Various

Well begorrah and top o' the mornin' to ye all, welcome to Oireland, a fictional theme park for tourists, populated by red-haired ragamuffins who're far too fond of the drink and incline to violence after the thirtieth pint, but sure there's no harm in 'em.

This album is composed of Irish traditional airs 'Muzaked' for American tourists. Aarrgh! It's supposed to be haunting, and it scared the hell out of me. Anything that encourages people to take an interest in Irish music is to be applauded, and the playing here is first class, but where's the feeling?

Take Luke Kelly, Donal Lunny and Shane MacGowan over this stuff if you want to hear something that resonates with a uniquely Irish soul.