I tend to be pretty selective when picking out Irish music to add to my collection. There's a heck of a lot of it out there, and some of it's real bad.

Pretty much from the first rollicking, pop-style song on the Elders' American Wake, I knew this was a CD I could throw in anytime and enjoy. Sure, "Moore Street Girls" is about prostitutes -- no, band member Stephen Phillips tells us, it's about produce-selling street vendor girls, although it sounds like it's about prostitutes -- but it's sung with such gusto, it somehow makes you long for the good old days of youth and home.

Although that first track plays like something Nick Lachey wishes he was clever enough to write, the sentiments quickly run serious from there. "Hard Line" ponders poverty and civil war, and the devastation wrought on the common people by those never-ending blights. Next, visit an "American Wake," a tradition dating back to the Potato Famine, when so many left Ireland to "find a place to stand ... never to return to their native land."

The unexpected a cappella of "Men of Erin" causes me a skipped heartbeat every time it starts. A moving tribute to family bonds, it finishes with a military drum and bagpipes during which it is nearly impossible not to feel tears well up.

There are several tracks that seem familiar to me, but I can't place them. "Turnpike" is an instrumental tune I'd swear I've heard in some pub somewhere. "Ballymun Road" I'm pretty sure borrows heavily from another song, but I'm at a loss to say which. Whether original or not, they are strong offerings on this CD.

Tradition finds a stronghold with this band, and every expected topic is covered. War, peace, St. Kevin (at least an incarnation of him), drinking, celebration and standing for the land that's yours. Backed by a huge assortment of talented musicians, singer Ian Byrne keeps the mood upbeat, even while delving into the most serious subjects. In addition to the usual fiddle, percussion, flute, and guitar, the Elders mix in accordion, Scottish Highland pipes, keyboards, mandolin and a few other instruments, creating a skillful blending of sounds.

This enormously talented group comes to us from Kansas City with this, their third CD release. Of course, this means now I'll have to track down the previous two, and for sure I'll be keeping an eye out for tour dates.

[ visit the Elders online ]