Gaelic Storm Special Reserve
Released: August 19, 2003 Origination Year: 2003 Time: N/A Tracks:13 Produced by: Various Style: Studio / Collection Format: CD Enhancement: None Label: OmTown Music Website: www.gaelicstorm.com
Track Listing Courtin' in the Kitchen Johnny Tarr The Schooner Lake Set The Leaving of Liverpool Drink The Night Away After Hours at McGann's Swimmin' in the Sea Nancy Whiskey She Was The Prize Johnny Jump Up / Morrison's Jig Titanic Set Tell Me Ma Beggarman

What exactly constitutes “world music”? If you are to believe the generally held notion, it’s only music from Africa, Asia or South America, usually sprung forth from really out of the way villages therein. But if you consider the title, wouldn’t that mean the world consists of more than just the songs of three continents? And why is Irish music always socked away like those Christmas albums that are only of value between Thanksgiving and Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve? Isn’t it just as viable as “world music”? Doesn’t it deserve attention during times of the year not associated with leprechauns?

Am I right?

I propose that people should look into Irish music as just that; music, and not just a holiday soundtrack. A very good place to start would be the ‘best of’ collection “Special Reserve” by Gaelic Storm. To expose my own hypocrisy, let me say I never knew of this band, didn’t realize they had three previous releases (“Gaelic Storm”, “Herding Cats” and “Tree”) and was just as oblivious as anyone else. It was on a tip from editor Matt Rowe, that the band’s claim to fame was their appearance as the ‘Irish band in steerage’ in the film “Titanic”. I was properly chastened. Here I am, Mr. Know It All, ready to dispense all sorts of knowledge and minutiae about this group and that group and yet I was trumped, and trumped hard.

My advice: don’t let it happen to you. This collection is pretty cool and fairly complete, giving you tracks from previous releases including the music used in that famous film sequence and three new cuts. Their sound is a little more contemporary than The Chieftains but not as radical as Black 47, just to drop some names you’d recognize. Their repertoire is mixed with both traditional and original music but the emphasis is on fun, keeping things light. Even in the darkest of subject matter, the tone is meant to put you up on your feet to dance, not to drop you into a shadow-laden wake’s dirge.

At their most pop-influenced, Gaelic Storm really could sneak under the radar and wind up in an adventurous radio station’s roster. It is not so unlikely that the propulsive “Beggarman” or the lovely ballad “She Was The Prize” might creep out of a car passing by either. If you’ve heard “Fisherman’s Blues” by The Waterboys and thought, hey that’s interesting, you’re that much closer to giving this set a shot. The newly recorded “Nancy Whiskey” even has a slight, but not obvious, club feel.

But back to the main vein of my rant… This is not novelty, nor is it seasonal. It’s a style of music that deserves better treatment than it has received over the years because it isn’t terribly far removed from pop music. Structurally, thematically, and energetically, Gaelic Storm provides all three of those elements with a higher degree of musicianship than its loop-driven Stateside cousin. The world is bigger than just three distinct examples. It’s time that Irish music was included on that map.

Am I right?