Updated / Nov. 21, 2016 11:51
Junior Crehan’s Favourite is paired with Corney is Coming, as Christy’s bodhrán gives the latter tune propulsion and heft. Andy’s The West Coast of Clare is heart-breaking, a sad song remebering great times, a dark canvas of lost love.
There is an organic credibility about the early material, and no sense of post-production, just the expertly- woven wool of the music. An appealing instrumental, Accidentals – new to these ears – is paired with Andy’s sensitive reading of Aragon Mill, a lament for lost industry from the pen of American singer-songwriter and social activist Si Kahn.
Timedance is pleasant and jazz-influenced but it is not core Planxty material. It’s more of a piece with Moving Hearts, the newly evolving band with Christy and Dónal on board. That said, the original Planxty line-up, as featured the first so-called `black’ album especially, were one of a kind who deserve to be re-discovered by every generation interested in Irish music.
Also included is a comprehensive DVD history, beginning with a 1972 Late Late Show appearance, featuring another classic Planxty number, Blacksmith (A blacksmith courted me . .) and concluding with a 1982 Festival Folk performance. Terrific stuff.
Paddy Kehoe
via RTÉ