Planxty, in their original line-up of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn, were arguably the most influential of any of the early Irish folk bands. Their legacy can be heard in the sound of virtually every group to grace the traditional music scene since, from Altan to Dervish to Stockton’s Wing.
Twenty years after going their separate ways, these four musicians – all of whom went on to become legends in their own right – came together for a series of twelve concerts in Vicar Street and Glór. Happily for those who didn’t make it to any of those extraordinary shows, a CD and DVD have now been released featuring excerpts from them.
From the first spontaneous roar from the crowd as O’Flynn’s rock-solid pipes make their entrance on ‘The Starting Gate’, it’s evident that something magical is afoot. The four mesh together as though they’d never been apart, especially when Moore, Irvine and Lunny join in rich three-part vocal harmony on ‘The Good Ship Kangaroo’. And always at the musical centre there’s O’Flynn, his whistle and pipes a massive, deep-rooted core around which guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis and bodhráns dance in contrasting rhythms that intertwine delicately with nary a clash.
All the classics are represented – ‘Arthur McBride’, ‘Little Musgrave’, ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, ‘The Blacksmith’ – this latter segueing into ‘Black Smithereens’, a Balkan-inspired riot of syncopation with pipes and strings alternating in call-and-response style. O’Flynn’s solo turn on the slow air ‘The Dark Slender Boy’ is a high point, as is Irvine’s haunting ‘The West Coast of Clare’.
If you were lucky enough to be there, this recording will take you back. If you weren’t, close your eyes while you listen to it ... or better yet, get hold of the DVD and watch it in a darkened room. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself whooping and shouting along with those fortunate punters in the audience.