When Irish Eyes Are Smiling...

Blarney Castle - County Cork, Ireland

In an effort to understand the drinking brigade that is St. Patrick's Day... I thought I would look up what the actual facts are surrounding the day...and find some really good Irish music to complement it...

7 Facts About St. Patrick's Day...

1) St. Patrick, contrary to popular belief, was not Irish...He was born in Britain, and didn't lead a religious life until his teenage years...

2) When St. Patrick was 14, he was captured and taken to Ireland, where he was kept in slavery for six years and made to herd sheep.  After he was freed, He returned to Ireland in his 30's when he was part of a missionary of Celtic pagans.

3) In order to achieve sainthood, St. Patrick had to have miracles attributed to him.  He is said to have driven serpents out of Ireland.  Skeptics argue that there never were snakes in post-glacial Ireland.

4) Green was not the original color associated with St. Patrick... In Ireland, green was traditionally considered to be an unlucky color and the hue that was associated with St. Patrick was blue...

5) St. Patrick is said to have died on March 17, 461 AD, which is why the holiday is celebrated on that day.  It is a national holiday in Ireland and the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean...

6) Popular Irish toast for St. Patrick's Day... "May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out"...

7) The first St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States took place in 1762 in New York City.  Now there are over 100 St. Patrick's Day parades throughout the country.  The city of Chicago is known for their festivities and has been dying the Chicago River green since 1962...

So... there you have it... some fun facts for your brain to devour...now... in the music department... here are some things Irish you may want to give a listen to in honor of the day...

This could be our mini "Sonic Flashback"...released March 26, 1976 it's the record that broke Thin Lizzy in America and contains the title song and the hit "The Boys Are Back In Town"... A deluxe edition was released in 2011 with a second disc of remixes, live recordings from the BBC and some rough mixes of earlier tracks...

Admittedly...not a fan of U2...but you can't argue with the success of this record released in March of 1987... It was the record that turned this Irish band from international touring act to bonafide superstars... It has sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone... 

Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore made a name for himself as a premier blues guitarist, but really is a master at any genre he plays... I chose this record because it contains his commentary on all the bands [such as Kingdom Come...] who copied Led Zeppelin's sound.  It also has Ozzy on vocals.. this is "Led Clones"...

Hands down...one of the most photogenic families on the planet...the Corrs are Irish siblings Jim [guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals], Andrea [lead vocals, tin whistle], Sharon [violin, vocals] and Caroline [drums, percussion, bodhran, piano and vocals]... They can all sing and play and I have been a fan since the release of their debut "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" in 1995...  I chose "Home" which was released in 2005 because it pays tribute to their Irish roots..

You could celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Northern Ireland's favorite son Van Morrison... His is a mix of jazz, blues, R&B and Irish influences throughout his work... Always a favorite...

One thing I did learn in my research was that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost province of Canada... and that gives me great pleasure to add to my list the outstanding Newfoundland group Great Big Sea...combining traditional Irish songs and rock using modern and traditional instruments very successfully this band really should be bigger than it is... Nonetheless... Give 'em a listen...

Another favorite for the Irish holiday and our last entry... Riverdance, written by Limerick native Bill Whelan, began as an interval performance at the 1994 Eurovision song contest and went on to become an international sensation [and also made dancer Michael Flatley famous...].  The theatrical show consisted of Irish stepdancing set to music in traditional Irish style... It was an amazing show and I had the fortune to see it on Broadway many many years ago... The music is uplifting and definitely will complement what ever it is you raise to toast today...

And Now...For This Week's Sonic Flashback...[And Since St. Patrick Was British...Here's One Of Britain's Most Famous Bands...]

Pink Floyd - The Final Cut

Roger Waters - Bass, Lead Vocals
David Gilmour - Guitars, Vocals on "Not Now John"
Nick Mason - Drums, Percussion

Released on March 21, 1983, Pink Floyd's follow up to "The Wall" featured a trimmed down line-up [Keyboard player Richard Wright was no longer a member of the band by then, as he was sacked before "The Wall" tour...] and became a hinge pin to the falling out of band mates Roger Waters and David Gilmour, as they reached a point where they could no longer work together.  Roger Waters was credited solely for all material on the album, and would leave the band after it's release.  No tour would materialize for the album.  Waters would also sing lead on all but one of the tracks, leading some to comment that it was more of a Waters solo record and not a Pink Floyd record.

I remember when MTV was doing their "World Premiere Video" thing and they did a big build up for a song called "When The Tigers Broke Free" from "The Final Cut"...but I couldn't understand at the time [I was 14...and without the internet...oh the shame...] why it was never on the album... What I found out later was that "The Final Cut" was intended to be a soundtrack to the film "Pink Floyd The Wall" with re-recorded tracks and original songs from the movie [of which "Tigers" was...].   The working title was "Spare Bricks"... They remastered and re-released the album in 2004 and the song appears on this release.

Roger Waters used "The Final Cut" to criticize England and in particular, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for the conflict in the Falkland Islands, citing the conflict as unnecessary.  Waters dedicated the album to his father, who died in World War II.  The focus is also on Roger Waters obsession with his father's death in that war.  The record is considered an "anti-war concept album"...This was the heart of the discontent for the band as Waters had a singular vision for the record and Gilmour and Mason weren't really excited to get on board with it.  This led to separately recording the parts of the album and having the producers [James Guthrie, Michael Kamen and Roger Waters] piecing it all together.  

Reviews of the record are certainly polarizing... ranging from very positive to absolutely horrendous and everything in between.  To be fair, it did start out as a "soundtrack" album for "Pink Floyd The Wall" movie, so it's not a traditional album in it's use of dialogue and sound effects.  It is a very well recorded and produced record, and there are some really good songs on there ["Not Now John" is a favorite of mine...] but in order to appreciate the album and the history surrounding it... you need to dust this one off...

David Gilmour would go on to his solo work starting with "About Face" in 1984, and Roger Waters' "The Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking" also came out that year.  Pink Floyd [essentially David Gilmour and Nick Mason] would return with "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" in 1987.  Sometimes the best music comes from difficult circumstances... 

Better Late Than Never...Sometimes The Budget Only Allows For So Much...

For the record...I purchase every album I promote and talk about...gone are the days where promos would find their way into my collection...That said...sometimes the budget doesn't always allow for me to pick up everything I want on their release date... [bills do have to be paid you know...]... So here is this week's pick...

Seventh Key - I Will Survive

Billy Greer - Bass, Lead Vocals

Mike Slamer - Guitars, Keyboards, Programming

Chet Wynd - Drums

[with an uncredited appearance by David Ragsdale - Violin]

Seventh Key is a band formed around Kansas/Streets bassist Billy Greer and City Boy/Streets/Steelhouse Lane guitarist Mike Slamer.  After working on two albums in Streets with Kansas' original singer Steve Walsh, Greer joined Kansas with Walsh when Walsh returned to the fold for their "Power" record in 1986.  Slamer went on to to do TV scores and formed another band Steelhouse Lane which produced two outstanding melodic rock albums and did a solo record with Terry Brock on vocals called Slamer... Got it?...

Seventh Key released their self-titled first record to rave reviews in 2001 and continued the trend with the follow up "The Raging Fire" in 2004.  Production and writing on the new record started in 2008 but do to other commitments it took a little longer finish and record.  The style is pure melodic rock at it's finest, and the third record maintains the quality of the first two, as Mike Slamer is a studio perfectionist and wouldn't release the album until he was satisfied with it... and the results are excellent.  

The sound of Seventh Key is definitely influenced by Greer's association with Kansas and the debut record actually contained some songs that were demo'd for the "Power" record, but not used.  On the new record Greer enlists Kansas band mate David Ragsdale for a few of the songs, but he remains uncredited for some [contract?] reason...Mike Slamer is an outstanding musician and in keeping with the style the guitar solos are tasteful and not over the top.  Songs have a melodic rock feel with a progressive edge to it.  And at no time does the musicianship get in the way of the song.

Overall if you are a fan of Kansas, melodic rock, or just a fan of great songwriting and playing this record will satisfy your needs.  Overall the response to "I Will Survive" in the melodic rock community has been overwhelmingly positive and this record is definitely worth seeking out.  This is one of those records I wish I had grabbed when it was released [If my memory serves... I picked up the deluxe package of Dream Theater's "Live At Luna Park" and that broke the budget that week...].  But...sometimes better late than never.  Another challenge when picking up new releases is finding the time to sit down and absorb it all... and the timing on this one since I was late in procuring it worked out great... Enjoy...

New Releases...Coming Soon To A Medium Near You!!...

UFO - The Complete Studio Albums 1974-1986

A release that would make Eddie Trunk proud...the Complete UFO album collection from 1974-1986.  This collection is something that if you have the original first 10 albums...you will want to pick this one up for the 40 b-sides, rare bonus material and live tracks.  From "Phenomenon" to "Misdemeanor" and all the UFO classics in between... [Rhino Records] [Out 3/18]

Saxon - The Complete Studio Albums 1979-1988

Rhino Records gives similar treatment to the Saxon collection with their first 10 records remastered and expanded with bonus material on "The Complete Studio Albums 1979-1988." Covering "Saxon" from '79 through "Destiny" from '88... I have a been a fan of Saxon since seeing them live at my very first concert as the opener for Sabbath... [Rhino Records] [Out 3/18]

Gus G. - I Am The Fire

Ozzy/Firewind guitarist Gus G. releases his first solo record this week with a host of guests [Therion/Yngwie's Mats Leven, Megadeth's Dave Ellefson, Winery Dogs/Mr. Big's Billy Sheehan and W.E.T./Talisman/Yngwie/ Journey vocalist Jeff Scott Soto among them...] and a classic rock/vintage metal direction that will showcase Gus G.'s songwriting and and playing.  [Century Media Records] [Out 3/18]

Also out this week is the new single from Lacuna Coil from their followup to "Dark Adrenaline"... Their latest "Broken Crown Halo" will be out on April 1st.. This is new Lacuna Coil with "Die & Rise"...

And Now...For This Week's 80's Irish Flashback Video...

The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays...

[Singer Bob Geldof played Pink in Pink Floyd's "The Wall"...]

Thanks For Coming Along For The Ride...

J.