The High Kings are the latest runners to emerge from the Celtic Woman stable and they are highly likely to be the next big Irish thing to conquer the USA. Three of the four singers have family names synonymous with Irish balladry (Clancy, Furey and Dunphy), and they bring a redemptive polish to songs like ‘Will Ye Go Lassie, Go’ and ‘The Auld Triangle’ that have been massacred by countless Irish ballad groups since the Clancy Brothers.
David Downes’ sumptuous arrangements could give this album an edge with the easy listening market too, and in Shay Healy’s ‘Fields Of Glory’ they’ve discovered a modern Irish folk gem. The Kings give Richard Thompson’s ‘From Galway To Graceland’ a good night out, and the DVD includes an exhilarating duelling banjos-style face-off between dancer Mick Donegan and bodhranist Robbie Harris.

Key Track: ‘Fields of Glory’