Search - Liam Clancy :: The Lark In The Morning

1955 home recordings: Irish trad in its native habitat

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 04/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mixing the "whack fol diddly eye day" type of mouth music making when a singer imitates an instrument, ballads about cuckoldry, spousal drowning, slow poisoning, and "false young men" who lead fair maidens astray, and finally simple instrumentals, this 1955 recording sounds great. Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and many other folk and folk-rock listeners of the 60s adapted quite a few of these songs into more contemporary sonic settings, but the purity of these field recordings by Diane Hamilton also captures a moment now lost--singers and players in their native habitat of the Irish rural house one night. Not only the Makems and Clancys, by the way. The mastering of this allows you to hear the catch of breath, the second's hesitation as a woman's voice joins the man's in starting the verse, and the tiny slip in the lyric that betrays an all too human touch lost in the studio of many more elaborate attempts since then to recapture the simplicity here.



This version with a rural photo on the cover, from Tradition Records, does not reproduce as does a more recent re-issue the original look of the album with Louis deBrocquey's handsome cover art-- or the skimpy liner notes-- of the original issue, but the songs remain the same. See Liam Clancy's memoir "Mountain of the Women" for much more about Diane Hamilton (Guggenheim!) and his checkered relationship with her, as she came to Ireland to record folk singers for this, the first issue on her Tradition label."

Excellent CD!

I. Robinson | 05/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a great fan of "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy makem", I must say that this album has been one of my favorites. From what I have heard, these songs that were recorded on this CD were once lost and forgotten. But they were re-recorded and I have to say that this album is an excellent choice for Irish Music lovers."