Canadian singer/harpist Loreena McKennitt returns to her roots on The Wind That Shakes the Barley, making an album more in the traditional style of her 25-year-old debut, Elemental, than the more adult alternative hybrid efforts that have been more typical of her work since.
Thus, the Celtic side of her music is emphasized in the inclusion of Scottish and Irish traditional songs like the title track, "The Star of the County Down," and "On a Bright May Morning." The last song prominently features her harp, as does the instrumental "Brian Boru's March," and she is accompanied by her usual backup musicians, including Ben Grossman (hurdy-gurdy), Brian Hughes (guitar), Caroline LaVelle (cello), and Hugh Marsh (violin).
The chief attraction continues to be her haunting voice, which she employs to ethereal effect much of the time, although "The Star of the County Down" finds her taking a livelier, more direct approach, while in "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" her vocal is not so much ethereal as eerie.
For many of McKennitt's fans, this will be an album they have been waiting to hear for a long time.
For others, it may be a change of pace in which an artist reveals the sources of her individual style.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As I Roved OutTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | On a Bright May MorningTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Brian Boru's MarchTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Down by the Sally GardensTraditional, William Butler Yeats | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:40 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | The Wind That Shakes the BarleyRobert Dwyer Joyce, Traditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | The Death of Queen JaneTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 7 | The Emigration TunesLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | The Parting GlassTraditional | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | The Star Of County Down | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 45 mins | 103 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 246 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Bird | Bass (Acoustic), Mandola, Mandolin |
| 2 | Ann Cutting | Photography |
| 3 | Andrew Downing | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 4 | Jason Fowler | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 5 | Mark Fram | Photography |
| 6 | Sydney Galbraith | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Chris Gartner | Bass |
| 8 | Ben Grossman | Bells, Bodhran, Frame Drum, Shaker, Whistle |
| 9 | Ian Harper | Uillean Pipes, Whistle |
| 10 | Brian Hughes | Assistant Producer, Drones, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 11 | Robert Dwyer Joyce | Composer |
| 12 | Demetris Koilalous | Cover Photo |
| 13 | Caroline LaVelle | Cello |
| 14 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 15 | Philip Manning | Art Direction, Graphic Design |
| 16 | Hugh Marsh | Violin |
| 17 | Mark McCauley | Assistant Producer |
| 18 | Loreena McKennitt | Accordion, Art Direction, Composer, Harp, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 19 | Tony McManus | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 20 | Pat Simmonds | Button Accordion, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 21 | Brian Taheny | Mandolin |
| 22 | Traditional | Composer |
| 23 | Jeff Wolpert | Engineer, Mixing |
| 24 | William Butler Yeats | Composer |
| 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). |