Search - Altan :: Best of

Altan
Best of
Genres: Folk, International Music, New Age, Pop

Track Listings (16) - Disc #1
1. Tommy Peoples/The Windmill/Fintan McManus's - Altan, McManus, Fintan
2. Moll Dubh A'ghleanna
3. Jimmy Lyon's/The Teelin/The Red Crow/The Broken Bridge - Altan, NiMhaonaigh, Mairea
4. The Sunset - Altan, McConnell, Cathal
5. Glory Reel/The Heathery Cruach
6. The Flower of Magherally
7. Mazurka
8. A Bhean Udal Thail
9. King of the Pipers
10. S? Do Mhaimeo ?
11. The Jug of Punch
12. Emyvale/R?l Gan Ainm/The Three Merry Sisters of Fate
13. The Mhaighdean Mhara
14. D?lam?n
15. Drowsy Maggie/Rakish Paddy/Harvest Storm - Altan, Kennedy, Frankie
16. An Feoch?n - Altan, Peoples, Tommy

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CD Details

All Artists: Altan
Title: Best of
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 1
Label: Green Linnet
Original Release Date: 1/21/1997
Release Date: 1/21/1997
Genres: Folk, International Music, New Age, Pop
Styles: Traditional Folk, British & Celtic Folk, Celtic, Celtic New Age
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPCs: 048248117722, 048248117746

Synopsis

Amazon.com essential recording

It's hard to qualify what "best of" could mean in the case of a band as prolific as Altan. This was a record label collection (the best of the Green Linnet years) and it is just that from Frankie Kennedy's slow reel, "The Sunset," through the jigs, reels and airs that they play so well. Mairead Ni Mhaoinaigh on fiddle also supplies their trademark voice, Ciaran Tourish and Paul O'Shaughnessy are on fiddles as well, Frankie Kennedy is on flute plus various instruments by Ciaran Curran, Mark Kelly and Daithi Sproule. As a bonus there is a second CD, a live recording taken from the soundboard of a 1989 concert. --Louis Gibson

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Member CD Reviews

Myra S. (ignolopi) from SALT LAKE CTY, UT
Reviewed on 6/21/2011...

I wouldn't call this selection the 'best' of Altan, but it certainly holds great tunes. A Bhean Udai Thall is much fun. Moll Dubh A' Ghleanna is definitely one of my favorites. The Flower Of Magherally is very pretty, Altan does one of the best versions of that song. I love Dulaman. I also like 'Si Do Mhaimeo I.
Others are pretty, but not favorites. There are a lot of jigs/reels, which can be fun, but also can all start to blend together. As far as jigs/reels go, Altan has some of the most fun, but even then I would rather have the vocal tracks.

If you are looking for an introduction to Altan, you might try this CD, but I would recommend Blue Idol or Another Sky, or Red Crow.

CD Reviews

Better Than I Expected

Kenneth French | Montclair, NJ | 03/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm an Irish music snob and tend to shun any band that gets too much attention. So I avoided Altan for a long time until I finally picked up this collection. I couldn't have been more wrong about them. Traditional and high-spirited without being too pop. Highly recommended."

They send you back to better times.

Jason | 03/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm knew to the celtic world and have been diving into buying my music without even knowing what they sound like or whether I'll like them or not. This one I got lucky. I really like this group and album. It took me a few listens to appreciate them but when I did I really did. If your anything like me (and are new to the celtic world) then I recommend this one. It'll make you wanta search for other celtic groups. Altan changes it around pretty well Their instrumentals sound like "blue grass" (Where do you think blue grass got it's roots?) and the singing it'll either make you feel like dancing a jig or holding your love one in your arm. It's never depressing though only either beautifully done or knee slapping good. Give it a shot."

4 stars as a single disc, 5 stars with live CD

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 02/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As retrospectives go, this is a good one, and captures the pace that Altan brings to a regular release. The entire history is represented here, at least as it was distributed by Green Linnet. The early trio date with Frankie, Mairead and Ciaran Curran through the final formation as sextet before Frankie's passing with the additions of Ciaran Tourish, Daithi Sproule and Dermot Byrne are well represented. The weaker points come from "Horse With a Heart" which has something missing in Phil Cunningham's production, though I am hard pressed to say what it is that's missing.
Perhaps the element of personnel flux is at its most vulnerable during these early days, as Paul Shaunnesy and Mark Kelly were sometimes on and sometimes off because of their day jobs. It really wasn't until "The Red Crow" that Frankie and Mairead made the decision to leap forward with this band as their career, and it is with that release that Altan really catches fire.
The shadows of Johnny Dougherty, Con Campbell, James Byrne and Robert Cinnamond loom large in the soul of this band, and in no uncertain terms they took the Donegal-Ulster tradition of Irish music and carried it from the back bothrins of Gaoth Dobhair to front and center in the Irish Cultural Renaissance of the 80's and 90's.
But, the real gem here is the limited edition version that carried a live CD with it. Having promoted them live in Philadelphia 4 times, once at my own establishment that is wonderfully recorded on tape as well as shows at Bluett Theatre, whose video capture by Drexel University is just breathtaking, I can tell you that Altan is a Very Different Beast LIVE. No quarter is asked or given. It's all hell for leather and the sheer dynamics of this band wrung you out emotionally, left you dancing ecstatically like some Celtic Dervish or Gaelic Pentacostalist. Their passion live has surely been responsible in part for the Irish American baby boom of the last decade! Green Linnet presents a great, great snippet of their live material, which underscores the whole issue that somewhere, someone, everyone should be hammering IMN, their management company, to get a live box set out, live DVD out, especially of the years helmed by Frankie. The Cabin John appearances in the early days of the DC Irish Folk Festival, following Ashley Mac Isaac, were perfomances of legend. Not to be outdone by the peripatetic Mac Isaac, Frankie and Mairead rose to the challenge and left a crowd of dazed enthusiasts in sheer joyful abandon. Roll the tapes forward and appearances at The National Geographic Society, Wolf Trap, following The Rankins and Natalie Mac Master, are all very possibly the greatest festival performances ever given by any band. Think Duke Ellington at Newport! Their performance here at Duffy's with Mearta Wagar and Brid Ni Chostelloe is still talked about and all I can tell you is that these tapes are the most precious things in my life. I've given you direction where to get some of the masters, so get on with it! This is a band whose every burp should be documented, especially live. Irish music was never this good before and it will never reach these heights whenever they finally hang up their bows and pocket their plectrums.
If record companies and management companies still drop the ball, go catch them live, even if you have to book airfare to Ireland. They have always been and remain the best. Look up "keepin it real" in the dictionary: Altan invented it."

Incredible and Incredibly Excellent Traditional Celtic

mrstlfoster | Calverton, NY United States | 05/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Skilled, practiced, perfectly executed fast reels and jigs. The best version of Dulaman I've ever heard. The bonus CD crackles with the freshness only live performances can give, and I have been known to play track 1 (Con Cassidy's/Neil Gow's Highland/Moll and Tiarna/McSweeney's) as many as seven times in a row. Lovers of Riverdance will love this CD."