| Rain on the Roof | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Recorded | June–August 1996, in County Cork and County Kerry | |||
| Genre | Irish/Balkan/American folk music | |||
| Length | 46:51 | |||
| Label | Andy Irvine (Ireland) | |||
| Producer | Ray Barron, Steve Cooney | |||
| Andy Irvine chronology | ||||
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Rain on the Roof [1] is Andy Irvine's third solo album and also the first released on his own label, Andy Irvine, under product number "AK-1".
Recorded in June, July and August 1996, it is the closest the listener could get to the experience of attending one of his live performances.
Most of the recordings on this CD were done as if live. That is to say I sat in front of microphones with my bouzouki or mandolin in my lap, my harmonica in its holder round my neck, and my drone volume pedal on the floor, under my foot, and played and sang all in one go. [2]
Other instruments were added (on four of the eleven tracks) by Rens van der Zalm (fiddle and mandolin), Stephen Cooney (didgeridoo, Kpanlogo drum), Declan Masterson (low whistle) and Irvine himself, who played a second mandolin on two of the tracks. [2]
The album opens with "Prince Among Men", a song about the hazards and dangers of working underground in a mine–which Irvine wrote from the perspective of a man whose late father, James Doyle, had been a miner. [2]
"Băneasă's Green Glade" [3] : 98–100 is a re-worked version of the song he had first recorded with Planxty, followed this time around by "Rumen Sirakov's Daichevo", Irvine's solo adaptation of "Didinata", a dance tune in 9
8 time (3–2–2–2) composed by Bulgarian tambura player Rumen Sirakov. [4]
"Rain on the Roof/The Blue Mountains of New South Wales" is a self-penned set of jigs. [2]
"My Heart's Tonight in Ireland" is Irvine's nostalgic recollection of the times he spent touring in County Clare with Sweeney's Men. [2]
"Forgotten Hero" is a passionate song reminiscing about the life and struggle of Michael Davitt, the founder of the Irish National Land League. [2]
Then comes a set of Bulgarian dance tunes: "Pamela's Rŭtchenitsa" in 7
16 time, "Gruncharsko Horo" in 9
16 time and "Baker's Dozen", an apt and witty title for a dance tune in 13
16 time. [2]
"He Fades Away" is a poignant song written by Alistair Hulett, about the compensation due to the young men who died from exposure to blue asbestos in the Wittenoom mine in Western Australia in the 1940s. [2]
"Come With Me Over The Mountain" is Irvine's adaptation of H61a [5] : 459 from Sam Henry's collection (Songs of the People), followed by another self-penned jig: "A Smile In The Dark". [2]
"The Monument (Lest We Forget)" is Irvine's revisiting of the Ludlow Massacre in the coalfields of Southern Colorado on 20 April 1914. [2]
With "Take No Prisoners/Old Brunswick", we find Irvine combining rhythms and musical phrases from the Irish and Greek traditions. [2]
The album closes with "Never Tire of the Road", Irvine's tribute to his lifelong hero, Woody Guthrie. In this updated version, Irvine included the chorus from a song Guthrie recorded in March 1944: "You Fascists Are Bound to Lose". [2]
Andrew Kennedy Irvine is an Irish folk musician, singer-songwriter, and a founding member of Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island. He also featured in duos, with Dónal Lunny, Paul Brady, Mick Hanly, Dick Gaughan, Rens van der Zalm, and Luke Plumb. Irvine plays the mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, harmonica, and hurdy-gurdy.
Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway Joe" Dolan.
John Moynihan is an Irish folk singer, based in Dublin. He is often credited with introducing the bouzouki into Irish music in the mid-1960s.
Sweeney's Men is an album by Sweeney's Men, recorded in early 1968 after 'Galway Joe' Dolan had left the band and been replaced by Terry Woods.
Cold Blow and the Rainy Night is the third album by the Irish folk group Planxty. It was recorded in Sarm Studios, Whitechapel, London during August 1974 and released the same year. It takes its title from the third song on the album, "Cold Blow and the Rainy Night".
The Best of Patrick Street is the first compilation album by Patrick Street, released in 1995 on the NECTAR label.
After The Break is the fourth studio album by the Irish folk music band Planxty, recorded at Windmill Lane Studios from 18 to 30 June 1979 and released the same year. It was the band's first of two releases on Tara Records.
The Given Note is the fourth solo album by master uilleann piper and prominent Irish traditional musician Liam O'Flynn. Produced by Shaun Davey and recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, the album was released in 1995. The title was suggested by O'Flynn's good friend Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature. Heaney also wrote a tribute to O'Flynn which is on the sleeve notes of the album.
EastWind is an album by Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane, showcasing a fusion of Irish folk music with traditional Bulgarian and Macedonian music. Produced by Irvine and Bill Whelan, who also contributed keyboards and piano, it was widely regarded as revolutionary at recording.
Parachilna is an album by Andy Irvine and Rens van der Zalm, of Irish and Australian songs recorded live in July 2012, while camping in the Australian Outback.
Way Out Yonder is an album by Andy Irvine, recorded between July and December 1999 and released in January 2000. It was co-produced by Irvine and Steve Cooney.
Rainy Sundays... Windy Dreams is Andy Irvine's first solo album, produced by Dónal Lunny and recorded at Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios in late 1979. It was released in January 1980 by Tara Records.
Live from the Powerhouse is an album rehearsed in six days, starting on 1 March 2002 in the seaside town of Rye, Victoria in Australia, by multicultural group Mozaik featuring Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov and Rens van der Zalm.
Changing Trains is the first studio album recorded by Mozaik in Budapest during November 2005, and for which they had rehearsed new material a few months earlier, in January and April.
Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny's Mozaik [a.k.a.Mozaik] is a multicultural folk band consisting of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Bruce Molsky, Nikola Parov and Rens van der Zalm. Created in 2002, the band have toured Australia, Europe, USA and Japan, and recorded four albums.
Andy Irvine/70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012 is a live recording of a pair of concerts held at Dublin's Vicar Street venue, on 16 and 17 June 2012, to celebrate Andy Irvine's 70th birthday.
Compendium: The Best of Patrick Street is the second compilation album by the Irish folk band Patrick Street, released in 2000 on the Green Linnet label.
Cornerboys is the fifth studio album by the Irish folk band Patrick Street, released in 1996 on Green Linnet Records.
Street Life is the eighth album by the Irish folk band Patrick Street, released in 2002 on Green Linnet.
Between the Jigs and the Reels: A Retrospective is a two-disc anthology by the Irish folk band Planxty. It includes a 17-track CD and a 36-track DVD with over two hours of previously unreleased footage (1972–1982) from RTÉ archives.
