Tinwe, I picked up a Natalie Macmaster CD at the library and liked it very much.
I'll have to look for
Blueprint. You know, I love bluegrass--if it's done well. I'm not fond of overly nasal singers or anything, but someone like...Alison Krauss? She's awesome; I think she has one of the prettiest voices ever.
Lali
Oh, I agree about the nasally singers, for the most part. I’m not really much of a country music fan, and Bluegrass vocals tend to evoke country for me more than any other aspect of it. But I can’t help but like some of the old-timey Bluegrass songs by people like Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers - they don’t call it “the high lonesome sound†for nothin’ ya know? Allison Krauss is about 50/50 for me. She does have a beautiful voice, but some of her work borders too close on country for my likes.
If you want to hear Bluegrass that is exceptionally well done, there are two albums I would recommend to you above any others. The first is by banjoist Bela Fleck, who usually does jazz recordings with his band The Flecktones (jazz banjo - there’s a contradiction of terms if there ever was one, but he pulls it off quite well). It’s called
The Bluegrass Sessions: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 2. This is absolutely, without question, one of the best bluegrass albums ever made. The musicianship is just stunning. And it’s almost all instrumentals to boot.
The other is Nickel Creek’s debut album
Nickel Creek. This is young band, all in their 20's, but the music on this album is quite beautiful, with a distinct Celtic feel to much of it. Plus, it has a Tolkien inspired song called “In the house of Tom Bombadilâ€.
But I absolutely insist that you listen to the Waterboys album I mentioned. There is no way that you cannot like this album. It really is that good.
Oh, and Wampuscat’s harp is lovely, isn’t it? But I wonder how a cat can play such a big instrument. She must have really long paws.
MaidenOfTheShieldarm wrote: |
Lalaith, you should try a ceilidh! They're really quite fun. Get up your courage, bring a friend and just. . . go!
Seriously, I can't dance at all (at. all. In this year's musical, they gave me the one lead that required no dancing, and let me tell, there was a reason for that.
), but it's so fabulous that it doesn't matter! Anywho, that's just my advice.
We have our local annual Highlands Games coming up next weekend and I’m sure there will be a ceilidh or two. I can’t wait.
BTW, Wampuscat - I know you don’t play at the games anymore, but are you going? Maybe I’ll see you out there!