Tracks: 1. Reel Around The Sun 2. The Heart's Cry 3. The Countess Cathleen 4. Caoineadh Cu Chulainn (Lament) 5. Shivna 6. Firedance 7. At The Edge Of The World 8. Slip Into Spring 9. Riverdance 10. American Wake (The Nova Scotia Set) 11. Lift The Wings 12. Amanzi 13. I Will Set You Free 14. Let Freedom Ring 15. Macedonian Morning 16. Marta's Dance/The Russian Dervish 17. Ri Ra 18. Endless Journey
Posted 2007-08-05 20:52:47: Amazon.com Editoral Review: There have been moments when it seemed every shopping mall in the Western world had succumbed to Riverdance, when every speaker and video monitor in every store and public square was pulsing with the rhythmic Celtic beat of a score of vibrant young hoofers tapping fervently to fiddle and tin-whistle. The phenomenon has now gone Broadway, and composer Bill Whelan--who's done for his native Irish folk music what Freddie Mercury and Queen did for Italian opera--has raised the musical stakes considerably. Whelan's familiar, amped-up take on the Chieftains is supplemented here by harmonically brave a cappella refrains and even the fusion-minded use of Spanish guitar and flamenco rhythms. Whelan has written six new songs for this production, which features vocals by Brian Kennedy and Tsidii Le Loka (who has appeared in Broadway's The Lion King as Rafiki). The album thus presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date version of the evolving Riverdance phenomenon. Whelan is what many critics hate most--a consistent crowd pleaser. --Jerry McCulley
