Planxty - CD/SD

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Planxty - amazingly innovative group who fused Irish traditional music, an almost English folk tradition, plus various Eastern European folk musics into one all conquering whole, or a load of beardy provos who debased Irish music by mixing it with alien sounds.

or something else.

I don't really know them well enough to judge, but I do like Andy Irvine's voice, playing, and songwriting.

"The Well Below The Valley" is probably my favourite album of theirs, if only for the total grimness of the title track (an unsavoury tale of incest, child murder, and damnation).

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 22:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'd go as far as to say: the greatest band to come out of Ireland.

Andy Irvine's voice was great, but Christy Moore's was arguably even better.

Their self-titled first, The Well Below The Valley, and Cold Blow And The Rainy Night were all classics.

Some great songs (search):

Raggle Taggle Gypsy
Follow Me Up To Carlow
Arthur McBride
The West Coast of Clare
The Kid On The Mountain
As I Roved Out
Hewlett
The Well Below The Valley (completely grim, disquieting, as you say)
Johnny Cope
Mominsko Horo
Cold Blow And The Rainy Night
The Little Drummer

And also Farmer Michael Hayes from a later album (not sure which).

I don't wanna Destroy as they get little exposure, and they were the punkest Irish trad folk band evah.

― David A. (Davant), Thursday, 27 March 2003 06:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

I only know them from Kate Bush's "Night of the Swallow" -- i.e. not at all really. But search that tune anyway.

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Thursday, 27 March 2003 06:46 (10 years ago) Permalink

Saw them recently on No Disco, some 1980 live footage. Wouldn't mind getting an album at some point. I remember seeing some form of Planxty at the 1990 Feile and they created this massive sound outdoors.

― David Gunnip (David Gunnip), Thursday, 27 March 2003 09:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

it was the No Disco thing that triggered the thread (I finally saw it over the weekend). interesting stuff, especially all the bitching about Phil Coulter.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 27 March 2003 12:06 (10 years ago) Permalink

CLASSIC.

search: everything! david a. is OTM about Farmer Michael Hayes (which i think is on After The Break). however, anyone with any sense knows that andy irvine is Da Man.

search also: the andy irvine/paul brady album, featuring not-shit performance by paul brady (i.e. before he started thinking he was an Important Singer-Songwriter)

destroy: timedance. jaysus.

david g: i also saw the No Disco thing. disappointing lack of footage of ver planx and too much david kitt, i thought. but still nice to see.

anyone got any thoughts on the role of donal lunny in planxty? it's a contentious one back where i'm from. dyed-in-the-wool tradders tend to think he was a no-talent passenger, however there's another school of thought that holds that he contributed much in the area of arrangement and, er, possibly the derek smalls factor (the lukewarm water to christy's fire and irvine's ice, or something). i'm undecided, really.

― rener (rener), Thursday, 27 March 2003 12:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

There's always too much David Kitt.

They sounded great on No Disco. The opening pipes solo had the jaws dropping on everyone I saw it with. Also search Christy Moore's Prosperous, aka Planxty record #0.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 27 March 2003 12:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

If Donal Lunny was the passenger, how come he now runs trad?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 27 March 2003 12:53 (10 years ago) Permalink

The same reason Stacy Peralta now makes films about Dogtown.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 27 March 2003 13:24 (10 years ago) Permalink

didn't see the no disco special but the andy irvine song they played last night was great

― robin (robin), Thursday, 27 March 2003 14:12 (10 years ago) Permalink

robin, which one did they play? was it the plains of kildare (the one about the racehorses)? he brought down the roof in whelan's with that one when he supported will oldham last year. fab stuff indeed.

― rener (rener), Thursday, 27 March 2003 15:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

it was a bulgarian folk song...
i was actually at that whelan's gig,but i don't remember much of andy irvine's set,i think he was on when i arrived,i remember thinking it was quite good and all but i wasn't that into it...

― robin (robin), Thursday, 27 March 2003 15:26 (10 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

We got the auld book about Planxty for Christmas. There is more Coulter scoving shenanigans. Apparently he wanted to play piano on one of their records and they told him to shag off.

― The Real Dirty Vicar (dirtyvicar), Sunday, 21 January 2007 18:34 (6 years ago) Permalink

Some good Planxty footage and info on that 'Folk Hibernia' prog on BBC4. Prob being repeated this week.

― Frogm@n Henry (Frogm@n Henry), Sunday, 21 January 2007 19:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

I have been listening to the first album all week and it just gets better. The Blacksmith is taking first place at the moment. The last 2 minutes is just about some of the best music I've ever heard.

― Ned Trifle II, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:07 (5 years ago) Permalink

Check it out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z3A5Tgy47M

― Ned Trifle II, Sunday, 9 September 2007 15:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

andy irvine/paul brady record is the best planxty related release for me, but most of them are pretty great

― gershy, Sunday, 9 September 2007 19:04 (5 years ago) Permalink

Ned Trifle OTM.

Also, this is worth a look (Part 1 of 3).

― Lostandfound, Monday, 10 September 2007 00:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

i've been meaning to check this lot out ever since a drunken taxi ride in perth about six months ago, soundtracked by their truly exquisite music. go on, someone tell me an album to start with. the note i wrote in my "stuff to get" list says: "awesome dark folk with exquisite moments of harmony".

go on, someone tell me where to start.

― grimly fiendish, Monday, 10 September 2007 09:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

First album!

― Tom D., Monday, 10 September 2007 09:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

consider it done!

― grimly fiendish, Monday, 10 September 2007 09:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

Then work chronologically!

― Tom D., Monday, 10 September 2007 09:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

easy!

― grimly fiendish, Monday, 10 September 2007 09:41 (5 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

Andy Irvine playing a few gigs in London over the weekend, be there or be square

― Tom A. (Tom B.) (Tom C.) (Tom D.), Friday, 24 September 2010 12:26 (2 years ago) Permalink

@Tom A. (or anyone): Did you go see him? He's playing Cambridge on the 23rd but I really ought to be leaving town that day; I could rearrange if top form is guaranteed.

On the back of this thread I went and bought the first two albums last week; I'm spellbound. I grew up with a half-intentional disinterest in traditional music - it always seemed to be either over-reverential or just guys belting it out in the pub. I must have heard Planxty before but never paid attention...what's amazing is the great subtlety in their arrangements and delivery, but also the feeling that you're hearing the musicians creating a new expressive language for Irish folk music. It reminds me a bit of another favourite of mine, Folk Roots New Roots by Shirley Collins and Davy Graham.

― seandalai, Saturday, 2 October 2010 15:54 (2 years ago) Permalink

i saw andy irvine play in new york a couple of times about 20 years ago. very good performer. can't go wrong with any of the planxty records (i think there's one i never heard tho).the andy irvine/paul brady record is the pinnacle of that era of irish folk music imo. paul brady was such a great folk artist, shame he moved on although i suppose those bonnie raitt residuals are nice. did not know about this
He performed Gaelic songs as a character in the 2002 Matthew Barney film Cremaster 3.

― -hot-dean ge-fever- (buzza), Saturday, 2 October 2010 17:40 (2 years ago) Permalink

he andy irvine/paul brady record is the pinnacle of that era of irish folk music

^^^^

This

― sonofstan, Saturday, 2 October 2010 18:16 (2 years ago) Permalink

Co-sign

― The Bartered Bride (Ówen P.), Saturday, 2 October 2010 18:21 (2 years ago) Permalink

This is Planxty in 72(I think)

Watch as they turn into the Gansey Underground at the end, with Christy as a Nico/ Mo combo on harmonium and bodhran, and Liam óg as the John Cale of the pipes.

― sonofstan, Saturday, 2 October 2010 19:21 (2 years ago) Permalink

Wrong link sorry *red face*

― sonofstan, Saturday, 2 October 2010 19:22 (2 years ago) Permalink

Fuck.... sorry.

Look it up its the Blacksmith by Planxty on the Late Late....

― sonofstan, Saturday, 2 October 2010 19:23 (2 years ago) Permalink

hot hurdy gurdy action!

― -hot-dean ge-fever- (buzza), Saturday, 2 October 2010 20:06 (2 years ago) Permalink

he andy irvine/paul brady record is the pinnacle of that era of irish folk music

^^^^

This

― sonofstan, Saturday, October 2, 2010 6:16 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Co-sign

― The Bartered Bride (Ówen P.), Saturday, October 2, 2010 6:21 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

If ever there was a case of "ILM told me to do it"...

― seandalai, Saturday, 2 October 2010 21:48 (2 years ago) Permalink

i hate paul brady tho

― plax (ico), Sunday, 3 October 2010 18:07 (2 years ago) Permalink

8 months pass...

1) first 3 planxty albums are the shit
2) andy irvine/paul brady LP is even better. damn.

― by another name (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 06:17 (1 year ago) Permalink

― by another name (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 06:19 (1 year ago) Permalink

those are some deeply satisfying chord changes btw

― by another name (amateurist), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 06:19 (1 year ago) Permalink

andy irvine/paul brady LP is even better. damn.

yup

― buzza, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 08:20 (1 year ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiysyMvHX3Q

― buzza, Friday, 4 November 2011 06:56 (1 year ago) Permalink

no embed?

― buzza, Friday, 4 November 2011 06:57 (1 year ago) Permalink

didn't know johnny played the fiddle

― buzza, Friday, 4 November 2011 07:04 (1 year ago) Permalink

no YouTube at work.

I was at a music festival last weekend where local psych rock improv etc band United Bible Studies did a storming version of 'P Stands For Paddy, I Suppose', which I am guessing they knew from "Cold Blow...". I liked it, though trad purist Mrs The New Dirty Vicar was bit annoyed.

― The New Dirty Vicar, Friday, 4 November 2011 13:22 (1 year ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

― buzza, Monday, 24 September 2012 00:51 (8 months ago) Permalink

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