The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
Patrick Clifford is a musician, songwriter, and producer of Irish and folk music. Best known as a key member of Four to the Bar—a "well loved and well respected" mainstay of the 1990s New York Irish music scene—he has also released two solo albums: American Wake and Chance of a Start. He is a proud member of Regis High School class of 1984. Go Raiders!
The Irish Voice is a newspaper published in New York City, New York. It focuses on news and stories from an Irish-American perspective. The paper was first published in the fall of 1987 and was targeted at new Irish immigrants who were moving to the US in large numbers.
As on American Wake, the album uses instrumentation typical of the American folk music idiom (such as harmonica, piano, bass, and organ), to arrange six notable twentieth-century Irish folk standards and four original songs. Clifford described the resulting sound as "Irish at its heart with an American manifestation."[2]
American Wake is the first full-length solo album by Patrick Clifford, released in 2010.
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as Great Britain, Europe, or Africa. Musician Mike Seeger once famously commented that the definition of American folk music is "...all the music that fits between the cracks."
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. There are many types of harmonica, including diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. A harmonica is played by using the mouth to direct air into or out of one or more holes along a mouthpiece. Behind each hole is a chamber containing at least one reed. A harmonica reed is a flat elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player's air, it alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound.
Unlike American Wake, Chance of a Start contains no instrumental tracks.
James Henry Miller, better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was an English folk singer, songwriter, communist, labour activist, actor, poet, playwright and record producer.
Freeborn Man of the Traveling People is a folk ballad, written by Ewan MacColl for The Travelling People, which was first broadcast in 1964, one of eight BBC "Radio Ballads."
The Shoals of Herring is a ballad, written by Ewan MacColl for the third of the original eight BBC Radio balladsSinging the Fishing, which was first broadcast on August 16, 1960. Ewan MacColl writes that the song was based on the life of Sam Larner, a fisherman and traditional singer from Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, England.
Dominic Behan was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican. Born into a literary family, Dominic Behan was one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th century.
"The Auld Triangle" is a song, which was first performed publicly as a part of the play The Quare Fellow (1954) by Brendan Behan. Brendan credited his brother Dominic Behan for writing it. 2 years later, Dominic released it on an album called Irish Songs. The song was later made famous by Luke Kelly, Ronnie Drew and The Dubliners in the late 1960s, and was revived for a new audience by Irish rock band the Pogues on their 1984 album Red Roses for Me.
In music, an ostinato[ostiˈnaːto] is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include both classical compositions such as Ravel's Boléro and the Carol of the Bells, and popular songs such as Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's "I Feel Love" (1977), Henry Mancini's theme from Peter Gunn (1959), The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997), and April Ivy's "Be Ok" (1997).
Initial critical response to Chance of a Start was positive. The music critic for the Irish Voice (New York) said that the album "showcases the talents of one of the most compelling singer/songwriters that has crossed my path in many a moon." The review compared Clifford favorably to Glen Hansard and Christy Moore, both calling him a "master of interpretation" and noting that he "does a fine job crafting stories of his own in the four tracks he penned."[3]
Tony Lawless at tradconnect.com called the album "an accomplished piece of work" with "surprising hidden depths." The review noted "worthy reinterpretations of some familiar songs"—such as "The Parting Glass," which it called "wonderful"—and likened Clifford to Darden Smith, Dermot Hegarty, Johnny McEvoy, Poco, and Gram Parsons.[4]
In December 2012, the Irish Voice selected Chance of a Start as one of the eight best albums of 2012, noting that it "re-imagines six classics by 20th century Irish and folk songwriters such as Pete St. John, Ewan MacColl and Dominic Behan, revitalizing them for a new generation, lest they be forgotten or (worse yet) fall into irrelevance for a lack of thoughtful stewardship."[1]
Related Research Articles
Martin Carthy is the debut solo album by English folk musician Martin Carthy, originally released in 1965 by Fontana Records and later re-issued by Topic Records. The album features Dave Swarbrick playing fiddle or mandolin on a number of the tracks. Swarbrick was not headlined on the album for contractual reasons as he was with the Ian Campbell Folk Group at the time with permission granted by Transatlantic Records
Smoke and Strong Whiskey is an album by Irish folk singer Christy Moore, released in 1991.
Prosperous is the second album by Irish folk musician Christy Moore, released in 1972. His first album, Paddy on the Road, was recorded by Dominic Behan in 1969 and has long been out of print. In addition to Moore's guitar and voice, Prosperous featured musicians Andy Irvine, Liam Óg O'Flynn and Dónal Lunny. These four musicians later gave themselves the name Planxty, making this album something of the first Planxty album in all but name. Other musicians included Kevin Conneff on bodhrán, Clive Collins on fiddle, and Dave Bland on concertina.
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she has lived for more than 30 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989.
"The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent, though improbable, sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics over time.
Craic on the Road: Live at Sam Maguire's was the first full-length album by Four to the Bar, released in 1994.
Four to the Bar was the first commercial release by the band of that name. A four-cut EP, it was released on cassette in 1993.
The Best of the Pogues is a greatest hits album by The Pogues, released in September 1991. The album was dedicated to the memory of Deborah Korner.
A Maid of Constant Sorrow is a 1961 album, the debut of Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records and featuring traditional folk songs.
Live in Carré is a live album by The Dubliners. Recorded live in Amsterdam in October 1983, this album featured Luke Kelly's final recordings with The Dubliners.
Live from the Gaiety is a live album by The Dubliners. It was recorded during the Irish leg of their tour celebrating forty years on the road. The double album was recorded at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in June 2002. All surviving members took part. A companion double DVD of the concert in its entirety was also released.
The Iron Muse is the title of two albums released by Topic Records, the first as a 12-inch Long Play vinyl record released in 1963 and the other as a CD released in 1993.
Live at Vicar Street is a live album released by Irish folk singer/songwriter Christy Moore in 2002.
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