The emergence of a hip new market for easy-listening records, fuelled by such revered tastemakers as Ryan Tubridy, has opened many an ear to music they might otherwise have dismissed for not having the appropriate cool quotient, and the Celtic Woman albums seems to be finding their way into that market, as well as the more obvious Irish-American MOR fanbase. Thus, the Celtic Woman juggernaut rolls on, shaping up as if it could, in time, eclipse the international successes of Riverdance and all the tenors in one package.
The addition of Hayley Westenra has added fresh subtleties to the vocal department, and David Downes’ production and arrangements add a warm sumptuousness to the generous 16 tracks on A New Journey. One might wonder what Celtic connection justifies the inclusion of songs like ‘Over The Rainbow’, a Handel aria and ‘Beyond The Sea’, but such reservations are offset but the superb musicianship of Des Moore on guitar, Eoghan O’Neill on bass, piper John O’Brien and Nicky Bailey on percussion. The featured female vocalists, especially Meav Ní Mhaolchatha and Orla Fallon, bring clinically accurate performances to Clannad’s ‘Newgrange’ and there’s a cheesy gloss to such tunes as ‘Carrickfergus’, ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Dulaman’.
A smidgin of gravitas might make the enterprise a tad more attractive to the home market, but there’s no doubt that this project is tapping into a deep cultural well, not to mention some extremely deep wallets.