With Milwaukee's own Irishfest this past weekend, it's easy for someone like me to get into my celtic music listening mode. Watching acts like Gaelic Storm, Dara, and the Trinity Irish Dancers, I'm extremely lucky to live in a city that makes it so convenient to view all this great music and dance in one compact location. Altan, unfortunately, wasn't at Irishfest this year. But as one of the premier celtic music acts in the world, Altan deserves to be recognized for their part in blending traditional Irish/Celtic influences with modern recording techniques.
Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh brilliantly manages all lead vocal duties in Altan. She enthusiastically sings in Gaelic (and on most tracks here) on the opening number; "Beidh Aonach Amarach (There's a Fair Tomorrow)". Her angelic voice adequately hits all the high notes and never conceals her Irish accent. This traditional sounding number then breaks into a great Irish jig at the end with bright fiddle and guitar playing. In fact, Altan excels at playing traditional Irish instrumentals. On "The King of Meenasillagh", the fiddle along with fast accordian played by Dermot Byrne duels it out on this great track. Probably the best vocal performance by Mairead takes place on "Eoghainin O Ragadain". Accompanied by double-tracked acoustic guitars and accordian, this song sounds more like Joni Mitchell singing in Gaelic! The folk sound here is a departure from the other tracks on the cd. Any new listener must realize that Altan is a very mellow sounding act. At times, the songs come off as being a little too laid back, such as on "Green Grow the Rushes" or "The Weaves of Gola". These tracks are very beautiful to listen to, but I tend to pay more attention to the faster numbers like "The Dispute at the Crossroads/Columba Ward's/ Siuns Real". This is just your standard Irish "jamming" song, complete with fiddles, guitars, accordian, and light drumming. I never grow tired of hearing this sound, especially when it's played by seasoned musicians like these.
"Another Sky" is a solid effort by Altan, and I'm curious to hear some of their other releases. Performing live, Altan usually takes more chances and tries to encourage the crowd into singing with them. For anyone who wants more of a "new-age" approach to traditional Irish music, Altan would be a good choice. Their style is more polished and rehearsed than the typical Irish pub band you might encounter at Irishfest or in Chicago, but this doesn't take away any of the power and dedication that this band puts out in their recorded efforts.
