On this new cd you will find traditional foot tapping Irish tunes. It isn’t a collection of mood music, so don’t put it on hoping to set a romantic mood. I put it on the other day to listen to while folding some laundry. I ended up getting lots of exercise, because I just couldn’t keep still.

Buy it now

$10.98

Like most everyone else in the United States, I first heard Charlotte’s voice on a television commercial. My son-in-law, who manages a music store, gave me a copy of the cd as a Mhathair’s Day gift. Listening to it, it is hard to believe that an angel could sing more beautifully.

The accompaniment is very subdued, so that Charlotte’s voice is given full stage. I deliberately chose a morning when I was home alone working in the garden so that I could integrate the whole experience of her music with the peace I always find in nature.

The first half of the cd is devoted to religious songs. My favorite of these selections is the Ave Maria. Next Charlotte goes into some Welsh lullabies that almost broke my heart with their sweetness. But my favorite song, sung in Welsh, on the entire cd is called

"Mae Hiraeth yu y Mor". It means "there is longing in the sea". The word ‘hiraeth’ roughly translates to a feeling of homesickness for something unidentifiable. There is no English equivalent that I have found.

Listening to this cd is like being in a concert hall. It deserves your full attention, for Charlotte’s gift of song will heal your soul.

www.sevennations.com

This cd grabs you from the very first track and sends you skirling away with the pipes and whistles until you are gasping for breath. It still gives me goose bumps.

MY FAVORITE CD OF 1999!

There’s a fiddle, an accordion, and a mandolin on this cd, and the boys really rock.

If I could give you all one gift of music, it would be this one. Rain and Thunder is my favorite song, I suppose, with a blues-y mood to it, but From Clare to Here is cool, too.

I love Kirk McLeod’s voice, and I love his ability to put emotion into his lyrics.

Si Beg Si Mohr is a traditional favorite that hums in my head long after the cd is finished. I close the door to my office and do little Scottish jiggy steps, holding my Santa bagpiper in my arms as a dance partner. (I can’t believe I just admitted that)

Bottom line is, this is a FUN cd to play around with. Buy it.

 Buy it direct from the boys!  www.sevennations.com

Big Dog by Seven Nations

 www.sevennations.com

Rock and roll with a Scottish flavor! Bagpipes, uillean, tin whistles, bodhran, guitar.

Plus a killer vocalist. Steve saw these guys in concert at a Highland Games in Jacksonville, Florida. They blew him away. He brought home both the cds they were selling and now we’re both hooked. There’s a real ceilidh feel to Big Dog with elements of Scottish reels and jigs woven all through the tracks.

Finish Line is a surging cry of victory. It accuses the landlords who forced the Highland Clearances but ends with the challenging assertion that even though we were forgotten for a time, we’re all doing just fine over here across the ocean.

You’ll also enjoy the new rendition of Johnny Cope, snappy, updated and danceworthy.

Buy it direct from the boys!   www.sevennations.com 

Sometimes slammed as the Irish Spice Girls, I think these gals are Celtic to the bone and their Irish exuberance rushes through their songs. They're delightful, youthful, springy and magic.

You may have caught their appearances on several American entertainment shows. If not, you’re in for a treat.

One of the most wonderful things about Michael Flatley, Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, is that young Celtic musicians have become empowered to blend the music of their heritage with their love for rock. It’s easy to catch B Witched fever: with the very first track, called Let’s Go, your body begins to react. The fiddle in this one is wicked

By the time they launch into C’set La Vie, you won’t be able to keep still.

 Sons of Somerled by Steve McDonald

Etherean Music   1-888-394-3732  - $17.00 US

Our oldest daughter received this cd as a "freebie" on a book order she placed. She gave it to my husband for a Winter Solstice gift. As soon as he played the first track, we knew we were going to order at least three more copies.

This entire cd is a blood stirring musical foray into the history of Scotland in general and the Clan Donald in particular. It includes the most haunting rendition of Loch Lomond I have ever heard, as well as a heart lifting invitation called Come To The Isle of Skye.

The only track I was less than enthusiastic about was Steve’s version of Scotland The Brave. In my opinion once again, this particular Scottish song should always be played in upbeat time on bagpipes. It should also have been voted the national anthem of Scotland. Well, as I’ve said before, these are my review pages.

Even given that slight disappointment, this is a highly desirable work from a gifted musician and poet.

$14.99

Oh my. You should order this cd just for two songs on it: Binnorie and The Ash Grove.

LaRue’s voice is indescribably sweet, and her renditions of ballads from England, Scotland and Wales will give you enduring goose bumps. I first heard it one late lazy summer afternoon at my friend Peggy’s lawn party. While we were outside eating barbecue and watermelon at the edge of a swamp in lower Alabama, this exquisite voice drifted through Peg’s bedroom window from her old stereo. The wind carried it to me, and I followed it like a hummingbird headed for a trumpet vine. Could not, still can’t believe the quality of the voice. Another ‘must have’.

$15.97

A lovely addition to your musical library. I use it to invoke and evoke inspiration in my writing, particularly when a scene calls for a highly visual and energetic atmosphere. The Chieftains are without competition - just the best at what they do. They were some of the first Irish musicians to give Michael Flatley the time of day, you know. Does it take genius to recognize genius?

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