The follow-up to 1992's brilliant Harvest Storm was this almost equally powerful album, similar to its predecessor in configuration and artistry, but lacking some of the moments of simple magic that animated that previous effort.
The band opens with an exhilarating set of reels consisting of the ever-popular "Tommy Peoples," "The Windmill" (an original composition of Altan fiddler Ciaran Tourish), and "Fintan McManus's." This leads into the romantic lament "Brid Og Ni Mhaille," beautifully sung, as always, by fiddler Maighread Ní Mhaonaigh, then into a set of highlands and more reels.
The program proceeds similarly throughout, lively instrumental sets alternating with lushly beautiful songs of heartbreak and loss.
Highlights include the slightly eerie children's song "Dulaman," a sweet and gentle rendition of the classic "The Jug of Punch," and a nice arrangement of one of fiddler John Doherty's mazurkas.
If you already own Harvest Storm and Red Crow, then this would be an excellent next purchase.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Peoples/The Windmill/Fintan McManus'sFintan McManus, Ciarán Tourish, Traditional | Altan | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Brid Óg Ní Mháille | Altan | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | An Mhaighdean MharaTraditional | Altan | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 4 | Humours of Andytown/Kylebrack Rambler/The GladstoneFinbarr Dwyer, Frankie Kennedy, Scott Skinner | Altan | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | DúlamánTraditional | Altan | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | MazurkaTraditional | Altan | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | The Jug of PunchTraditional | Altan | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Glory Reel/The Heathery CruachTraditional | Altan | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | An Cailin Gaelach | Altan | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 10 | Drumnagarry/Pirrie Wirrie/Big John's | Altan | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Aingeal an Oileain/Island Angel | Altan | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Fermanagh Highland; Donegal Highland; John Doherty's; King George IV | Altan | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 13 | Andy De Jarlis; Ingonish; Mrs. McGhee | Altan | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 45 mins | 105 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 278 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altan | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 2 | Dermot Byrne | Accordion |
| 3 | Steve Cooney | Bass, Fretless Bass |
| 4 | Ciarán Curran | Bouzouki |
| 5 | Finbarr Dwyer | Composer |
| 6 | Harvest Storm | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Tom Hayes | Percussion |
| 8 | Mark Kelly | Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Frankie Kennedy | Composer, Flute, Low Whistle, Vocals (Background), Whistle (Instrument) |
| 10 | Dónal Lunny | Bodhran, Bouzouki, Keyboards |
| 11 | Neil Martin | Cello |
| 12 | Niall Martin | Cello |
| 13 | Brian Masterson | Engineer, Producer |
| 14 | Mike McDougall | Composer |
| 15 | Fintan McManus | Composer |
| 16 | Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh | Fiddle, Vocals |
| 17 | Anna Ni Mhanaigh | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Anna Ní Mhaonaigh | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Scott Skinner | Composer |
| 20 | Daíthí Sproule | Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Ciarán Tourish | Composer, Fiddle, Vocals (Background), Whistle (Human), Whistle (Instrument) |
| 22 | Traditional | Composer |
Altan
2015 - 14 tracks
The Widening Gyre - Altan, Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Jim Higgins, Kenny Malone
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |