Celtophilia

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Artist: Celtic Woman
CD: Songs From The Heart

Celtic Woman is a group now comprised of vocalists Lisa Kelly, Choe Agnew, Lynn Hilary, and Alex Sharpe along with violinist Mairead Nesbitt. The group was made popular by thousands of showings on PBS stations across the country. In fact, that’s how I first became familiar with Celtic Woman a few years ago. The CD, Songs From the Heart, showcases Celtic Woman’s take on several well known and traditional songs including “Fields of Gold”, “Amazing Grace”, “Nil Sen La”, “My Lagan Love”, “When You Believe” (The Prince of Egypt), “The New Ground/Isle of Hope”, “The Coast of Galicia”, “Non C’e Piu”, “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress”, “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan), “Goodnight My Angel”, and “Galway Bay.” “The Lost Rose Fantasia” and “O, America” are two Celtic Woman originals.

I’ve really enjoyed listening to this CD today…so many times I completely lost count. Now I skip over a couple of songs (”When You Believe”-from The Prince of Egypt and “You’ll Be In My Heart”-from Tarzan) because I’ve heard other versions of them a little too frequently on my son’s MP3 player. “Fields of Gold” is a cover of the song Sting made popular and I still prefer his over this one…probably because of familiarity. Bagpipes and “Amazing Grace” go hand in hand. Add beautiful voices, piano, and drums for an obvious winner. My boys were singing along and really enjoyed it as well. I really liked Lisa’s voice in “The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress.” Very pretty. I’ve listened to many different renditions of “Galway Bay” and I have to say that Chloe did an excellent job and hers is now my favorite.

My favorite song on this CD has to be “Nil Se’n La”. I loved the violin reels, drums, and lively tempo. It’s disappointing that I’ll never be able to learn all the words and sing along with the pristine voices (I looked all over the internet and couldn’t find the correct lyrics). Maybe I’ll just have to settle for dancing…that should work, right? I’m sure the neighbors would prefer dancing over my singing anyway.

If you prefer watching Celtic Woman instead of just listening, there is a DVD (Songs From the Heart-Live at Powerscourt House & Gardens) that aired on PBS as part of the network’s quarterly pledge drive. Better than that, why don’t you check out the tour schedule and go see these girls in person! With shows planned from Washington to Florida and New Hampshire to California, there’s a chance they’ll be at a town near you within the next several months. If you want to hear a new, satisfying twist on some familiar songs, I recommend the CD Songs From the Heart by Celtic Woman.

Slainte,
Julie

Battlefield Band is one of the most iconic Celtic bands in existence. In various incarnations they have been writing and performing for over thirty years. The discography page on their website is longer than my arm and includes more than twenty albums, not counting solo projects by members. Battlefield Band was a group of innovative musical pioneers in 1969 when the band was formed, and they are not content to rest on their past laurels today. Their latest CD, Zama Zama … Try Your Luck, is one of the sharpest and most cohesive albums that I’ve ever listened to, in any genre. Inspired by gold and humankind’s obsession with obtaining it, Zama Zama … Try Your Luck narrates a tale of greed, necessity, and consequences that spans from the legendary Golkonda diamond mines to the Klondike gold rush to the current global financial crises. Don’t let the serious subject matter fool you, this album is far from being a dry political treatise set to song. The music matters here, and the music is passionate, relevant, and not to be missed.

Ku’ula-kai is a bloody amazing instrumental, featuring straight up kickass whistle, bagpipe, fiddle, guitar, and accordion playing. Immediately after playing it the first time, I played it again. Leaning back in my chair with my eyes closed, I found myself smiling and happier than I had any right to be.

Three Brothers is an original song written by Alan Reid, who is a founding member of Battlefield Band. Alan plays accordion and provides lead vocals on this track, which tells the story of (you guessed it) three fictional brothers caught up in the Alaskan Gold Rush. This is balladeering at it’s best, and one of my favorite songs from the album. I used to dislike the accordion, before I figured out that I was incredibly close minded and wrong. Accordions are awesome, if you don’t believe me, give this song a listen and it might just convince you.

I almost always listen to albums in order, because I think that artists put a lot of thought into the arrangement of songs so that there is a progression, and I want to experience the music in the context that was intended. That was a lot of waffle just so I could say in this case I didn’t do it. I had to skip straight to Plain Gold Ring. I am a rabid Nina Simone fan, and I couldn’t wait to hear Battlefield Band’s interpretation of a song I’ve listened to Simone sing hundreds of times. I wasn’t disappointed. While there is a distinct traditional Scottish flavor to the Zama Zama rendition, particularly Alasdair White’s excellent fiddling, it retains the plaintively soulful quality of the original. This is my favorite type of cover, one that stays true to the spirit of the song while also making it sound like something straight out of the band’s own repertoire.

If I have any criticism of the album, it’s that I’m not the biggest fan of instrumentals, and they do represent about half of the songs on the CD. have been thoroughly scolded for my preferences in that department, yet I remain addicted to lyrics. It’s a weak attempt at criticism anyway, as the instrumentals are among the best I’ve heard and I enjoyed some of them immensely.

Zama Zama … Try Your Luck is a remarkable album - musically, lyrically, and in every way. I wanted to write about every last song on the CD, and the only reason I didn’t is because I decided that none of ya’ll would want to read “Zama Zama … Try Your Luck: Bonnie’s Exhaustive Analysis With A Twinge Of Fangirl Enthusiasm” when you could be listening to the album instead. So, do that! Really, do, and then come back here and we can talk one another’s ears off about it - sounds like an incredible good time to me.

* Zama zama is a South African term for illegal gold miners. I highly recommend this article, Dying For Gold, for background on the dangerous and often fatal process of illegal gold mining in South Africa.

** Battlefield band’s current line up consists of Alan Reid, Mike Katz, Sean
O’Donnell, and Alasdair White.

I’m not a person to preach. It’s not my style, really, and I don’t like doing it. However, the images filling up my television screen the past few days demand action. The devastation in Haiti is unfathomable. In so many ways, the scenes from Port-au-Prince remind me of other places that all of our Celtophilia family have visited in Jamaica. The faces remind me vividly of the people I met there, and for a short time, ministered to and cared for deeply. The poverty and desperation, the homes built from scrap plywood and salvaged tin, all take me bodily and hurl me back in time. When I see the suffering of these people who have lost what meager belongings they had, I feel like I know them.

It is easy to feel helpless. Like so many people, we struggle to pay our bills. We don’t have the fortune of celebrities, major corporations, or internet millionaires on our side. Despite this, I feel the weight of a moral responsibility to make an effort, however small, to help these people. I don’t mind saying, I feel that every person in the world who doesn’t have to wonder if they’ll sleep in the street tonight, or where their next meal will come from should really feel this responsibility as well.

To this end, I have created several new designs to add to the Celtophilia store, to support the relief efforts in Haiti. There are t-shirts, coffee mugs, water bottles, stickers, buttons, and magnets. You can check out the new store items on the Support Haiti Relief Page. If you like them, please consider making a purchase. $3 from the price of each item sold will be donated to the Unicef US Fund, to support disaster relief. We will take no profit from these items. If you don’t like them, please, please find some way to help. Unicef is taking donations. The American Red Cross is taking donations. Every other charitable support organization in the world is taking donations. Give them a dollar, if that’s all you can part with, but do something.

Celtophilia Store Support Haiti Relief Page.