Planxty is an interesting band with an interesting genre category to me of Irish folk music. For me, I really enjoy European folk music – it always sounds sort of medieval and I think that’s pretty sweet. Getting to listen to examples of interesting instruments like the hurdy gurdy and other traditional instruments mixed with things like the mandolin and acoustic guitar is always exciting.
The first track, “Raggle Taggle Gyspy – Tabhair Dam Do Lamh”, throws you right into that sort of world with a great version of the song with pure Irish roots right in your face. I honestly really love it. It’s not so easy to write about for me because I’m acclimating to the style of play still.
“Arthur McBride” is a great story song, I think. I’ll be honest, the accent gets a little thick sometimes, but it makes the composition that much better in my opinion. “Planxty Irwin” is an awesome instrumental that demonstrates the joys and delicacies of the dancing, interweaving, and jamming of the traditional instrumentation.
“Sweet Thames Flow Softly” is a bit closer to the folk music I know, and not necessarily as rooted in Irish tradition as the first few songs (though I think it is about a river in southern England), as the main instrument is some soft and gentle acoustic guitar and a warm but rugged voice that carries the song along. And when the hurdy gurdy comes in the song really starts to shine and reincorporate those Irish roots a bit more – truly a beautiful song.
“Junior Crehan’s Favourite/Corney is Coming” sounds like some Irish jig music if I’ve ever heard any. Once again, that hurdy gurdy really gives a different breath to the song. Upon inspection, it appears to be an Irish reel song, a different type of folk dance related to a jig.
Continuing on, “The West Coast of Clare” really starts out so gentle and complexly beautiful, something that makes me think it was made with love in mind. It sort of reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “America”, to a certain extent, though this one is probably a tad dark in comparison.
The next track is another reel song, “The Jolly Beggar – Reel”. Something about just makes you want to move – it’s upbeat and happy with a neat little story on top of it all. There’s so much music packed into the album already, it’s quite impressive.
“Only Our Rivers” is a sweet, gentle, and sweeping acoustic guitar piece, and it’s a bit sad as well. Almost as if the song is weeping though it won’t show it. The traditional Irish instruments come in and it really drives home the emotion of the song.
“Si Bheag, Si Mhor” is really awesome. I believe I’m hearing a great mix of the uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes) mixed with that drone of the hurdy gurdy, and suddenly the hurdy gurdy drops out for the acoustic guitar and soon after the mandolin and/or bouzouki are added in as well. It’s a wonderful instrumental, and honestly reminds me a ton of Van Morrison’s music, which makes sense as he’s from Northern Ireland.
“Follow Me Up to Carlow” gives the album a wonderful sense of movement, and in a sense, a destination as well. The album is really cruising at this point, and I’m so glad I took the time to listen.
“Merrily Kissed the Quaker” adds in that hurdy gurdy and uilleann pipe mix again with what could be acoustic guitar or some other folk instrument, and it’s such a classic sounding combination. Yet another instrumental, this song really gets you feeling like you’re almost to your destination, coinciding with the nearing of the end of the album.
The final song, “The Blacksmith” ends the album on a great stroke with another folksy storytelling song. The chords don’t quite resolve when I’d normally expect them to, but that makes the song, and in turn, the album, that much more interesting to my ears. To me, this song comes off as a classic folk tune that I’m surprised isn’t more well-known, or maybe it is and I am just hearing it now for the first time. Either way, wow, the bodhran just came into the song and it’s really tying the song together so well. The album just ended on such an energetic note. I really enjoyed this one. For those looking to expand their knowledge of world music or just European or even just Irish folk music, this one is a good one to check out in my opinion.
-A