Search - Various Artists :: Milestone At The Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters From The 78 RPM Era

'it's old but it's good'

1_balor | ny | 10/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ah yes, this is the real stuff - a collection of traditional irish music recordings dating back to the 1920's and 30's, with some later recordings up to the fifties. With the current popularity of 'celtic' music many traditional musicians are exploring the limits of traditional music, adding unusual instruments and styles. Its not unusual to find a recording of a yiddish wedding song or a appalachian tune in the middle of an album of jigs and reels, or the occasional jazzy or bluesy riff ornamenting a hornpipe these days. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, after all folk music is alive and constantly changing, and traditional musicians are people to with wide interests and the curiosity to explore different genres. However the range of influences available to today's musicians is much greater than that which was available to an older generation, and the music is now in danger of losing its roots becoming a world music stew.
This collection features many of the great old musicians who were influenced only by their neighbours and relatives and thus their music is rooted in time and place much more than the music of today. These musicians - Coleman, Gillespie, Murphy, Reavy and the others featured on this cd - were hugely influential themselves. The 78's they recorded in America were sent back to Ireland and influenced a new generation of musicians. Many of the combinations of tunes that are played today are lifted straight from the old recordings.'Bonnie Kate' is always combined with 'Jenny's Chickens' because that's how they appeared in Michael Coleman's recording. But this cd is no mere academic exercise in folklore. It is sparkling, bright, lively, full of energy, earthy, fun. And the recordings are mostly excellent, although one or two show their age with scratches and hiss - they were re-mastered from 78s after all!
This is the cd to get if you want to here where all this irish traditional music comes from, if you want to hear it in its original form and if you want to hear it as it really should be."

The best irish fiddling album I've found

Pen Name? | 04/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am so happy I found this album. I've always wanted this cd, before I knew it existed. I love traditional Irish dance music, especially the fiddling. I generally don't like vocals in it though. And although the reels and jigs and hornpipes are all so well known, finding a good cd of them is just so hard (at least for me). [Does every Irish collection really need to have Danny Boy and Whiskey in the Jar?]
There isn't a bad song on this release. Thank you to Rounder records for saving these classic songs by some excellent musicians... performances that may have otherwise been forgotten. I hope that more of these older recordings will be made available in the future.
If you like Irish music, I'd have to imagine you'll love this cd."