Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My Thoughts on "Songs from the Heart"

Well, after what seems to be a long wait, Celtic Woman released "Songs from the Heart." Since I don't have TV, I instead stalked youtube to find videos of the show, only to be pleased to discover that EMI released them. After watching the videos, I must admit that I feel underwhelmed with what I saw and heard. The effects of smoke and lights looked sloppy and not clean like they did at Slane and the Helix. The choir was distracting as they stood directly behind the singers and sang way more than they used to in the past, and the constant views of Helen Kelly quickly got on my nerves (I guess soon this will be "The Kelly Sisters" and not Celtic Woman). I felt bad for Lynn and Alex only getting one solo when everyone else had two (or four in Mairead's case), and it seems like there was more coverage of the other three then on them.

The song choices, I thought were poor. I did enjoy "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress," "Non C'e Piu," "Lost Rose Fantasia" (though I could have sworn it was a longer piece), "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears," "My Lagan Love," "Finale," and "Pie Jesu." "Nil Se'n La" was catchy, using the original song tune, but here's the thing: they make it out like it's a party song when in the original it is far worse than that; if you want to keep the program G-rated, steer clear of pub tunes and find something else lively to sing. "Amazing Grace" is a lovely hymn, but problem is that it has been done so many times to the point where it is sentimental; I didn't like the bagpipes on it, and I just didn't like it that well. I'm not a fan of the new "Danny Boy" (no one can belt it out with emotion and charisma like Meav) or "Goodnight, My Angel", and I'm getting tired of "You Raise Me Up" being played pretty much every live concert (except for the Christmas one). "Fields of Gold" is ok, though I find "Send Me a Song" and "Caledonia" to be two of Lisa's better pieces. I wish they had added "You'll Be in My Heart" instead of "True Colors," and I wouldn't have minded at all to hear "Carolina Rua" again; it may be a different story when the DVD comes out, but so far what I've heard doesn't sound very good in that respect. "Coast of Galicia" was not bad, but I think Mairead's bow truly leaps into flames only during "The Butterfly" and "Granuaile's Dance"; on that note, I found "Slumber, My Darling/ The Mason's Apron" to be boring and predictable; she should have done "Toss the Feathers" instead (The Corrs did an amazing live version with an amazing bodhran solo), but that's just me. I wasn't a big fan of Chloe's solo pieces either, and neither grabbed my attention. I've read fans reviews saying that the music was sort of boring and not really lively, and I have to agree with them; where's the playfulness of "Spanish Lady," the power of "The Voice", the fire of "The Butterfly," or the melancholy nostalgia of "Newgrange"? Not a lot of variety in song choices this time.

I think one thing I really missed was having Meav and Orla there. Lynn and Alex have lovely voices, but replacing those two just didn't cut it. In fact, to me, it seemed that Lynn was more or less a stand-in for Meav with the choir singing along with her instead of providing harmony like they did when Meav was there. Alex, on the other hand, was not really given a chance to shine. From what I've heard, she can belt out a tune as good as Lisa, but you can't have her competing with Celtic Woman's star performer, so give her simple pop songs that pretty much anyone can do with no high notes or anything of the sort. So, I was disappointed at the way the two new girls were treated on the new show; at least they treated Hayley Westenra with more respect when she briefly performed.

All in all, I'm not very fond of the new show. I may get used to it like I did with "A New Journey," but so far I've got to rank this one at the bottom next to "A Christmas Celebration." I give it two and a half stars out of five.

P.S. Remember, die-hard fans, I control the comments. This is my opinion, so don't bash me for it. Thank you.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you for the most part, I don't like the "un-reserved" quality of "Fields of Gold" Triniti covered that song a few years ago and their version seemed more like what you'd have expected a CW cover to have sounded like, but I realize the CW sound I expect is gone :( Might add on the TV broadcast "Lost Rose" and "True Colors" were cut but strangely enough "You'll Be In My Heart" was there and it was definitely one of the best numbers IMO. Before watching the show I'd heard quite a few people saying it was going to be ten times better than "A New Journey" sorry to say it had quite the opposite effect on me, watching the show as a whole made me want to go look up videos of "A New Journey" I Miss Órla and Méav!

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  2. I know nothing about this band, really (I'm being an insomniac and randomly clicked on your blog from your facebook page), but something I've noticed just browsing?

    You write good reviews, for both books and music. You don't just say "I liked this" or "this was bad"; you explain why you think so and you do it in a way that's concise and easy to follow. Which you probably know already, but I just thought I'd say it; we spend enough time snarking at each other that it's only fair I give you credit where credit's due.

    So, yeah, keep it up, you. :D

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