Another Sky

Another Sky Artist: Altan
Label: Narada
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 724384883829
EAN: 0724384883829
ASIN: B000042O0L


Release Date: 2000-02-29

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Folk | Styles | Music
Irish Folk Irish Folk
Related | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
Traditional Folk Traditional Folk
Related | Folk | Styles | Music
General General
Related | International | Styles | Music
Celtic New Age Celtic New Age
Related | New Age | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music
Celtic Folk Celtic Folk
Related | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Celtic | International | Styles | Music
New Age New Age
Related | Celtic | International | Styles | Music
Fusion Fusion
Related | Celtic | International | Styles | Music

Listmania:

  1. Featured Altan CDs
  2. Wonderful New Age, World, and Folk music
  3. Begorrah! It's the Irish
  4. In a medieval mood

Tracks:

  1. There's A Fair Tomorrow
  2. Green Grow The Rushes
  3. The King Of Meenasillagh/Lamey's/The High Fiddle Reel
  4. Island Girl
  5. Eoghainin O Ragadain
  6. Ten Thousand Miles
  7. Gusty's Frolicks/Con's Slip Jig/The Pretty Young Girls Of Carrick/The Humours Of Whiskey
  8. Girl From The North Country
  9. The Verdant Braes Of Screen
  10. The Dispute At The Crossroads/Columba Ward's/Siuns Reel
  11. Summer Will Come
  12. The Ookpik Waltz
  13. The Waves Of Gola

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  1. The Blue Idol
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  3. Blackwater
  4. Local Ground
  5. Altan

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars disappointed.......2002-06-09

Unfortunately I was EXTREMELY unhappy after listening to the album. Unlike many other Altan fans, I view Maireads singing as the weakest part of the groups appeal despite their having chosen some excellent songs over the course of their recording career. The problem is that on this album they emphasize her singing to the almost total exclusion of their instrumentals which was what attracted me to the group in the first place. And the few instrumentals they do play are played with no spirit almost like "well I guess we have to put a few instrumentals on" kind of effort. I'm sorry, but she has a thin voice and is frequently shrill and off-key on many of their songs. She is however an excellent fiddler and that with the superb abilities of the other members and inspired arrangements made them for me the top Irish folk group. Alas they have decided to stress her poor-to-mediocre vocals instead of their great abilities in playing reels, jigs, etc. I miss Frankie Kennedy's flute too. Goodbye Altan, your best day's are over unless you revert to the format of the old days.

5 out of 5 stars more than worth the wait.......2002-01-02

The first time I heard Altan was on NPR. I was blown away by their stunning version of "Green Grow the Rushes." As soon as I returned home that day I looked up the album and stuck it on my wish list. It sat there for a great while. Happily, I received the disc as a Christmas present from a good friend of mine--a friend with wonderful taste in music. "Another Sky" is one of the best CD's I've heard in some time...and I'm not just saying that because it was a present. These folks can make music!

"Green Grow the Rushes" is haunting indeed. The first time I heard Altan perform it, the song was stuck in my head for days. I find this to be true of most of the songs that Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh sings on the disc. She has a beautiful voice. Although they are all great, I think my favorite song with lyrics on "Another Sky" is "Island Girl" (which is also the song that the disc takes its name from).

Two other songs that deserve special mention are "The Dispute at the Crossroads" and "Gusty's Frolicks." They are both great jigs. One can never get enough of those. The fiddle playing on this disc is excellent.

I am so glad that I received "Another Sky" for Christmas. It was well worth the wait. I give it my highest recommendation and urge you to get a copy--you won't be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars Beautiful Voice.......2000-10-06

I took this cd, along with about 20 others, on a trip to Ireland last March. The travel group I was with included two cars full of Irish Americans most of whom were visiting the Emerald Isle for the first time. As a surprise for those riding in the "other car" I slipped this new Altan cd in the trunk located cd holder. Later those riding in that auto remarked on how much they enjoyed the one cd in particular with the woman who has the "beautiful voice." I was not surpised because this is one of my favorite cds, and though some additional songs in irish would be nice, it is nonetheless an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. This is a fine recording by one of the best traditional Irish music groups today. Try it, you will like it.

5 out of 5 stars A GREAT CD!.......2000-07-15

This, to me, is Altan's finest CD. The vocals are excellent, as always. The song arrangement makes it flow very well. Island Girl is a highlight, along with Green Grow the Rushes. But I especially like Mairead's beautiful singing on Eoghainin O' Ragadain. What a wonderful voice! If you like Altan, you will definitely love this CD!

3 out of 5 stars A bit disappointed..........2000-06-20

I adore Altan. I'd go see them live ANYtime, as they play with passion, clarity, and originality. This CD, however, doesn't quite do it for me, meaning, I have to make myself listen to it, to keep up with what one of my fave Irish bands is doing. I love the opening cut, and would love to see Altan do more vocally playful stuff like this. I must agree with the Dublin reviewer, however, about the middle-of-the-road quality of the album overall. I miss the rich,driving arrangements typical of their studio work (the sets here sound a little thin to me), and think there are too many slow ballads. (Of these, I do find "Island Girl" very moving, as it does seem to allude to Frankie. But I'd only include one of these per album.) I've always bought Altan albums on principle, without previewing, knowing I was in for a great listen. I will probably sample first, here on out.

Music CD:

  1. Waiting for Angels ~ Martin Carthy
  2. Too Many Santas! ~ The Bobs
  3. Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol.2
  4. Voices of Winter ~ Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, Cindy Mangsen
  5. We Are All Natural Disasters ~ Hanalei
  6. The Times They Are A-Changin' ~ The Ian Campbell Folk Group
  7. Different and the Same ~ Mark Weigle
  8. Quintessence ~ Quintessence
  9. Russian Folk Dances of the Moiseyev Dance Company ~ Various Artists
  10. Tabula Rasa ~ Vishwa Mohan Bhatt With Bela Fleck and Jie Bing Chen

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Live at Black Sheep ~ Greg Brown

Rhythms Rhymes & Tides ~ Justina & Joyce

Vengeance Ascending ~ Diabolic

Entertainment Or Death ~ Motley Crue

Schweine ~ Die Prinzen

O Encontro Do Homem Com a Natureza ~ Various Artists

Harlem Holiday - New York Rhythm & Blues - Voume 1

Moon Dance ~ Ahmadreza Nabizadeh

Bonanza: Christmas on the Ponderosa (Return) ~ Bonanza: Christmas on the Ponderosa

Number One ~ The Metroschifter