Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance [SOUNDTRACK]

Ronan Hardiman (Composer), Michael Flatley (Artist)

Product Details

• Composer: Ronan Hardiman
• Audio CD (March 4, 1997)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B000001EPB
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,216 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Music > Folk > Traditional British & Celtic Folk > Celtic Folk
  #11 in	Music > Folk > Traditional British & Celtic Folk > Irish Folk
  #21 in	Music > World Music > Celtic > Fusion

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Part showtunes, part classical, and part folk music, Ronan Hardiman's score to Lord of the Dance, the musical starring dancer Michael Flatley, successfully avoids all the inherent pitfalls of such an enterprise. Hardiman has emerged as Ireland's finest interpreter of traditional music for films, TV, and the theater, and under his guidance the 19 lush orchestral tunes, augmented with many traditional instruments, are rife with the spirit of the Emerald Isle. Two of the tracks feature the taps of Flatley and Co, while the rest highlight the score as composed by Hardiman with all its subtle textures intact and not masked by the live sound of tap dancing. Lord of the Dance is a perfect and very listenable fusion of Broadway and the indigenous heritage of Irish music making. --Derek Rath

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, heavenly music to listen to! , January 24, 2005

By	Paris "Arielle" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

I am 15 years old and I remember the first time I heard this music only a year from now. When I heard Cry of the Celts for the first time, I knew I had to get the CD. No regrets at all, because this music is just wonderful, and a year later, I still listen to it with fresh ears.

Here's my opinion of each song:
1. CRY OF THE CELTS: This was the first song I heard from this CD at a neighbor's house, and I fell in love wiht it instantly. It's one of my favorites on the CD, and even if it starts off with a strange beginning, it gets better as the song progresses. Love the flute part of the song.
2. SULA RUIN: A Celtic vocal, with lovely lyrics
3. CELTIC DREAM: To be honest with you, when I first heard this song, I was completely annoyed and tired of this repetitive, slow, tiring music. But, now, I love it, a lot, and the music is beautiful. It really calms you down, and I could play this at night, it sounds like a heavenly lullaby. Beautiful music, but takes patience to listen to completely.
4. WARRIORS: This was one of the best on the CD, my third favorite in fact. Each part was wonderful and special, but the last part of the song will have to be my favorite. I could dance to this song over and over!
5. GYPSY: This song is definitely my favorite song out of the entire CD and I could play it over and over, without ever getting tired of its breathtaking music. It sounds so sensuous, so beautiful. The only problem I have with this one, is that it's too short, and I wish they could have added a little more to this song.
6. BREAKOUT: One of the best in the CD. I didn't like how it started,but it gets MUCH better as the song progresses. I watched the Lord of the Dance video, and my opinion: This would sound much better, with the taps.
7. LORD OF THE DANCE: It's pretty good, and I'd say it's great, and once again, not the best of beginnings but, gets better as the song continues.
8. SPIRIT IN THE NEW WORLD: Honestly, what the heck is this?This is supposed to be a song? Basically the only disappointment, I almost always skip this song. The only good thing about this song is that it only last one minute and ten seconds...
9. FIERY NIGHTS: I'm still trying to figure out how saxophone music got mingled in here with Celtic music, but okay...They still manage to make it sound good, surprisingly, and even though it may not be my top favorites, i still enjoy it every now and then.
10. LAMENT: This song is strictly violin music. Very deep, emotional, okay.
11.SIAMSA: I listen to this song a lot lately. I like how there's so many moods to this song, and as the song progresses, it just gets better and better. It's just too modern for me though.
12. OUR WEDDING DAY: Why this song? On Lord of the Dance, they had another song called, "She Moved Through the Fair". That song was much better than this one.
13. STOLEN KISS: The first part of the song is so sweet, but the second half of the song, sounds rather familiar...
14. NIGHTMARE: Good song, and rather dark and haunting. You could almost feel chills through your body from the song.
15. VICTORY: The song is good altogether,and I love the grand beginning as much as I love the second part. The song is just fantastic and energetic and almost perfect.
16 and 17 is Cry of the Celts and Lord of the Dance with taps. The taps help me to imagine the dancers crystal clear, and it's very good.

In conclusion, this CD left me with very little disappointments, and no regrets, and if you love music full of energy and emotion, you'll love this music without a doubt.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, I like this music even without all the dancing, April 28, 2002

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Well, I saw "Riverdance" this week and without comparing the dancing in the two shows (since I could never do any of it), I really like Ronan Hardiman's music for "Lord of the Dance" a lot better. From the opening track "Cry of the Celts" you get the feel of listening to an Irish band cooking in a pub someplace. Hardiman offers up a rich diversity of tunes, from the ephemeral "Celtic Dream" (that reminds me of the Nutcracker for some reason) to the pounding rhythms of "Warriors." I wish "Gypsy" were longer, because that is probably my favorite track. Hardiman himself provides the keyboard/programming for this wonderful mix of ancient sounds with modern technology. After all, who thinks of Irish music with a saxophone like you have on "Fiery Nights?" It is usually Uilleann Pipes and serious fiddle playing, both of which abound on this album. The two bonus tracks featuring the solo taps of Michael Flatley with the Lord of the Dance troupe are enough for the CD; you can always put on the video to hear more of the same, but I would think that after a while you can really just hear the tapping in your mind all the time anyway. Yes, you will enjoy this music more having seen the show, but I actually enjoyed listening to this CD for months before I bothered to check out the tape.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, but incomplete, July 22, 2004

By	Irish dance mom (Allentown, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

My daughter is an Irish step dancer, and we've seen the traveling LOTD show. Her school performs to many of the songs. We also own the LOTD dvd. I just bought this disc for her for her birthday, and it is AWESOME...listening to it gives me goosebumps.

My only negative comment is that the disc does not include all the songs from the show. In particular, the fiddle duet "Strings of Fire" is not there, which is one of my favorite parts of the show.

Otherwise, I highly recommend it. I dare you to sit still while listening!