Customer Reviews

Reunion: A Decade of Solas with bonus DVD

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You get more than 2 hours of DVD concert footage--one great tune or song after another. Wow. I'm not kidding. Wow. Driving duo guitars on one tune, then Karan Casey singing a song then the whole band rocking out on some incredible set arranged the Solas way. You really have to hear this to believe it. This is Irish music stretched into a Solas groove. There are too many highlights to name them all: 4 part female harmony on Reasonland; John Doyle rocking out; Seamus Egan playing banjo, flute, guitar; Winnifred Horan showing fiddle virtuosity on ripping jigs and reels, then making you weep on some slow tune. And the vocals of one breathtaking vocalist after another. Solas isn't just straight ahead Irish music played at breathtaking speed . . .they hit a groove and explore the territory; they cover all sorts of stuff besides Irish: Darkness Darkness by Jessie Colin Young (remember the Youngbloods?); Cold Rain and Snow (the Grateful Dead covered this trad tune on their first studio album in 1967 or something) and everything gets the Solas treatment and it works beautifully. So watch the incredible concert DVD, then pop the CD in your car or stereo or whatever it is you listen to and you will be amazed. And to think I wasn't much of a Solas fan before I saw/heard this reunion set.

Simply put, a terrific CD. If you are a Solas fan you will recognize much of the music, but it is performed here with a difference. It's like listening to Solas for the first time all over again! The DVD is equally stunning. Very professionally done, and the next best thing to being there. This was a very rare event, and I thank everyone at Solas for putting this together.

This CD/DVD set are reflections of exactly what fans of Solas love about the group. If you like high energy Irish music you will not be disapointed!

I saw Solas in concert last night in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Why they came here, I'll never know, but it was fantastic.
I am more of a rock and roll guy myself, but I enjoy Irish music, and when my wife got tickets to see Solas in concert, I went gladly. I'd never really heard of them before, but I was game.
I was almost literally blown away. This band is incredible. I guess there must be some vestigial Irish DNA in me that makes me love this kind of music, because from the first note, the band had me.
I picked up the CD before attending the concert. The CD is even better. Not only do you get a full ten-year retrospective on this highly talented band, but you get a full-length concert DVD as well. The DVD features all the former members of the band, as well as current members.
Quite simply, this band is the top Irish band out there. They mix traditional sounds with a more updated sound.
This is a great CD and DVD combination. I paid twenty dollars for mine. At the Solas concert, this CD/DVD was going for $25. It is amazing that you can get the CD/DVD on Amazon for under ten dollars. What a great buy. If you like Irish music, use Amazon and buy this today. You will not be disappointed.

This CD/DVD is a joyful reunion of the current Solas members with all (?) of the past members, like Karen Casey. They sound (and look, on the DVD) like they are really having fun, playing together once more. If you know Solas, this is a memento to listen to over and over. If you don't know them, it's a fine way to start!

Great music from a fantastic band. The fact that all of the members, both new and old were at the concert only enhances the music. I actually attended the recording of the DVD and it was a wonderful night of music. The musicians were really on and it comes across on both of the recordings. Whether you are new to Solas or an old fan, you will find Reunion a great listen!

I went to Ireland and was looking for some typical Irish music when I walked by Celtic Note in Dublin and heard this playing over the sound system. I immediately went in and bought myself a copy and have not been able to stop listening to it since then

The musicianship on this album is great and the DVD is a real bonus!

So great to hear all the past members playing with the present ones. Wonderful sounds, I just saw them in concert for the 10th time and picked up this CD/DVD. I love it, great newer stuff great old stuff, So good to hear Karan and the 2 Johns again!!

The DVD is very good quality and fun to watch

Keep up the great work all of you and I look forward to the next 10 years!!

In celebration of ten active, energetic years, Solas played a concert with every current and former band member, and pretty much anyone who ever contributed to their albums. The result is this high-spirited live album and accompanying concert video. Watching and hearing this concert, it's easy to see how Solas barged into the calcifying Celtic music market of the mid-1990s and turned it into the spry festival it is today.

Seamus Egan and Winifred Horan serve as guides, talking us through the history of the band, how so many great members have paid their dues in Solas' ranks. When Celtic legends like John Williams, John Doyle, and Karan Casey appear in interviews and onstage, it's clear that this is a true Irish supergroup. And even when they just talk to the camera, the members' love of the music is undeniable.

I prefer the DVD over the CD. The band members are such active, dynamic performers that watching them is as much a joy as hearing them. And although they're such massive stars, there's no trace of ego. Watching Karan Casey, Dierdre Scanlan, and Antje Duvekot trade vocals on "Reasonland" is an education in itself of why a band as powerful and demanding as Solas can last ten demanding years.

Solas can trade licks with the most energetic rock band going. And it's not just their instruments (how many Celtic bands have a drum kit and electric guitar on stage?). It's the relentless love of what they do, the passion for music. This band is not just a bunch of preservationists; they're truly doing something new, always reinventing themselves and their music. And this concert displays them at their fiery best.