Cowboy Celtic...

[macwilkin]

Glen & I were discussing the wonderful group Cowboy Celtic:

www.cowboyceltic.com

I own all three of their CD's, and they are some of my favourites in my collection. The CD's are:

1. Cowboy Celtic
2. Cowboy Ceilidh
3. The Drover Road

A friend of mine & I listened to Cowboy Celtic all the way to Bent's Fort in Colorado when we did a very hurried Road Trip along part of the Santa Fe Trail from Fort Larned, Kansas to Bent's Fort back in July of 2000 -- it was great "background music" for our "historic" trip.

Cheers, y'all!

T.

[GMan]

Todd,

I am not aware of the Drover Road, but if it is like the other two, it would be wonderful.

When I first saw the title of the first one (Cowboy Celtic) I was at first amused, and thought that it was somewhat of a joke. Then my thinking cap came on and I remembered many a tale that most of the early cowpokes or drovers were of Celtic heritage. Then it made perfect sense to me, the similarities of the tunes we are all familiar with both Celtic and Cowboy, is wonderfully blended.

Great listening on many a road trip as was said.

[Jimmy Carbomb]

No joke there! AS a born Kansan, and an Irishman by birth, it's the perfect mix for me! Barleyjuice is just now starting on a few transitional pieces along those lines.

IF you're looking to keep that sound around, The Chieftains did a few CD's with American Country Artists called "Another Country". It's beyond OUTSTANDING! They followed it up with two more called "The Old Plank Road" and it's follow-up.

Next to that, I rely on Natalie McMaster to merge the sounds for me! G_d Bless Cape Breton!!!

[macwilkin]

"The Drover Road" is worth the price of admission, Glen, but "Cowboy Celtic" is still my favourite, followed by "Cowboy Ceilidh".

There's a fellow in Scotland named Rob Gibson who wrote a book called "Plaids and Bandannas" which talks about the Scottish origins of the Cowboy in the US. He also did a CD that ordered from him called "Plaids and Bandannas" which is very similar to the Cowboy Celtic stuff.

Michael Martin Murphy is pretty good as well -- he recognises the Anglo-Celtic roots of Cowboy music on several of his albums.

Cheers,

T.

[GMan]

Michael Martin Murphy sings regularly at the Irish Festival here in Denver every summer, he does a wonderful job of relating the whys and wherefores of why they are similar.

[macwilkin]

I have several of Michael Martin Murphy's CD's, and his liner notes are always detailed and full of historical information, so he does his research.

For instance, Murphy mentions the fact that the cowboy song "Red River Valley" was in fact, a Canadian Song dealing with the Red River War in Manitoba and Alberta against the Metis in the 1870's, and the narrator was a Canadian soldier, not a cowboy. The song was very popular in the UK during the Second World War, and a variant dealt with a British (sometimes American) paratrooper.

Cheers,

T.

[Kiltedmusiclover]

IF you're looking to keep that sound around, The Chieftains did a few CD's with American Country Artists called "Another Country". It's beyond OUTSTANDING! They followed it up with two more called "The Old Plank Road" and it's follow-up.

Next to that, I rely on Natalie McMaster to merge the sounds for me! G_d Bless Cape Breton!!!

Amen! I Could not agree with you more, Jimmy.

I have several of Michael Martin Murphy's CD's, ....

T,
What about "Cowboy Christmas"?

It's one of my favorite Christmas albums.

[macwilkin]

"Cowboy Christmas" is one that I do not have, Nelson, more's the pity!

MMM will actually be in Springfield this Saturday for a Christmas concert, but we have to go to a wedding and a Christmas party that day, so I will miss him -- he encourages his audience to "dress up" for his concerts in cowboy attire, so I've thought about wearing my kilt and see if he'd say anything about the Celtic roots of the music.

Now, I do have Bonnie Rideout's (sic) "Scottish Christmas" CD, and it is brilliant!

Cheers,

T.