Friday, October 29, 2010

Music You've Probably Never Heard -- Gaelic Storm

Hey y'all!  Let's listen to some music.

Okay, so I'm a Irish person by ethnicity, and there are a lot of things I love about Irish styles.  Generally Irish people have three distinctive style types: singing very sad songs about real life, singing songs with harsh, mean, or violent lyrics with an extremely upbeat tune, and finally singing ridiculously happy songs about things that are not even possible.  The first song I ever heard by this band was called Johnny Tarr, and it falls into the last category.  It follows the story of a "hard drinking son of a preacher" and his ability to drink bartenders out of stock.  Honestly, this is the kind of song you can just listen to over and over again and enjoy it every time.  You just have to learn the lyrics and sing along!


This song was made by Gaelic Storm, and I just had to get more of their stuff after I heard this song.  I swear that this band is the most addictive thing ever!  Why you've never heard of these guys is beyond me.  I mean, I hang out in hardcore rave city, and I'm all about these guys.  You don't even have to be Irish to love them.  You'll wish you were though.

Okay, so I'm going to review their album Special Reserve, because I own it.  Or I would if I could find the darn cd.  I'm just lucky I copied most of it on my computer before I lost the darn thing.  Remember, don't just listen to two seconds of these and then skip away.  Really play these songs and listen to the whole thing.  That's the real pleasure of them.

Track one is a traditional Irish song, Courtin' in the Kitchen.  I liked it okay, it's a bit cheesy for me, but it's fun nonetheless.  I'm sorry I couldn't find a normal version of it, but here's a link to a live performance.  They didn't have a normal version on youtube.


Johnny Tarr is next, and if you don't like this song then you are the most pretentious person in existence, I hope you realize.  

Next is The Schooner Lake Set, a lyricless piece that was done for a movie.  There's no video for it on youtube, I'm sorry to say, but it's a great song that's filled with bagpipes and drums and great to just listen to while you...I dunno, clean the house or write a book or something.  Fun Irish stuff.

The Leaving of Liverpool and Drink the Night Away are actually two fairly similar songs in mood and theme.  The Leaving of Liverpool is about an Irishman leaving for America to gain fortune, leaving his love behind for the time being.  It's one of those songs that's sad, but with an upbeat tune.  It's very nice.  I actually like Drink the Night Away, as more of the sadness shows through its merry beat.  The bridge is especially dramatic, and it makes me happy.  It's a very contented song despite itself, and a lot of fun as it talks about going off to make more money and a fortune, though this one seems to be more about leaving friends than a specific love.

The Leaving of Liverpool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4wEjAtPaQA

After Hours at McGann's is another lyricless piece, one that's fun and merry.  It's more casual than the Schooner Lake Set, but it's still got lots of fun too it.  Again, youtube is being aggravating.  Grr.  Come on people.

Swimmin' in the Sea is actually a song I don't like.  The tune and singing wail mournfully, and it's something I really hate. It's actually sort of a sweet song about the singer's childhood, and listening to it again...well, it's not quite as bad as I thought. I'm still not really into it, but look at it and see if you like it.


This next song is the most addictive song on this dang cd.  I let my friend listen to this, and he couldn't get over how fun it was.  It's the story of a man whose life went completely wrong, either by a woman or alcohol.  And that's the best part of this song, as it doesn't say which one is the real culprit but poetically equates wayward women to booze.  It's hilarious.  Match that with a fun beat, and it's one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. It has a long intro, but the lyrics are well worth the wait.


She was the Prize slows down the cd and get sentimental.  It's a really sweet song about a man and his true love, and it almost makes me cry.  It's very sweet.  Take a listen, y'all.


Johnny Jump Up/Morrison's Jig is another powerhouse of the disc.  Plain and simply, it rocks.  It's a song about an impossible cider that does a multiplicity of hilarious things.  You're gonna love this one. Gah, I have so many memories of my boyfriend singing this terribly off-tune.  

Johnny Jump Up/Morrison's Jig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u56R_qHTLVI

Next is Titanic Set.  That's right, these guys were in Titanic.  I bet you forgot all about them if you saw that movie, didn't you?  This is a pretty good song, very peppy and nice.  Feels like two songs in one.


Ah, now this song is fun.  It's Tell Me Ma, a fun song about men flirting with a pretty girl.  It's very silly, but you've just got to hear it.  Fun as mess.


This album finishes up with Beggarman, the most hyper and lyrically tangled up of the bunch. You've really got to be hardcore to keep up with all these words.  It's a very fast song about the life of a beggar who makes his own life and enjoys every bit of it, just as you'll do with this song.


Before I leave off, I want to include a song that isn't on this album, but I just heard about and really want to share with you.  It's honestly the funniest thing ever.  It tells the true story of the time the lead singer of this band literally punched Russell Crowe in the face.  


Well, they've done a lot of songs over the years, but I'll let you find more of them.  They are a very silly, fun band, one of the most fun you'll ever encounter. 
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