Customer Reviews

Song for Ireland

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brutal honesty: Mary Black has one of the most beautiful voices in creation, and she consistently wastes it on mediocre material. Fortunately, she has released almost as many "collections" of good material as she has new CD releases. "Song For Ireland" is a collection of more traditional or traditionally-inspired Irish material, and these are truly among the best performances of her career. Each of these, from the haunting "Loving Hannah" to the anthemic title song, is a gem unlike any you've heard anywhere else. In between, "School Days Over", "Both Sides the Tweed" and "Men of Worth" are rich with the texture of the Irish landscape (okay, "Both Sides" is actually about Scotland). If you haven't heard Mary Black, this is the one to start with. If you already like her music and don't own this, one listen and you'll wonder how you missed it. One note: this CD doesn't contain one of her all-time best vocals, "Will Ye Gang Love". For that, you have to find the first "Black Family" CD, which features Mary, her sister Frances and their three brothers. It's a wonderful CD in its own right, and well worth finding on most website stores.

The first time I heard Mary Black sing "Song For Ireland" I stood in the middle of a busy store & did not move for the entire song. Mary's voice carries in it the echoes of a people from long ago, their hopes, their dreams, their memories. I never make it through that song with dry eyes & this entire CD moves every part of my soul. This is music in it's highest form....moving the human heart.

After a trip to Ireland to visit friends, I asked them for recommendations on an album with Irish balads and folk music. One person in the group said the name "Mary Black." I listened to the other CDs that Ms Black has produced and didn't find what I wanted -- until I found Song of Ireland! The whole CD just sends shivers down my spine and images of Ireland flow through my memory. You cannot go wrong with this album!

If you do, buy this album. I've listened to it at least twice a day since I bought it a month ago. The songs are so good, you'll be up all night with one of them in your head. There's not a dud in the whole album, from "Loving Hannah" (which I'm buying for a friend and his new daughter Hannah) to "Song for Ireland". "School Days Over," "Men of Worth" and "Ellis Island" are heartbreaking, but "Colcannon" will lighten your spirits. She's one of the few singers I've heard of any genre who can sing passionately without sounding artificial. Get it and GET IT!

I bought this CD based on the reviews of other listeners, AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. A Song for Ireland made the hair on my arms stand on end and don't even have hair on my arms. What a beautiful song. The whole CD is mesmerizing. Thanks to all...

This album is made of up of a collection of songs from Mary's other albums plus one live song. The album starts off on the slow side but warms quickly and finishes with Mary at her best.

Songs like "Loving Hannah", "Lea Boy's Lassie", "My Donald" and "Holy Ground" are tradtional Irish songs sung by Mary with minimal music - almost sean-nos but not quite. "Men of Worth" is the first song on the album that has all the usual Irish instruments and you love it all the more for it. It also has great harmony as does "Colcannon" which is sung by the entire Black family. "Both Sides the Tweed" is a Robert Burns poem put to music. Even though Burns was Scottish, Mary's voice really brings the song to life. "Schooldays Over", about leaving school to work in the mines, and "The Shadow", a song about Michael Colins, are both slower songs with less music which helps to showcase Mary's fantastic voice. "Ellis Island" is almost a pop song with it's beat and music but can bring you to tears as you listen to individuals say goodbye to each other as they immigrate to America.

By far the best song on the album is "A Song for Ireland". Not only is it grand in it's presentation and it's lyrics colorful but Mary's vocals would give divas like Celine a run for their money. The entire album is worth having just for this song alone.

This is not my favorite of Mary's albums but it's way up there and I'm glad I added it to my collection.

This is by far my favorite Mary Black album. The lean arrangements keep her beautiful voice up front where it belongs, and the the choice of material conveys the hopeful melancholy that makes Irish ballads so moving. You can imagine yourself sitting in an Irish pub where Mary's voice has brought a hush to the crowd.

This is a beautiful Cd. Song for Ireland brings tears to my eyes evertime I listen to it even though I've never been to where my grandparents come from. If you come from Irish ancestors Song for Ireland and Liz O'Connors Legacy of Love are two recordings you'll always treasure.

Mary Black is at her best here, with a recording that emphasizes traditional Irish ballads. (The one Scottish song and the more modern number, "Ellis Island", also fit in due to compatible themes.) The accompaniment is spare, but Black's voice is so beautiful and evocative that this is much more effective than some of her more modern (and somewhat overproduced)efforts. Her a cappella song with the Black Family, "Colcannon", is one of my favorites, as well as the concert recording of "Loving Hannah", but there is hardly a bad number here. If you don't have any of her other recordings, start here.

All songs are very good, but title track "Song For Ireland" is worth the price of the whole CD!