Editorial Reviews

Much traditional Irish repertoire currently enjoying such a hearty renaissance was all but lost in Ireland several decades ago. Standard tunes like "Ballinasloe Fair," "Rakish Paddy" and "Drowsy Maggie" might now be extinct, were it not for hundreds of 78's made in the 1920s and 30s by Irish immigrants in America. In pubs and dance halls all over the states, flautist John McKenna, fiddler Michael Coleman, accordionist Peter Conlon, and a host of others kept the sod fires burning, their recordings an unwitting repository of songs and styles that several generations of Irish and Irish-American players have since reclaimed. This two-disc set is the motherlode--46 tunes mastered directly from the 78's, some of them extremely rare and retaining all their scratchy charm. Many of the performances--uilleann piper Patrick J. Touhy's "The Steampacket/Morning Star/Miss McCleod" reel set, for example--are simply jaw-dropping. Buy this set for its historical significance; listen to it for its pure brilliance. --Erik Goldman Barnes & Noble

Customer Reviews

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