Celtophilia

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Artist: Emerald Rose
CD: Con Suite
Bonnie Says - Con Suite is a whimsically random assortment of sci-fi and fantasy inspired offerings along with a couple of songs that lean towards slightly more traditional Celtic fare.
Harry Potter freaks (raises hand!) are almost sure to appreciate Chocolate Frog, a happy little tune with fun lyrics and correspondingly bouncy music.
I really enjoy Fairies Stole My Keys, it’s the perfect combination of Celtic folk music sound with a modern twist in the verses.
All For Me Grog is a rendition of the classic that turned out about as you would expect it to, with maybe a bit too much gratuitous clinking of glasses in the background. The gorgeous harmony will probably cause you to forgive the sound of the barmaid doing the washing up in the recording studio.
I’m sorry to say I just didn’t get Bronya Vadavoshtnoshtk. It’s not Celtic, and it doesn’t appear to be sci-fi, or fantasy … unless it is, but in Russian. Undoubtedly someone knows exactly what it’s all about but that person isn’t me. I must have been absent from geek school that day.
Never Split The Party is the stand out by far. I have listened to it, ahem, a lot, and it just gets better and better. I start grinning as soon as I hear the words dungeon master. As a D and D enthusiast, I have to say the line “Never let that damn thief out of sight” is pure gold. This is the song you’ll get stuck in your head and walk around singing to yourself all day. The best part is, by the time you go to bed you still won’t be sick of it. Words really can’t express the depth of my adoration for this hilarious ditty, made poignant by the death of Gary Gygax on the fourth of March, 2008. Rest in peace Gary.
Big Damn Heroes wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but Browncoats like myself can be tough to please when it comes to our Firefly fan media.The CD is a bit off and on, but when Emerald Rose is on, they will rock you harder than the Weird Sisters in the holodeck on the U.S.S. Enterprise at the simulated Yule Ball.

Mike Mumbles - This CD oozes sweaty, smelly, three-days-without-a-shower geekdom from every pore, and does it in the best way possible. Harry Potter? Star Trek? Firefly? Bass-ackward Georgia Laws? Traditional Celtic? Strange Russian-euro pop-polka sounding stuff? It’s all here.
I’m no Harry Potter fan (crucify me later), but “Chocolate Frog” is a perfect kickoff to the album. It’s got plenty of inside jokes for the real boy wizard lovers, but the catchy, upbeat tune and clever lyrics make it accessible to the rest of us as well.
“No Booze Today” is my hands-down personal favorite. I can hardly express the number of times I’ve swung by a grocery store only to find the beer aisle blocked off, then remembered I live in Georgia. If you’ve ever been to a store on Saturday to buy “Sunday Beer,” you’ll understand.
“Tree Huggin Man” made me laugh a lot. “…he’s a juice-chuggin, liberal pinko dude, wearing hemp pajamas…” Oh god.
“Never Split The Party” is amazing. If you’ve ever played D and D at all and don’t love this song, just jump off a bridge with cinder blocks strapped to your feet. You’re done living.
“Danny in the Jar” is what happens when a whole bunch of trad tunes get together and overindulge on the spirits. If you’re trying to figure out what’s going on, counting the legs and dividing by two would be a good place to start.
Some of the songs on “Con Suite” will go right over your head if you’re not involved in the particular fandom being mocked, but there are enough gems to make this CD well worth the purchase. The recording and production are very good, and Emerald Rose is a top-notch group of musicians.

If you want more info about Emerald Rose, you can find it at www.emeraldrose.com If you want your own copy of Con Suite, you can at CDBaby!And, just because we love our readers so much, we’ve included a little gift for you. Check out this video of “Never Split The Party,” courtesy of YouTube.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm and is filed under All Reviews, Contemporary Celtic Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.