Hi all,
First, isn’t it great to have the forum back up and running!!!
I am wondering how most of you hear about
an album out there that is for sale.
DO you all search the MP3 and Amazon sites for new music all the time? Or do you
rely on Dale to hear about albums with Whistles and review them, or what?
I could use some new music to listen to,
but it has to have lots of Whistle o it.
Lolly
I usually go on recommendations from friends (including, of course, the folks from C&F). And, of course, if there’s something new out there by an artist I already admire, I snap it up (I do occasionally do 'net searches to find out if someone I like has something new out, though many of the on-line music sellers will send you that info, if you’ve indicated an interest in being on their mailing list).
Another thing I do quite frequently is just go to Borders (which has an awesome CD selection…better than any dedicated CD store in the city) and browse. I’ve often picked up a new CD there, based solely on the tune selections (i.e., it has one or more tunes on it that I like or have been trying to learn), and often those become my favorites. Of course, I occasionally get a stinker that way too, so I set myself a price limit for this kind of shopping.
Redwolf
I recommend buying a copy of The Rough Guide to Irish Music. It’s an invaluable resource in every respect when it comes to Irish music. In addition to comprehensive background on the Irish music tradition, it has a huge number of profiles of different musicians and bands, with their history, a description of their music and recommendations for albums. It has helped me immensely.
Best,
Chris
I second ‘The rough guide’-it really is tremendous value for money.'Irish music mag.'is useful,though it is often a month behind from the shop where i usually buy it.Nice to see more C.D. recommendations on ‘Chiff’(keep 'em coming!).I also purchase regularly from Scottish-Irish (a Glasgow based store who are on-line,)- lots of goodies there!
I suggest U.S.-based listers get on the e-mail list of Philippe Varlet, whose Celtic Grooves Imports business sells CDs that are difficult or otherwise impossible to find in the U.S. He has a web site at http://www.celticgrooves.com
He periodically sends out an e-mail filled with brief reviews of new CDs, and the web site is full of capsule reviews and starred recommendations.
–C#/D
[edited to remove extraneous period from URL]
[ This Message was edited by: csharpd on 2002-12-04 10:35 ]
I couldn’t get that web site to come up.
But it sure would be a nice newsletter to
get. Any idea how to be able to see the site.
Lolly
Lolly,
Try it again but take out the period at the end of the url. 
Cheers,
Kathy
I too recommend the rough guide, but I haven’t got the rought guide to irish music, but:
T. r. g. t. scottish music
and
T. r. g. t. scottish folk.
enjoy:-)
I got the site, but it looks like it is only for Imports. I am looking for a list of American artists playing Celtic. Anyone
know of one of these?
Lolly
The Green Linnet site allows you to listen to an entire album on RealAudio. I wish other labels did this. It beats the hell out of the music shops’ sites that allow you to listen to 30 seconds of five cuts on an album.
I like Borders too. They have a good selection of Irish trad and you can listen to some of the CDs, any cut you want, for as long as you want. Of course, you have to get your tushie out from in front of the computer.
I am very fortunate in that the clarinet player in my band, David Gray, works at NPR and sometimes brings me these incredible Celtic music promo CDs that he doesn’t have that much interest in, but he knows I’m wild about.
I am listening right now to one of his recent gifts - an Irish band I was not aware of, Providence. The CD is entitled “A Fig For a Kiss” and ohmigosh is it tasty! Just the way I like it - flute, low whistle, concertina, accordion, fiddle, and stringy thingies. Hot tunes, tight playing, original settings, well thought-out arrangements but very natural, nothing pretentious, super danceable, perfect tempos, very trad style from all these topshelf players. Good vocals too, but I don’t listen to Irish trad for the vocals. On Appleseed Recordings, out of Pennsylvania. Dale, if you’re lurking, you should review this one.
There was some talk about Providence a couple of months ago. You might search the archive to see what was said. They came to North America this summer and my buddies David Cory and Peter Molloy joined them in stead of John Whynne and Paul Doyle.
They’ve had a bit of a shakeup personel wise since that album came out. John Whynne is no longer with them, and I think they lost someone else as well. My girlfriend saw them in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and said it was a pretty good show, though in her opinion the flute player was having a tough time filling John’s shoes.
Best,
Chris
On 2002-12-02 23:34, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
[…]
My girlfriend saw them in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and said it was a pretty good show, though in her opinion the flute player was having a tough time filling John’s shoes.
Best,
Chris
That I can imagine. His playing is what I imagine a more tasteful, somewhat less frenetically obsessive Matt Molloy might sound like. Ooh, was that a nice thing to say? Anyway, he shares the spotlight well on this CD. He’s a real blending ensemble player - a quality I have always admired in players of any caliber, but especially in virtuosos. If you’re listening for the flute, it’s the salient instrument, but if you’re listening to any of the others, you hear them as the principle voice. A nice trick if you can pull it off.
On 2002-12-02 10:34, lollycross wrote:
I am wondering how most of you hear about
an album out there that is for sale.
DO you all search the MP3 and Amazon sites for new music all the time? Or do you
rely on Dale to hear about albums with Whistles and review them, or what?
Lolly, I just wait for you to tell me your next CD is ready! 