had just begun to expand from their extremely traditional, Gaelic-singing roots to a more wide-reaching, new-age / pop style. That's not to say they turned into Britney Spears! Instead, they brought a more ethereal, rich texture to their tunes - one that inspired many other artists, including Enya, to even greater heights.

This is one of my favorite CDs, and each song in here is powerful in its own way. I love Harry's Game, the Gaelic-language theme song which begins the set. I adore the pair from the Robin Hood TV Show - Robin and Lady Marian. Each of the other songs is meaningful in its own way. In a Lifetime features Maire (you pronounce that 'Moiya') singing a duet with Bono of U2 fame. The pairing is quite beautiful to listen to.

Plus, there are a few songs on here added especially for this cutting.

In a world where we can pick and choose songs one by one on iTunes and other online systems, this really does do the job for you right from the start. It's of course great to own the actual CDs that Clannad put together up until this point - to have all of the other songs not chosen for this one compilation. But if you're starting out, this is a great place to begin, to get a sense of the types of songs they offer.

Highly recommended.

An irish representation of masterpiece, this album succeeds in opening to the listener a world of exqusite textures and melodies. This album is the most suitable for those who would like to acquaint themselves with Irish folk/pop music while enjoying the experience tremendously.

I have to say this is one of the classic albums of all time. It is a 'best of compilation cliche' but at the same time it has an authenticity and a timelessness that is unmistakable. In its own way it is as impressive as fleetwood mac's rumours.

THIS ALBUM FEATURES A VARIETY OF SOUNDS FROM CLANNAD, BEAUTIFUL TRACKS LIKE THEME FROM HARRY'S GAME AND THE ETHERIAL SOUNDS OF LADY MARION TO THE FOLK ROCK OF SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN AND THE NEW AGE JAZZ OF IN A LIFETIME.

A BRILLIANT ALBUM BY A BRILLIANT GROUP!