10 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS June 2008Tradition In ReviewWell, there ARE some very tastytreats this time, to be sure! Enoughlollygagging. Let’s get to it!We have two very top picks thismonth. The first is the last. By that,unfortunately, we mean the last fromthe master <strong>of</strong> real honest-to-God<strong>Irish</strong> music, Frank Harte. If youdon’t know, there are many whowould argue that Frank was the preeminentcollector <strong>of</strong> <strong>Irish</strong> songs inhis long and storied life. Beginningat the age <strong>of</strong> 10, the collecting bughit Frank when he bought his first<strong>Irish</strong> broadsheet. These were songson paper sold for a penny at fairs,markets, in town—or anywhere abuyer could be found. Pubs were,<strong>of</strong> course, also favorite points <strong>of</strong>commerce. These songs covered theentire waterfront when it came totopics. Love, emigration, abandonment,war, labor conditions, and—inBill Margesonmany cases—current events. Some<strong>of</strong> the best are political in nature—and not ALL <strong>of</strong> the political onesdecried the British, as you mightthink. Over his life, Frank collectedan estimated 10,000 <strong>of</strong> these—manyon just scraps <strong>of</strong> paper. Many wouldhave no melodic notation, and manywould. In thousands <strong>of</strong> cases, thesesongs represented a local musicalnewspaper, <strong>of</strong> sorts. Singers sellingthese songs would gather at the marketsand hold forth, actually presentingthe songs live—so you know theyhad to be good to gather the attention<strong>of</strong> the listeners, as well as their pennies.Very <strong>of</strong>ten, they were intendedto be sung in song pubs. One <strong>of</strong>the things we remember the mostabout Frank was his perfect songpub voice. High, nasal, edgy—justperfect to cut through the din <strong>of</strong> thedrinkers packed into their local. Youcould hear Frank—and you couldunderstand him perfectly. When nottending to his duties as Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong>Architecture at University CollegeDublin, he would be found in a widevariety <strong>of</strong> settings—both educationaland entertainment. He was a master.We were the last to interview him.We had known him for a number<strong>of</strong> years, and were saddened alongwith everyone else in <strong>Irish</strong> musicwhen this master passed from ustwo weeks after we spoke for thefinal time. He left behind a number<strong>of</strong> incredible gifts in the albums herecorded over the years sotto voce,as well as with Donald Lunny. Thelast <strong>of</strong> the albums has been released.He was working on it at the time<strong>of</strong> his death, though the recordingshad, thankfully, been finished. It isentitled, There’s Gangs <strong>of</strong> Them Digging.There are 19 songs chroniclingthe <strong>Irish</strong> worker abroad—mostly relatingto those who went to Englandand Scotland. <strong>This</strong> is the real deal.Over the years, Frank recorded entirealbums on topics like the Famine,the <strong>Irish</strong> in the Napoleonic Wars (adouble album!!) and Dublin streetsongs, among many many others.The last word we heard is that thelegendarily knowledgeable HarryBradshaw, formerly the archivist <strong>of</strong>the RTE trad music library, is handlingthe codification <strong>of</strong> the HarteCollection. No small task, to besure. In any event, the old saw about“Frank never being truly gone” is true.We have this music. And, on There’sGangs <strong>of</strong> Them Digging we have ahistory lesson and a wonderful piece<strong>of</strong> music at the same time. Not to bemissed. It is on the Daisy label. Rating:Four Harps to InfinityNext up is a new fav, The ParishPlatform by Rattle the Boards. Fourmusicians, with guest stars. John Nugent,Benny McCarthy, John Eganand Pat Ryan <strong>of</strong>fer an album <strong>of</strong> greatfun and a sense <strong>of</strong> the real trad. <strong>This</strong>is not the honed studio perfection <strong>of</strong>so many albums today. <strong>This</strong> is a big,blousy thing with a great sense <strong>of</strong> themusic, the rhythms and the meaning.It is the most fun we have had listeningto anything in quite a while. Wefrequently smiled, and even got up toshake a foot occasionally ourselves!The role <strong>of</strong> ceili and set dancing iswell recorded in <strong>Irish</strong> music, andvastly overrated. And, if this album indescription pays a little too much <strong>of</strong> atip <strong>of</strong> the hat to the dancing tradition,it delivers the essential goods—themusic itself. You will love this album.It will be a contender for Vocal/Instrumental Album <strong>of</strong> the Year. Itis their second album and is <strong>of</strong>feredthrough Doon Productions. Go towww.rattletheboards.com. Find thisalbum and buy it. Then turn it up.Smile. Rating: Four HarpsCapercaille is out with theirnew one, Roses and Tears. It is onVertical Records. It is Capercaille,all right. We have always lovedthis group. Now, this album plowsno real new ground for them—butdoes it need to? Any group thathas Karen Matheson, Donald Shaw,Ewan Vernal, Manus Lunny andthe man—Michael McGoldrick init is already a winner. It is not theirbest—nor is it “important” in theway some <strong>of</strong> their earlier work was.But, it IS perfectly played and highlyenjoyable. Capercaille fans will, <strong>of</strong>course, run to get it, love it and willplay it ceaselessly. We ARE fans, butwe won’t be playing it ceaselessly—but we will play it a lot.Rating: Three HarpsCompass Records has KaranCasey’s new one, Ships in the Forest.There are masses <strong>of</strong> Karan Caseyfans, and we number ourselvesamong them. A lot <strong>of</strong> her work hasbeen almost angry. Social protestand musical lectures on varioustopics both current and historical.We thought she was moving past allthat. Now, this is a purely personalobservation <strong>of</strong> taste. Many love thosetypes <strong>of</strong> tunes. We do not. When wewere working as a studio musiciandecades ago, the saying for singerswas, “If you want to send a message,use Western Union.” Karan Caseyhas a superb voice and a real sensenow <strong>of</strong> who she is. Many, many <strong>of</strong>her songs are not message-based andthey are superb, as well as her voice.She had the good sense to leave Solas,where she originally came to allour attention. Since then, she has recordeda number <strong>of</strong> albums, first forShanachie and now, Compass. Thesemajor labels know a star when theyhear one, and Karan is a star. A lovelygal with a great voice. But, we heara little too much <strong>of</strong> Western Unioncalling. Rating: Three HarpsLast is a lovely album distributedfrom Copperplate in London, probablythe best in the world at findingand marketing this kind <strong>of</strong> thing.It is The Factory Town by DamianO’Brien and Oliver Loughlin. Thesetwo Leitrim musicians (Damian onfiddle and Oliver on piano accordion)have produced a lovely all-instrumentalouting <strong>of</strong> taste and precision.These lads can play. A minor bone<strong>of</strong> contention—like so many otheralbums today, the album notes arebeing over produced, resulting intheir being almost impossible toread. And, that is a shame, in thatwe want to easily know more aboutthese tunes and musicians. They arejoined by some lovely side musicians,including the legend, ArtyMcGlynn on guitar. As we said, thisis a lovely album, even if it breaksno new ground—and is not meant to.Rating: Three HarpsNote:• Go to www.cfstours.com andclick on the “Tours” section, pulldown November, check the tourout and join us for an incrediblecombination <strong>of</strong> The Great Sightsand Sounds <strong>of</strong> Ireland. Check itout. You’ll see. Incredible.• Blarney on the Air—7-9 Chicagotime, every Monday night. WDCB,90.9 fm, or www.wdcb.org ShayClarke and I spinning all thebest platters and hottest wax foryou—wait, what decade did wejust shift into? Listen in, you’llhave a ball!Ta!
June 2008 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS 11Raised on Songsand StoriesShay ClarkeI just got back from Ireland thisweek and I had a terrific time. Twenty-fourdays <strong>of</strong> glorious weather,sunshine all the time, it was morelike San Diego than Sandymount. Itnever rained at all.I was there representing the <strong>American</strong><strong>Irish</strong> Media Group, <strong>of</strong> which thispaper is a member. The AIM groupconsists <strong>of</strong> ten independent <strong>Irish</strong><strong>American</strong> newspapers from coast tocoast and <strong>of</strong>fers a unique opportunityfor businesses everywhere to reachthe lucrative and loyal <strong>Irish</strong> <strong>American</strong>marketplace. With nearly half a millionreaders every month collectivelyand great value advertising packages,it’s a no brainer.In my travels I met some interestingpeople, great characters and I witnessedsome <strong>of</strong> the amazing changesbrought about by the Celtic Tiger.In truth, I’ve fallen in love withIreland all over again and in themonths to come I will be introducingyou to some <strong>of</strong> these people andplaces in this column.We are planning features on weddingsin Ireland, education in Ireland,golfing in Ireland and <strong>of</strong> course tourismto Ireland with the emphasis onspecific towns and cities and what theyhave to <strong>of</strong>fer. It’s all so exciting and Ican’t wait to share it with you all.Come with us toIreland in OctoberWe have teamed up with CIEtours, Ireland’s leading tour operators,and are planning a tour toIreland in October this year withanother in the spring <strong>of</strong> ’09. CIEare almost family to me, as myuncles, my father, and my brotherall worked for many years withthem and I myself, spent a lot <strong>of</strong>time in the travel business.The October trip will be a funvacation with something for everybody.The sites, the culture, themusic, the pubs, the shopping andI know all the best places.So come and join us in Octoberfor an unforgettable trip to Ireland.Whether it’s your first time or youare a veteran, come see Irelandwith me and CIE tours.For details you can email meat shaydub@aol.com and we willbe posting details on our websiteblarneyhome.comGalway Boys HurrahCongratulations and best wishesto John Paul and Julie Lawlesswho were married in April. Fromall accounts it was a grand affairlasting, in true Galway fashion formany days. I am sorry I missedyour party pal.I met a few dozen revelers atO’Hare who had traveled from Galwayto the wedding and they filledme in on the various parties as weshared the flight to Ireland.Two week later I was at the RadissonHotel in Athlone, working withtheir marketing director, DarraghO’Connor, and when he realizedI lived in Chicago, he told me heDarragh O’Connor, Radisson Hotel, Athlone and Shay Clarkewas at a wedding there a few weeksbefore. “Not John Paul Lawless?”says I. It turns out that Darragh isJP’s best pal and was best man atthe wedding. I just can’t seem to getaway from the Galway boys.Congratulations also to JP’s dad,Billy Lawless who won the GreatestContributor <strong>of</strong> the Year Awardfrom Chicago <strong>Irish</strong> ImmigrationSupport. It was presented to Billy ata sold out banquet held last monthat Chicago’s Gaelic Park. Anotherwell deserved award for this extraordinaryman.Must fly now as the Gaelic Parkfestival starts in a few hours. Tillnext month be safe.<strong>Irish</strong> Consul General Martin Rouine (l), and Billy Lawless.
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