Product Details

• Actors: Phil Coulter
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Shanachie
• VHS Release Date: August 5, 1995
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302305756
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #408,576 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Popular Irish musician Phil Coulter, who is perhaps best known for writing the song "The Town I Loved So Well," appears onstage to perform a mostly instrumental program with his own small orchestra in performances filmed at Belfast's Grand Opera House. Coulter is a capable pianist, and the individual songs, which include such Irish folk standards as "Danny Boy," "I'll Tell Me Ma," and "Carrickfergus," often sound quite beautiful when performed along with the string section of the orchestra. And the stunning scenes of the Irish countryside that accompany the musical selections do live up to the "touch of tranquility" in the title. Yet instrumental versions of some of this material can seem puzzling, especially for songs such as "Fields of Athenry," the lyrics of which tell an evocative story from the famine, or "Raglan Road," which boasts lyrics written by the great Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. In fairness, Coulter does bring out songwriter Ralph McTell to sing "From Clare to Here," and Maura O'Connell sings a stirring version of the old folksong "The Water Is Wide." And Coulter himself sings "The Town I Loved So Well," which is presented as something of a music video, with scenes of a young boy kicking a soccer ball in Derry intercut with scenes of Coulter walking through the city at the peak of the sectarian troubles referred to in the song. This is a very professional production, but the familiar folksongs performed without vocals may well be a disappointment to some viewers. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Step Back In Time, October 27, 2006

By 

Gabrielle Rhodes (Illinois - U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Touch of Tranquility - The Ireland of Phil Coulter (DVD)

I was hesitant about getting this DVD for two reasons. First off, I was afraid it would be mostly of scenery, and I wanted to see live performances. Secondly, the Editorial Review at Amazon is not exactly glowing.

I took the plunge and purchased it anyway, and was not disappointed. This is a wonderful step back into the life of Phil Coulter. I read somewhere that it was filmed in 1985. The hair and clothing styles, as well as song selection would confirm that.

All but "The Town I Loved So Well" are from concerts, and while there is beautiful scenery from Ireland shown throughout, it does not overwhelm the concert experience.

"The Town I Loved So Well" is produced like a video. He is in a home, dressed casually, playing a piano, and it is combined with scenes of the song/his life story throughout. At the end he takes the hand of the little boy that had played ball at the beginning of the song, and shows him the town from atop a hill.... You cannot help but wonder if it is his son. The pure emotion Phil shows throughout this song makes it my favorite version of all his recordings.

If you enjoy Phil Coulter's early recordings, you will enjoy this video, as it accurately represents them. The reason for four instead of five stars is because the sound is not digital quality.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Find!, November 5, 2006

By 

HaggisinDE "Avid reader" (Delaware City, De) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Touch of Tranquility - The Ireland of Phil Coulter (DVD)

iam sure there are many coulter fans out there but I found this by accident. The best acident I ever had. I enjoyed this so much that i shared it with friends and they too brought it. Thank you for aiding our Tranquility.

2.0 out of 5 stars discription a little misleading, April 17, 2010

By 

Stephen W. Moore (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Touch of Tranquility - The Ireland of Phil Coulter (DVD)

The Amazon description led me to believe that there would be a lot of scenery of Ireland accompanied by Phil Coulter's music. Instead the DVD was predominantly views of the live performance with only a relatively small portion of scenes of Ireland. While the music is indeed beautiful my personal preference was to see a lot more of the scenery. In my opinion the description was misleading.