Local Ground

Amazon.com
For their 10th album, the veteran Irish ensemble has gathered 13 traditional and newly composed tunes. These are transformed via singer/fiddler Mairéad ní Mhaonaigh¹s Gaelic-speaking Donegal birthright and gussied up by the group¹s modern yet reassuringly earthy acoustic arrangements. The set list includes several of the jaunty dance tunes that are the soul of Irish music; Is the Big Man Within/Tilly Finn¹s Reel is an especially fine example. But Ní Mhaonaigh¹s fragile, girlish soprano creates many of the album¹s most memorable moments, Adieu My Lovely Nancy and a lullaby, Dun Do Shuil linger in the heart and ear. She and her husband, accordionist Dermot Byrne, own a pub in a small village called Teelin and it must be a great place for musicians to swap songs and tell tales. Indeed, the entire album has home-town warmth to it, a sense of achieved heritage that is at once soothing and invigorating. --Christina Roden

Tracks:

Eirigh 's Cuir Ort Do Chuid Eadaigh
Tommy Peoples/The Road To Cashel/The Repeal Of The Union/Richie's Reel
Is The Big Man Within?/Tilly Finn's Reel
Adieu, My Lovely Nancy
Bo Mhin Na Toitean/Con McGinley's Highland/Seanamhach Tube Station
Amhran Pheadair Bhreathnaigh
The Roseville
As I Roved Out
Sport
The Humours Of Castlefin/Nia's Dance/An Duidin
The Wind And Rain
The Silver Slipper
Dun Do Shuil (Close Your Eyes)

Amazon.com

For their 10th album, the veteran Irish ensemble has gathered 13 traditional and newly composed tunes. These are transformed via singer/fiddler Mairéad ní Mhaonaigh¹s Gaelic-speaking Donegal birthright and gussied up by the group¹s modern yet reassuringly earthy acoustic arrangements. The set list includes several of the jaunty dance tunes that are the soul of Irish music; Is the Big Man Within/Tilly Finn¹s Reel is an especially fine example. But Ní Mhaonaigh¹s fragile, girlish soprano creates many of the album¹s most memorable moments, Adieu My Lovely Nancy and a lullaby, Dun Do Shuil linger in the heart and ear. She and her husband, accordionist Dermot Byrne, own a pub in a small village called Teelin and it must be a great place for musicians to swap songs and tell tales. Indeed, the entire album has home-town warmth to it, a sense of achieved heritage that is at once soothing and invigorating. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Altan album after a series of slumps (the best since Island Angel).......2006-08-02

In my opinion, Altan hasn't released a single good album since Island Angel until now. After the death of Frankie Kennedy, they got worse and worse, culminating in the horrible Blue Idol with irrelevant guest artists and poorly conceived tracks. However, that appears just to be a slump.

Local Ground picks up right where Island Angel left off, showing a mature band in top form. "Eirigh 's Cuir Ort Do Chuid Eadaigh" is one of my favorite songs and hearing Altan perform it is such a delight. Mairéad ní Mhaonaigh's voice is perfect for this song and it reminds me of Altan's recording of Dulaman several years earlier. The sets on this album are impeccably performed and the guests on this album are both relevant and sensitive to the power of Altan's playing.

Overall, an excellent CD that rivals the playing on their first albums. I highly recommend it!

Simply masterful.......2006-05-15

It's simple really. Just put together great tunes and fine musicians; stir in a judicious mixture of traditional and recently-penned music - making sure you include a couple of memorable songs - and you have an Altan album. It's a formula that has kept the Donegal group near the top of Irish traditional folk for 20 years. After all that time you could forgive them if their 10th album showed signs of staleness or repetition. Instead, absolutely to the contrary, "Local Ground" exudes a freshness and pared-back honesty that must be the envy of those who have yet to master Altan's "simple" formula.

The beautifully simple Gaoth Dobhair song "Arise Now and Dress Yourself" - which we heard Clannad do decades ago - opens the album sounding as crisp and new as if it had just been minted. Other trad. songs, including "Adieu, My Lovely Nancy", "Amhran Pheadair Bhreathnaigh" and "The Wind and the Rain", are also delivered with straightforward grace and strength by Mairead ni Mhaonaigh. The jigs, reels and other tunes are mostly "trad: arr.", and beautifully played, with twin fiddles, accordion and fretted instruments taking turns to feature. Alongside these older tunes stand a wonderful pair of more recent efforts, one by band member Daithi Sproule ("The Roseville") and the other by rising legend Peadar O Riada ("Sport"). Each stakes a claim to be the album's most memorably jaunty tune. If pushed I'd have to say that the beautifully crisp mandolin work of Ciaran Curran, which defies the feet to remain still, inclines my vote towards "Sport".

As the album title implies, Altan have gone back to their roots for this effort, with Donegal music a strong feature. As a result "Local Ground" exudes a powerful and fresh energy for their tradition, and re-launches the band into a part of the stratosphere inhabited by precious few others on the folk scene.

Smooth and Sweet.......2006-05-06

Altan has been doing this a while, and they've got a knack for it. I could write paragraphs about them and lose you halfway through, but I won't try that.

If you're new to Altan, this is a good CD to get. I think it will encourage you to try others. If you're a longtime fan, you'll appreciate the craftsmanship and you won't be disappointed. This is one I recommend to anyone who wants to add to their traditional collection.

Great Instrumentals, Fair Vocals.......2005-11-18

Altan is a wonderful group and they occasionally issue some really good songs but, in my opinion, their strength is in their instrumental selections. LOCAL GROUND is an album that demonstrates this well.

I don't understand the songs because I don't speak the language. Still the voice is pleasant and the tune more so. They do a fine job. The instrumentals, however, need no translation. They are finely crafted, exquisitely mixed and a joy to hear.

If you like traditional or modern Celtic music, Alta should certainly be among your favorites. This album is not too shabby either.

Altan -- timeless celtic soul music .......2005-05-03

Not having heard Altan before, I took a chance on LOCAL GROUND, convinced by those who said this was one of their best, and I'm certainly glad I did -- the format is songs with lovely vocals by Maread Ni Mhaonaigh, who also plays fantastic fiddle, alternating with instrumentals, lively toe-tapping jigs and medleys of reels. I listen to all sorts of music, I'm not immersed in this style, and so I lack the knowledge to compare this album to other traditional Irish music. I do know Altan has the reputation of being the finest of its kind in the world, and based on LOCAL GROUND I can see why. Absolutely timeless, this is music that humans might have made from the beginning of time and might be making until the end of time, with joy, sorrow, love, regret, nostalgia, longing, and sheer celebration of being alive another day!

Average customer rating:

... and 1/2 ... Solid bluegrass gospel from the Pacific N.W. that's guaranteed to make you feel good

In The Spirit

Manufacturer: Ground Zero Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000E9ZQAG

Product Description

NO STRINGS ATTACHED began their musical journey nearly a decade ago (1990's). By 2000, the band consisted of Dave Arter (guitar); Judy Arter (fiddle); Kathy Boyd (bass); Loren Ford (mandolin); and Tom Tower (banjo, resophonic guitar and bodhran). In January 2000, NO STRINGS ATTACHED was chosen to play for the Oregon Bluegrass Association's annual gospel concert. The band was thrilled, honored and humbled by the opportunity to share its music as the OBA's centerpiece show. The songs offered here are from their heart to yours. 1) CLIMBING UP THAT MOUNTAIN; 2) JOSHUA; 3) HE'LL SURELY ANSWER THEE; 4) LAY DOWN YOUR WEARY TUNE; 5) BACK UP & RUSH; 6) SNOWING ON THE MOUNTAIN; 7) THE ROPE; 8) GLORYLAND; 9) REVEREND MR. BLACK; 10) HOLD FAST TO THE RIGHT; 11) OH, MARY; 12) COME ON HOME.

Customer Reviews:

... and 1/2 ... Solid bluegrass gospel from the Pacific N.W. that's guaranteed to make you feel good.......2007-02-15

Playing time: 40:24 -- No Strings Attached has entertained crowds throughout the Northwest for a decade with their unique blend of bluegrass with a twist of Celtic, folk and gospel. It was their invitation to the Oregon Bluegrass Association's annual gospel show on January 29, 2000 that provided the impetus for their first CD project. You can tell that this band clearly loves the challenge of arranging and performing gospel music, with its warmth, sensitivity, and vocal harmony. I've enjoyed watching this band grow and develop over the years, and it was the addition of Tom Tower in 1998 that helped them progress to a new level of excitement.

Opening with just voices on "Climbing Up That Mountain," the album moves through a good variety of well-known and more obscure songs. "Joshua" and "Gloryland" fit the former category. Of the lesser performed songs, I especially liked their renditions of "Hold Fast to the Right," the call and response of "He'll Surely Answer Thee," and what could be considered a novelty gospel number, "Reverend Mr. Black" which I've heard Johnny Cash and The Kingston Trio do. I enjoyed their version of Bob Dylan's "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" and their acapella singing on "Oh Mary" and "The Rope". A few of the songs (like "Sowing On The Mountain", "Oh Mary" and "Lay Down Your Weary Tune") have been recorded by Marley's Ghost so I'm guessing that they may have been an influence for No Strings Attached. An instrumental "Back Up and Push" also features the fiddling of Judy Arter.

I was very impressed by No Strings Attached's choice of material that very adequately showcases the band's strengths. One very noticeable strength is the sharing of lead vocals by Dave Arter, Loren Ford and Tom Tower. Despite the paucity of liner notes that identify who is singing what, my familiarity with No Strings Attached's singers dictates a "Well Done!" to Dave Arter for "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" and Loren Ford for his emotional "Come On Home" which closes the album.

Bassist and band manager Kathy Boyd once said, "When an audience member approaches you and goes on and on about how the music stirred them, it's one of the best feelings on earth." No Strings Attached's "In The Spirit" is guaranteed to make you feel good. Not overly-glossy, the album will stir you with their good solid gospel music that also indicates the band clearly had a glorious time playing and recording it. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)