Blackwater is the fifth studio album by Altan, released in April 1996 on the Virgin Records label. Three of the songs are sung in Irish. "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Baine" is sung partly in English and in Irish. "Blackwaterside" is sung in English. It was the first album released by the band since the death of founding member Frankie Kennedy two years earlier. The final track on the album is a tribute to Kennedy and was written by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh herself.
| Blackwater | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 April 1996 | |||
| Studio | Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland | |||
| Genre | Celtic | |||
| Length | 39:33 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Altan and Brian Masterson | |||
| Altan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Blackwater | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1][a] |
Track listing edit
- "Johnny Boyle's/King of the Pipers" (Jigs) (Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 3.30
- "Dark Haired Lass/Biddy From Muckross/Sean Maguire's" (Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:51
- "Stór, A Stór, A Ghrá" (song) (Traditional) (Irish) - 2:51
- "Strathspey/Con McGinley's/The Newfoundland Reel" (Strathspey and Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) -3:11
- "Tá Mé 'Mo Shuí (I am awake)" (song) (Traditional) (Gaelic) - 4:08
- "An Gasúr Mor/Bunker Hill/Dogs Among the Bushes" (Hornpipe and Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:36
- "Molly Na gCuach Ní Chuilleanáin (The curly haired Molly)"(song) (Traditional) (Irish) - 2:35
- "Jenny Picking Cockles/Farewell to Leitrim/John Doherty's" (Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:41
- "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Báine" (song) (Traditional) (sung in English and Irish) - 2:38
- "The Dance of the Honeybees" (hornpipe) (Charlie Lennon) (Instr) - 3:24
- "Blackwaterside" (song) (Traditional) (English) - 3:43
- "A Tune for Frankie" (jig) (Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh) - 3:25
Personnel edit
Altan edit
- Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh – Fiddle, vocals
- Ciaran Tourish – Fiddle, whistle, backing vocals
- Dermot Byrne – Accordion, melodeon
- Ciarán Curran – Bouzouki
- Mark Kelly – Guitar, backing vocals
- Dáithí Sproule – Guitar, backing vocals
Guest musicians edit
- Steve Cooney – Bass (tracks 7, 9, 10, 12), backing vocals (tracks 3, 7)
- Conan Doyle – Backing vocals (track 3)
- Jimmy Higgins – Bodhrán (tracks 1, 3, 5), darrbuka (track 8), snare drum (track 7), wood block (track 9), clay drums (track 3)
- Dónal Lunny – Bouzouki (track 10), bodhrán (tracks 4, 7, 9, 12), keyboards (tracks 5, 7, 9, 12)
- Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill – Backing vocals (track 3)
- Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill – Backing vocals (track 3), piano (track 11)
- Anna Ní Mhaonaigh – Backing vocals (track 7)
- Brendan Power – Harmonica (tracks 3, 7, 9)
- String quartet:
- Máire Breatnach — Viola
- Annette Cleary — Cello
- David James — Cello
- Tommy Kane — Violin
Production edit
- Brian Masterson – Producer, Engineer
- David Scheinmann – Photography
- The Design Corporation – Design
References edit
Notes
- ^ Allmusic errenously refers to 'Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill' as the lead singer/violinist; they are mistaken and may have misremembered actual bandmember Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh as Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, a wholly different person. This is the case with many Allmusic reviews of Altan's music - other errenous 'variants' include 'Maircad Ni Mhaonaigh', 'Maighread Ní Mhaonaigh' and 'Maighread' .
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. Blackwater at AllMusic
External links edit
- Blackwaterside on YouTube - Official video