Clannad Albums (19)
What The Critics Say
The families that make up Ireland's Clannad have been at it for over three decades. Siblings Moya (Máire) and Ciaran Brennan and their twin uncles Padraig and Noel Duggan have been the heart and soul of Clannad since the 1970s. (The latter three members have been together since the band's inception in 1970.) During this long tenure they've recorded 16 albums, among them a previous live offering and two soundtracks. They have been celebrated and reviled for their wonderfully idiosyncratic meld of traditional Celtic music with rock, ambient, jazz, and other world styles. This live offering was compiled from various performances from the band's 1996 European tour. The music performed runs the span of the band's career, but it is in "Robin of Sherwood Medley" that Clannad's multivalent gifts are brought to bear in full. This seven-part suite was originally a soundtrack for an Irish TV series. Both on record and in this performance it is far removed from its original context and stands beautifully on its own as elements of the mythical past and atmospheric present commingle nearly seamlessly. The musicianship -- augmented by a number of guest performers -- is crackling and soulful, and Máire Brennan's singing is utterly beguiling and thought-provoking. Fans of Clannad will be delighted by the sound quality as well as the top-notch versions of old favorites. Those who have wondered would be well served if Live in Concert were their introduction to this band and its magic-making. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Produced by Ciaran Brennan, Landmarks doesn't depart from the group's signature blend of Irish folk, Celtic, worldbeat, new age spirituality, and ambient music, but that's hardly a disappointment, since that is what makes Clannad special. With their albums, the pleasure is in the details and there are plenty of details on Landmarks, from the nuances in Máire Brennan's voice to the percolating rhythms of "A Mhuirin O." These flourishes can be heard throughout the album, and that's what makes the album worthwhile for longtime fans. ~ Rodney Batdorf, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On its first album in three years, Clannad turns in another set that combines the group's Irish traditional background with elements of Western pop and world music. Five of the eleven songs contain at least some English lyrics, but the most contemporary sounding track is "Seanchas," which, though its lyrics are in Gaelic, could pass for a Peter Gabriel track. Clannad's sound features many high-pitched sounds, from saxophone to tin whistle and Uilleann pipes, with lots of synthesized equivalents, all supporting the lush choral parts that surround singer Máire Brennan. Brennan's breathy soprano is a cross between Judy Collins and Agnetha Faltskog of ABBA, and she suggests the latter especially when she is singing in English in a plaintive, but slightly distanced way, phrasing oddly as if she had learned the words phonetically. Lore doesn't contain any individual tracks as memorable as "Harry's Game" or "In a Lifetime" (which is what the group would need to consolidate its success in the U.S.), but it is more of the same from musicians who have established an identifiable sound as their own. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'The Angel and the Soldier Boy'
Release Date 4/24/1995
Tracks 2
Label RCA
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
There's only so much passion you can wring from a collection of film and TV theme songs. The cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" (from the Blake Edwards movie Switch), all cuddly synths and dewy vocals (Maire Brennan duetting with Paul Young), is very pleasant. Of marginally more substance is "Ancient Forest," from the British TV series Robin of Sherwood, and "Theme from Harry's Game," the first Gaelic song to become a Top Ten hit in the U.K. (1982). It also earned a Billboard World Music Award and a Grammy nomination and have kept Clannad in soundtrack gravy ever since. ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This 1980 recording from Dublin's Tara Records contains pure traditional Gaelic and Irish material, impeccably performed, naturally revolving around Maire's heavenly voice...it's one of the last straight-forward, all-acoustic albums Clannad recorded before they embarked on their experimentations with more contemporary sounds. ~ Ladyslipper, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With the release of Anam in 1992, the Irish family act, with more than a dozen albums and 20 years behind them, had been pared to a quartet. Saxophonist Mel Collins spices things up on the jaunty "In Fortune's Hand," but most of Anam is slower and softer, mixing keyboard-based ballads with more folk-inflected tracks. Maire Brennan's voice is a thing of beauty, wispy and crystal clear, making the lyrics almost inconsequential (which they will be to most listeners, anyhow, as several tracks are sung in Gaelic). Her duet with Bono on "In a Lifetime" had already appeared years earlier, but its inclusion is one of the set's highlights, as is "Harry's Game" (recognizable from its commercial use). It's all the perfect fit for folk fans wanting something more pop-oriented and new age fans wanting something not so sterile. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
