'Heaven knows no frontiers
And I've seen heaven in your eyes'
The first time I came across the music of the Irish singer Mary Black was by means of a compilation of songs by artists from the Emerald Isle. The title of this collection of tunes, given to me by a couple of acquaintances, was ‘Craic Agus Ceoil’ (it roughly translates as ‘fun and music’ from Gaelic) and it featured the likes of The Chieftains, Christy Hennesy and The Pogues. Yet there was also this very distinctive and velvety voice that caught my attention immediately. It took me some time to work out who she was, though, as the tape (yes, tape, no CDs at the time!) did not have the tracks and their performers numbered down. Once I found out, though, I discovered an artist whose music was hard to pin down.
This compilation led me to listen to a few records by this singer, who, by the way, comes from a rich musical tradition. Father played the fiddler, Mother was a singer herself, Brothers formed their own band and Sister is a singer, too. Can you imagine Sunday afternoons chez les Blacks?
The tune Killer Opening Songs is uploading this week, ‘No Frontiers’ (same title as the album), is pure poetry. It is as powerful a statement as they come. It eases the listener into a maelstrom of feelings and emotions, the equivalent of walking into a maze and liking it so much that after we’ve come out we want to go back in straight away. Critics would normally file this type of music away under ‘folk’ genre, but to me it is just good pop. I’m not surprised that the album this track is included in spent fifty-six weeks in the Irish Top 30 and went platinum.
I hope you enjoy this week’s selection. Thanks.
The first time I came across the music of the Irish singer Mary Black was by means of a compilation of songs by artists from the Emerald Isle. The title of this collection of tunes, given to me by a couple of acquaintances, was ‘Craic Agus Ceoil’ (it roughly translates as ‘fun and music’ from Gaelic) and it featured the likes of The Chieftains, Christy Hennesy and The Pogues. Yet there was also this very distinctive and velvety voice that caught my attention immediately. It took me some time to work out who she was, though, as the tape (yes, tape, no CDs at the time!) did not have the tracks and their performers numbered down. Once I found out, though, I discovered an artist whose music was hard to pin down.
This compilation led me to listen to a few records by this singer, who, by the way, comes from a rich musical tradition. Father played the fiddler, Mother was a singer herself, Brothers formed their own band and Sister is a singer, too. Can you imagine Sunday afternoons chez les Blacks?
The tune Killer Opening Songs is uploading this week, ‘No Frontiers’ (same title as the album), is pure poetry. It is as powerful a statement as they come. It eases the listener into a maelstrom of feelings and emotions, the equivalent of walking into a maze and liking it so much that after we’ve come out we want to go back in straight away. Critics would normally file this type of music away under ‘folk’ genre, but to me it is just good pop. I’m not surprised that the album this track is included in spent fifty-six weeks in the Irish Top 30 and went platinum.
I hope you enjoy this week’s selection. Thanks.
Copyright 2008
