The Greatest Irish Album ... Ever! may have been a little enthusiastically named, but it is a very good Irish album. Featuring some of Ireland's biggest names in folk and traditional music, as well as some very good songs, it is definitely a good investment for Irish music lovers -- although the general public would probably find some of it a bit old-fashioned. Several songs are more in the line of adult contemporary music than folk or traditional, which makes some of it a bit less than pleasant for those looking for a quality folk/traditional collection.

As benefits an Irish compilation put out by an Irish label, this album contains a shocking number of songs about what a wonderful place Ireland is and how everyone in the world wishes they were Irish. It makes you wonder if the Irish tourist board had a hand in putting the track list together. There are also a lot of songs sung by middle-aged sonorous men. The album definitely tends toward a middle-of-the-road sound. About a third of the songs fall into this category.

Enough of what makes this not the greatest album ever and on to what makes it a pretty good listen. There is possibly the best and most original version of "She Moved Through the Fair" by Meav, a lovely instrumental of "Riverdance" by David Agnew and David Downes, the funky "Dulaman" by Clannad and Altan's classic "Lass of Glenshee." The Fureys include an excellent version of "The Green Fields of France," there's a "New Deal" with political commentary by Dolores Keane and a nice jazzy piece, "Wonderful Thing," is supplied by Leslie Dowdall.

But pushing this album from an OK compilation to that next step up is "Molly Malone," performed by the Dubs. The Dubs comprise just about every famous folksinger out of Ireland. It's kind of like Band Aid for Irish traditional music. Included are Paddy Moloney, Moya Brennan, Leslie Dowdall, Maura O'Connell, Mary Black, Finbar Furey, Johnny Logan, Jim McCann, Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Tony Kenny, Colm Wilkinson, Ronnie Drew, Shay Healy, the Dubliners, the Fureys and Davy Arthur -- which pretty much covers the past 30 years of Irish folk in one fell swoop. Pretty amazing stuff.

This compilation is all right. It's not the best compilation of Irish music, but it's also not the worst. The songs that are great are great and the rest can easily be programmed out or skipped on your CD player.

If you are already into Irish music, there is a good chance that you already have many of these songs somewhere. If you aren't already into Irish music, this is probably not the best place to start. However, there are little gems hidden on this album, so if you are looking for an album that might show you something new, it could well be worth it ... and "Molly Malone" is a really fun track. Overall I would have to say that this album will appeal to few folkies, but people interested in adult contemporary music might enjoy it.

- Rambles
written by Jean Emma Price
published 2 July 2005