"This disc is as good as Irish music gets without being sung by someone named Clancy or Makem... But be warned - this is not the pretty, melodious, "Danny Boy" style of singing - this is a down and dirty, gravel-voiced, raucous, drunken sing-along - exactly the way it should be. For those wondering exactly who it is on the disc, I believe it is the Dubliners - a great band indeed. The disc musically transports you to an Irish pub in the middle of the Irish countryside, and that for 6 bucks! And it gets more fun with every listen. Highly recommended!"
A very decent intro for the price
Roontoon | Minneapolis, MN | 03/15/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First: The correct samples for "All the Best Irish Drinking Songs" (which has a jacket photo of a man & woman drinking in a dim pub) are found under the listing for "The Best of Irish Pub Songs: 20 Great Favorites", which has a jacket illustration of a drawing of a pink pub front called "Dan's Pub"; seems there's some information confusion between the two listings. Where the samples are for the "pink pub" recording are I have no idea.)
I first bought "All the Best Irish Drinking Songs" in cassette years ago to simply learn some pub songs before an Irish vacation. I wasn't looking for classic renditions or sublime technical achievement, just something to teach me the tunes.
For the price, I was very pleasantly surprised. The songs are great, and this assortment is hard to find in one recording. Whether the "pub atmosphere" in the background is contrived or authentic was irrelevant to me; I did feel that it enhanced the listening experience, however, so I think it's a nice touch. If inauthenticity in that kind of thing gets your cockles up, then look to the Clancy Brothers or any other Irish folk legends for "live" concert recordings, or Matt Molloy for an honest-to-gosh pub recording, but you won't find these tunes in one product for any price anywhere else. The only downsides I found with this economic recording were no lyric sheet, and tempos that might vary from "studio" versions of the same songs, but all in all, it's a very enjoyable little tape for a small investment."
Good but not samples above are not for this CD
megkf | D.C., USA | 07/03/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The CD is very very good but the samples above are not for this CD. This CD contains various artists and isn't live or 1/2 as rowdy as the samples above. I wish I could find out which CD that one is!"
Tedious, Un-professional and Noisy
megkf | 09/07/1999
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This album has 16 cuts culled from a 3-CD set entitled "Songs of Ireland",arguably the worst "Irish" collection ever produced. Four better cuts cannot redeem this. If six bucks is all you can afford to sample Irish music, try "28 Irish Pub Songs" by Clancy/Makem (yes, Amazon stocks it). If you've purchased this albatross, put a string loop through it. It looks better hanging from you car's rear view mirror than it will ever sound in your CD player."
True Pub Experience
jearl@firehousemail. | Georgia, USA | 06/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a great cd, I originally had the cassette of this band and they were known as the Jolly Beggermen. One of their musicians plays now with the Irish Brigade. With this cd on you can almost taste the stout and smell the hearthfire."