Customer Reviews

Words And Music

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

 

 

I don't know what the other reviewer is talking about. I have had this disc for a few years and it is my favorite Planxty. Hands down. The GEM on this disc, the centerpiece, is Lord Baker. It gives me chills. The vocals are perfect, the drumming is right on, and the bouzouki is fantastic.

I owned this when it first came out (how I miss that vinyl!), and even though I haven't listened to it in over a decade (my discs and I became separated over all my moves in the passing years) its lyrics and melodies still come easily - and happily - to mind. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

After Cold Blow and the Rainy Night this is a good album. But back in the eighties I owned on vinyl The Kings of Tara by Planxty. Why is this not available? I regard the Kings of Tara collection the best of all the work that planxty ever did, but maybe the fact that I can't get hold of it on CD covers my eyes with rose coloured spectacles. Leave Christy Moore alone. He has brought a lot of joy to my Polynesian family. The Celts were pushed to the edge of a world but the Polynesians kept going. Their music though has the same spirit.
www.markcross.nu

I love Planxty, but I am not sure if I totally embrace this album. The instrumental tracks are outstanding. Liam O'Flynn's piping is great, and the tunes are expertly and beautifully arranged (the "Irish Marche," the closing track, is stirring). In fact, it is the instrumental pieces that save the album, for the vocal selections are a rather mixed bunch. "Thousands are Sailing," with traditional words and a lovely melody by Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine is very good, and "Aragon Mill" is a nice piece as well. I guess it's the two tracks sung by Christy Moore that drag the album down. Now I have to say that I enjoyed the old Christy Moore that appeared on the first album and other earlier albums. But the Christy Moore that appears on this album (and unfortunately, the one by which he became so popular, which I will never understand) stinks. He is awful. He seems to have started that mumbling delivery which became his solo trademark, and which (I believe) shows someone losing his singing ability but not admitting it. He sounds like he's trying to sing with his mouth closed. "Lord Baker" could have been interesting -- if it had been sung by anyone else and cut down from its seemingly interminable length of about nine minutes. "I Pity the Poor Immigrant," by Bob Dylan, is another snoozer for Moore to murmur unintelligibly. While I definitely recommend the album for Irish music fans, I have to add the caveat to skip those two tracks by Christy Moore.

Planxty's so colorful and magic. Their playing is right on, energetic and imaginative. Here's more beautiful and heartrending ballads amidst raucous reels and jigs to chase those blues away.

Planxty, which I believe is no longer together, featured performer Davy Spillane, who most recently was a member of the Riverdance band. Traditional Irish (and one American) folk music, with systhesizers and other modern instruments, they have a kind of "New Age" touch to their music. Very good in the field, especially for those who appreciate Enya or Clannad.