Planxty - Live 2004 CD

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It was a TV documentary show which inspired the four original members of Planxty to get back together and give it another go. And while during the making of that Leagues O'Tools' No Disco documentary program late in 2003 some members were a little tentative concerning current relationships with certain members, notably it Irvine and Moore's differences which caused friction, but the opportunity to get back together set alight a fire in the hearts and minds of many which could hardly be ignored when the question was boldly put to them by Tools if Planxty could do it get it together and get back together. The band always had a unique dynamic and they split in 1983 under a cloud and indeed with some unfinished business. The albums they left behind were a great testament to a band with so much energy and really with nothing to prove. Well over twenty years later Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Liam O'Flynn and Donal Lunny regrouped for a series of gigs at Dublin's Vicar Street venue. Planxty Live 2004 could easily have fallen flat but the band roll back the years and produce an electric performance throughout the affair, but not only that. The four members are enjoying themselves and the music they are creating which still sounds fresh and exciting, but while many acts who regroup tend to build more with anticipation that the actual product they can produce Planxty circa 2004 are a match for the band back in their seventies heyday. The blend of bouzouki with guitar, boghran and pipes fuses a wealth of influence, merging traditionally tunes and airs and reels with elements of rock, folk with old ballads sounding timeless in the surroundings. "The Good Ship Kangaroo", which I never took to on the After The Break album sounds fuller and more purposeful here while Irvine gives "Arthur McBride" the black humour and life expected. Christy Moore again tells the tale of stolen love, deceit and murder in the haunting "Little Musgrave" and with the pairing of "I Roved Out", both Andy's and Christy's (both appeared on the Well Below The Valley album), the moving "The West Coast of Clare and the raucous "Raggle Taggle Gypsy" on board Planxty Live 2004 is a fine tribute to one of Ireland's genuine great bands.

5099751739128

Columbia, 2004

Country: UK

Very good condition

C06