This issue's CD Half Dozen includes three that are in large part sung in Gaelic, which bodes well for the language but poorly for the artist (unless of course you are Enya). For it is well nigh impossible to retain a name not of one's own language, even as far as the local music store, so be advised. Carry this review with you wherever you go. But first up we have a collection … [Read more...] about Hands Across the Water: From Gaelic to Graceland
Music
United by Song
The Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland fosters good relations between North and South. ℘℘℘ What does it take for people to forget the past and live in the moment? According to the members of the Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland, putting the past behind them requires no more than getting a bunch of enthusiastic kids from both sides of the border together and teaching them to … [Read more...] about United by Song
Encompassing the Celtic
When Irish America handed me half a dozen CD's to review, I promptly visualized a neat column; a paragraph each; thumbs up or down. But as each jewel box unfolded I realized there was something more complicated going on; consequently I may be inclined to ramble, for this is Celtic Music. Or World Music; Folk Rock, Irish, Scottish, English, Brittany, Acid-Croft, Afro-Celt, … [Read more...] about Encompassing the Celtic
When Bono Met Jenna
Last May, a horde of celebrities showed up at Madison Square Garden in New York to enjoy a spectacular U2 concert (part of their Vertigo tour). Prior to launching into the song "Miracle Drag," Bono gave a shout out to one of Irish America's previous Top 100 honorees, Dr. Kevin Cahill, infectious-disease specialist and former Grand Marshal of Manhattan's St. Patrick's Day … [Read more...] about When Bono Met Jenna
The Hold Steady
A whole world resides inside a Hold Steady CD, one in which Catholic girls tap a drug haze for a sense of spirituality, where small-town-Minnesota kids struggle for cool nicknames, and where a pimp named Charlemagne strolls the street in sweat-pants. Often, Hold Steady characters created in one track will resurface on another track. The rock and roll band possesses a unique … [Read more...] about The Hold Steady