most jaw dropping tracks?

Whistle
1

We’ve often been asked of our favourite CDs, favourite players and such on the C&F board. So just to stir the pot a little, I would like to know which tune renditions of the masters (whistle, flute, pipes, fiddle or otherwise) C&Fers find the most jaw dropping. To start the ball rolling,

Sean Ryan (whistle) - Broderick’s/Galway Rambler from “Take the air”
Matt Molloy w Chieftains - The Mason’s Apron from “An Irish Evening”

The Mason’s Apron rendition is definitely one of the most shocking things I’ve ever heard. No accompaniment, only pure solo flute power. Ostentacious, some might feel, but it just makes me totally dumbfounded! Ultimate firework fluteplaying.

[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2002-01-31 02:43 ]

2

The guy has like, 3 sets of lips or something.
Absolutly incredible playing, "The Mason’s Apron " by Molloy was the reason my wife opted for a Sasuto D
Dan

3

…about anything that sounds better than i do makes my jaw drop, but these are some ‘absolutely-cartoon-like-jaw-dropping-bouncing-on-the-floor-slapping-my-mouth-shut-and-jaw-dropping-on-the-floor-again-tunes’:

  • Eb Reels - Flook! (or anything by Flook for that matter)
  • The Old Maid of Galway - Liz Carroll
  • Sean Sa Cheo/Lord Gordon’s - Laurence Nugent
  • Banks of Lough Gowna - Larsen/League

These are some tunes that come to mind now, since I listen to them a lot. Might edit later.
It’s mostly not just high speed that makes my eyes look like saucers - it’s finesse, rhythm, variation, interplay between musicians…

Jeroen

Hell would be a world without music

4

Willie Clancy playing Rakish Paddy (on the pipes)recorded in his home by Paddy Hill in 1958. Maybe a set of the Green Gates/Satin
Slipper/London Lasses fro ma tape recorded by John Joe Tuttle during the early 60s. But a lot of other stuff as well.



OK I edit in a few more:

A lot of things by Seamus Ennis, one track from the RTE archive acetate discs that didn’t make it onto the Return from Fingal CD
springs to mind: Hand me down the Tackle, the first house in Connaught and a few other tunes which escape me now but theres’s a great burst of regulator playing in the middle that never fails to surprise me

Paddy Canny’s fiddle playing, I am thinking particularly of one session recorded in Brid Donohue’s house Paddy and Michael Kelleher on fiddle, accompanied by a piano playing Young Francis Mooney and the Humours of Ballydehob, a set of hornpipes including Maguire’s fiddle and the Cuckoo. Jaw dropping for the beautiful close duet playing, the subtle bounce and mood of it and because (for me) it took place just up the road. As good or better than the ‘Champions’ lp/CD

Martin Rochford, not as much jaw dropping, straight to the heart. Music that never fail to move me. The Mist Covered mountain, Forget me not, Splendid Isolation (Breandan McGlinchey’s)/Caoilte Mountains spring to mind but anything really


Kitty Hayes, all her music, both her concertina playing and her singing, not because she was recorded playing her concertina when she in her seventies but because she learned the concertina again at 70 after being away from it for 45 years. I love her to bits.

Micho Russell, lots of things but the inevitable Sean sa Cheo and Boy in the Gap echo in my mind

Those sets of six tunes or so that seemed to flow out of Bobby Casey on all those tapes recorded from the late 50s right through the sixties, the truly jawdropping accuracy of his playing, the richness of ideas and constant variation, impeccable music that never tires.

All of this great lonesome individual music full of joy, sadness and everything else life brings, strong powerful playing but none of these players ever brings the agression and hype to the music that is so present in a lot of the music of the present day players.

[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-02-01 05:55 ]

5

Oh, mercy, what a topic!

My list would be as follows: Martyn Bennett - 3 Sheeps 2 The Wind I & II

MacUmba - Brenda’s (Brenda Stubbert’s like you’ve never heard it before)

Seamus Ennis - Longford Collector / Eammon Coyne’s

Lunasa - The Morning Nightcap

The Chieftains - The Session

\

I also second the nomination for Liz Carroll's Old Maids of Galway! \ \

Oh, and can we include vocal music, or is that too far off topic?

~Firefly

6

The one player I’ve heard on record who consistently makes my jaw drop, and further than anyone else, is Tommy Peoples. Try The Newport Lass/The Rambling Pitchfork on the Molloy/Peoples/Brady album.

Oh, and then there’s Tommy Potts.

Martin Rochford made my jaw drop equally far the one time I heard him, but I know of no commercial recordings.

Favourite whistle tracks (not necessarily likely to induce dislocated mandibles):

  • Anything solo by Sean Potts.
  • The “Gerdy Commane’s” set on Mary Bergin’s first album.

Other fiddle favourites:

  • The Blackbird by Martin Byrnes. Superbly lyrical and moody.
  • The Whistler from Rosslea / Connor Dunn by Martin Hayes’ Wonderful build-up of brooding tension.
7

Seamus Ennis SilverSpear/Dublin Reel set on pipes

Kiernan Collins The Earls Chair on whistle

Mrs. Elizabeth Crotty Andy Mcganns Reel concertina She was in her 70’s when this was recorded Unbelievable

Matt Malloy Josie McDermotts/Benny Ainsboroughs reels flute

8

DeDannan doing The Rights of Man/The Pride of Petravore on their CD “Ballroom”. (They do it in Eb.) Maybe it is not objectively jawdropping like Matt Molloy on the Irish Evening CD, but it has dropped my jaw so many times. I think that track is more responsible than any other that I had to get a whistle and do this myself. It’s a track that wants to be listened to carefully for the richness and subtleness of Frankie Gavin’s playing and the arrangement. Notice the cello (Neil Martin, iirc).

9

‘At First Light’ CD by Michael McGoldrick & John McSherry.
Track #3, Doinna
Mike on wooden flute and John on Uilleann pipes.
I have no problem leaving this tune on repeat mode for an hour or so.

10

I have to agree with Peter’s choice of Willie Clancy, but not only pipes. His whistle playing and singing amazes me. I never tire of hearing him singing “Erin’s Lovely Lea”.

Martin Hayes’ setting of “Port Na Bpucai” because it is hearing a fiddle being caressed and Jerry Holland’s “Cutting Ferns/Alex Dan MacIsaac’s/Brenda Stubberts/Mutt’s Favorite” set because it is hearing a fiddle being devoured.
Joe Burke on flute - I wish he’d release another flute CD
Paddy Keenan’s “The Bucks of Oranmore”
Gordon Mooney’s “O’re the Border” on smallpipes - hell, anything Gordon Mooney plays on smallpipes, border pipes, or northumbrian.

11

Since this is the CD I’m currently listening to all the time, I will name a couple of (to me at least) jaw-dropping tracks:

Paul Winter & Friends-Celtic Solstice (CD):

*Track #4, Jerry O’Sullivan on Uillean Pipes, “O’Farrell’s Welcome to Limerick.”
Absolutely AMAZING!!

*Track #6, Joanie Madden on soprano D whistle, “My Fair and Faithful Love/Blarney Pilgrim.”

*Also track #8, “After the Fleadh,” again Jerry O’Sullivan (and Joanie Madden).

I got this CD from the library and I’ve been listening to those tunes over and over ever since. :slight_smile:

12

Yay, Joanie! You’re winning the contest!

:smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

See ya later!
BB

13

Matt Molloy w Chieftains - The Mason’s Apron from “An Irish Evening”

The Mason’s Apron rendition is definitely one of the most shocking things I’ve ever heard. No accompaniment, only pure solo flute power. Ostentacious, some might feel, but it just makes me totally dumbfounded! Ultimate firework fluteplaying.

I just heard this one today. WOW.

It was amazing.

[ This Message was edited by: LittleMy on 2002-02-04 15:59 ]

14

“Gillies” by Wolfstone. I have this on a CD with various artists. Does anybody know if all of their tunes are this good? 'Cause if they are I may just have to go and buy some new CD’s!

Brent

15

Tunes/Tracks I can’t get out of my head…

  • The Black Cat, LothLorien - Ghostwood
  • Dans en Dro - Lothlorien - Ghostwood
  • The Butlers of Glen Avenue / Sliabh Russell / Cathal McConnell’s - Lunasa Otherworld
  • January Snows / Laura Lynn Cunningham - Lunasa Otherworld
  • Sunset Reel - Frankie Kennedy (Altan)
  • An Feochan - Frankie Kennedy (Altan)
  • Sgariunt na Gcompanagh (Parting of Friends) - Matt Molloy - Music at Matt Malloy’s

I’m sure these aren’t the greatest tracks ever played nor are they all pure drop; but …
They’re the tracks that touched something inside and with startling regularity continue to twist that something time and time again.

\

Enjoy Your Music,

Lee Marsh

(I’d have half as many of these posts “editted” if I could just remember “they are” contracts to “they’re” instead of “their”.)

[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-02-25 14:04 ]

16

Here’s a few more of my favourites:

Seamus Egan - Mason’s Apron/My Love is In America
Seamus Egan - Flaubert’s Lilt

both from “When Juniper Sleeps”. Seamus Egan’s Mason’s/America is played on a banjo - the first time I’ve ever liked banjo playing (I think the nice backing really helps too). Its so weird that despite being such a masterful flautist, Seamus Egan only releases a relatively little amount of flute pieces per CD.

Altan (Ciaran Tourish) - The Windmill (in between their Tommy People’s set)
Mary Bergin - Richard Dwyers/Miss McDonald’s

Lunasa (esp in “Merry Sisters”), McGoldrick and Flook are really jawdroping in the arrangement sense. I really love the way they add contemporary sounding riffs, chord progressions and interesting accompaniments, like trumpets and disc-scratching, which makes the music extremely palatable and very cool. Of course they’re technically flawless too.

However Matt Molloy and his Mason’s Apron still tops the charts for me in technical impressiveness. I hear that Martin Hayes’ “Live in Seattle” album is pretty impressive too. Musicians tend to need to show their technical side in “Live” performances I guess.

For slow stuff:

Scartaglen (Connie Dover) - Chuaigh Me 'Na Rosann
I think this is the best vocal air that I’ve ever laid ears on. The way she does those vocal ornamentations and her tone gets me everytime.

Lunasa - Inion Ni Scannlain from “Merry Sisters”
Paddy Maloney - Protected by Angels (OST Babe: Pig in the City)

Orison - The Butterfly
I feel this is the best rendition of the slip jig, despite being a little different from how trad playing people normally play it. Nice chord progressions.

OT: Btw Brent, your quote is from the Gingerbread Man from the movie Shrek, I believe.

[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2002-02-05 01:51 ]

17

I’ll put up three tracks that come to mind right now. Two of which have already been mentioned but the third, all time mind blower for me, has not.

  1. Lunasa, Morning Nightcap. It’s just such a joyous tune. The celt equivalent to a great rock n roll anthem. Gets the hairs rising!!

  2. McGoldrick and McSherry, Doinna. Third track of First Light. If Lunasa doesn’t get the hair standing up, this does!!! It’s just plain freaky.

  3. Bert Jansch, Reynardine. Guitar and Vox. I can’t even begin to discribe what this track does to me. Anyone interested in guitar should buy this right away. Anyone interested in scotish folk should buy this right away. This man is simply amazing. The album is called “Rosemary Lane” some trad and some originals. Makes my jaw drop everytime.

Jack “Scratchin the surface” Orion

18

Yeah, JackOrion, that Morning Nightcap set blew me away the first time I heard it so I decided I had to learn it. I can play it, though it certainly sounds nowhere near as good as the Lunasa version. I’m not quite sure what my choices for most jaw-dropping tracks are… I’ll get back to you all on that question, but that Morning Nightcap set is indeed fantastic.
Best,
Chris

19

Somebody ought to compile a master list of all of these for the newsletter. That’d be so fine.

Dale

20

Eldarion,
I know…But “unknown” sounds better than “the gingerbread man that is being tortured in the movie Shrek” :slight_smile: So in case anyone was wondering where the quote came from…Now you know!

Brent