Published on Mar 21, 2001
25 years ago, Wendy Newton got hooked on traditional Celtic
music and started Green Linnet Records in the back of a house in
New Canaan, Connecticut. With this one act, the entire history of
Celtic traditional music in the United States was changed, and in
many ways Green Linnet is solely responsible for the fact that you
can find the stuff in record stores today. Earthshattering perhaps
it wasn’t, but groundbreaking it was, and it’s hard to identify any
other single label that has had such an effect on the American
music scene.
I suppose it’s only logical that Green Linnet decided to
celebrate this occasion by bringing out a double disc of selected
music from the label’s history, much as they did to celebrate their
20th anniversary. (I have that disc too, and perhaps I’ll review it
here sometime.) And I admit to being glad they did. If you need a
single disc to start on traditional Celtic music, this is the one
you want to pick up.
Divided into two parts, this is really two CDs in one. The first
disc, 1976-1996, covers Green Linnet’s first twenty years with a
sweeping summary of Irish, Scottish, Breton, and Galacian
traditional music, as well as some more modern takes on older
tunes. The selections are well-chosen, a nice variety of
note-for-note authentic and more whimsical takes on the music.
Special note should be taken of a few truly excellent tracks, most
notably Phil Cunningham of Silly Wizard and his hook-laden “Ceilidh
Funk” (1989), Altan’s ethereal “Dulaman” (1993), and Kornog’s “Ton
Bale Mur Ha Dans”, a rich Breton melody originally recorded live in
1983.
The second CD, 1996-2001, covers recordings made since the 20th
anniversary collection, and it has some joys as well. These
recordings contain many more less traditional elements, including
the Romanian tinge on House Band’s “Risipiti/Mairtin O’Connor” and
the African percussion on Old Blind Dogs’ “Forfar Sodger”, but they
all work. Of the more traditional melodies, Liz Carroll’s “Lost In
The Loop”, Lunasa’s “Autumn Child/Heaton Chapel”, and the
spine-tingling rich voice of Niamh Parsons singing “An Paistin
Fionn” are highlights of a consistent and excellent look at both
the changing face of Celtic music and of Green Linnet Records.
The production on the CD is excellent, the light touch needed
for this sort of music evident throughout both discs. The clarity
contrasts well with the unadorned style needed to not produce the
life out of fiddle and pipes. On a minor but interesting note, the
packaging is very attractive, distinctive and comprehensive with a
track by track expanded listing of original recordings and artist
mini-bios. A very minor argument; the tracks seem much closer
together than on some CDs. I found myself referring to the display
window on the CD player often, to make sure I knew what track we
were on again.
If you buy a single CD of Celtic traditional music this year,
make it this one. Celebrate the label that brought it to America,
and enjoy this snapshot of the past and present. Here’s looking
forward to the six disc box set for the fiftieth anniversary.