Brief Critique of Atlanta Show

After writing a full-length Celtic Woman review on my family's blog, I was still on cloud nine and was not in any mood to critique it. But, after a few days (and a few small yet nonetheless embarrassing mistakes at work), the mood has passed on, though what I have to say is nowhere near as harsh as the "Songs from the Heart" DVD.

As I said in my other review, the candles used at a few points during the show reminded me more of an attempt to be like Anuna (who uses candles at times during their performances), which I don't give as a compliment. The lighting was not as annoying as my first show, where I felt like I was being blinded, but I thought they could have made the colors a little more subtle and not so bright.

The song choices, I thought, were good yet interesting. I think Celtic Woman was paying attention to fan reviews that said the new show was far too slow with not enough lively tunes because they sure made up for that, adding "Orinoco Flow", "At the Ceili", "Granuaile's Dance", "Mo Ghile Mear", and "Spanish Lady." It was a smart move on their part to add some variety. I liked Alex's new solo "My Heart Was Home Again" and thought it really showed off her voice so that she doesn't look like "the Orla stand-in with Lisa's voice yet the simplest songs out of all the girls". The new group piece was amazing, and I loved how they combined three (or four) songs into one, which is a very Irish thing to do. I wasn't disappointed that "True Colors" and "O America" were not in there, as I'm not fond of either, so pretty much I enjoyed all the songs performed.

However, that being said, I did have one major issue with one song: "Dulaman." I expected "Carolina Rua' to be performed; I like "Dulaman," but to me it's a Meav song while "Carolina Rua" is a Lynn song. If it's because of a supposed copyright issue or something similar, like is being claimed, I find it completely stupid and nonsensical; if you don't have the copyrights for it, then why do you perform it on a tour, then for a new show, release it as an Amazon-only download for both song and video, and then completely remove it from the new tour? It doesn't make sense to make fans all excited about it when it's performed on the "Isle of Hope" tour and performed at Powerscourt and then not release it at all, especially because I've seen that it's a fan favorite and there has been much disappointment over it's "disappearance". I could rant about this, so I'll just shut my mouth and get off my soap box.

Another disappointment at the show to me was Chloe's voice. When I first discovered Celtic Woman back in January of 2006, Chloe's "Walking in the Air" was what captured my attention, especially when later I found out she was only fifteen at the time of the recording; I was amazed that someone so young could sound so beautiful, with a sense of youth yet maturity at the same time. However, as I've noticed over the past few years, her voice and performances have not been as well-done as in the past. What I heard earlier this week sounded like (as another reader put it and which I agree with) Mariah Carey or an attempt at the R&B genra. It's completely out of line with her Classical voice, and I find it is very weak. The motions she does on stage, both at the live recording and what I saw live in Atlanta, were meant to convey emotion, but they did not seem real. Her voice used to sound so young and yet mature (much like Hayley Westenra), but now that has passed into lacking its original power. I'm not sure if Chloe is consciously doing this on her own accord or if management or the musical director is pushing her that way, but it does not sound good on her. I find her earlier performances, even if she looked stiff during them, to sound more powerful (I'm thinking of "To Where You Are", one of my favorites by her, as well as "Nella Fantasia").

Back to the positive. The girls looked like they were having fun that night, and I think Mairead was simply on fire. The show, as a whole, looked a lot less commercialized than what I saw last March, which was a big plus. I also enjoyed the girls speaking to the audience and using microphones on occasion, which made it seem a little more intimate and less like a show. I'm positive part of the show was lip-synched, but I'm actually puzzled about how much, as the microphones slightly threw me off. I did thought I heard two sour notes from Alex during "You'll Be in My Heart," but that song seemed live to me.

All in all, I enjoyed this show much better than the DVD and better than the show I saw last March.

Topic?

Sorry for a lack of posts, but I've been otherwise occupied with my new job. I'm thinking of a new topic, but I'm running a bit out of ideas. I think I talk about/ critique Celtic Woman or Irish music too much, but I've not really read any interesting books or seen a neat movie lately. I think I need to find another topic of interest, as this blog seems to be more about what's on my mind (which could be anything from Irish music to cryptzoology to science). Maybe that's why I called it "ramblings" because I ramble most of the time. :P

Global Warming?

Um... excuse me, I thought the whole world was on the verge of an environmental disaster because of warmer-than-usual weather. I don't think we're on the same planet because right now in Georgia the temperature is below freezing and it's the middle of the day, and let me tell you, that is extremely unnatural. So, if the world is supposedly warming up, it surely isn't down here.

Good Grief....

I don't know why, but it seems Celtic Woman fans whip themselves into a frenzy in a short period of time, as I've shown earlier. Now they're ardently denying that the show's latest creation "Songs from the Heart" isn't lip-synched. Look at the link for how they react. Note, the person isn't saying things like "Celtic Woman sucks" but is just saying "they don't sing live." (I also make a few postings here as Lunescent2007).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Au7F5jwiYE

I've known that CW's shows have been lip-synched for some time now. When I first saw "A New Journey" on PBS in 2006, I didn't think they were, though my mother, who's unfamiliar with the group, said they were. I wasn't really convinced until I saw the "Christmas Celebration" DVD, where it sounds almost identical to a studio recording except a few little extras were added to make it seem live. After that, I've been convinced that they don't sing live, but that doesn't stop me from listening to them or watching their videos. It does bother me a bit that they don't show off their natural voices during concerts, but that's beside the point.

The point is, they do lip-synch. The voices sound identical to a studio recording and ultimately, that is what defines the matter. If you want to hear the girls' real voices (granted, the quality is bad, but this is probably as close to their real voices as we'll hear), check out the following links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF5RvO_FUc4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvsbInFb3RI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UgPF0RnB6s

In the meantime, people don't need to leap all over each other just because someone says "oh, they don't sing live." All I can say is, good grief.

Book Review: "Dead Men's Secrets"

I discovered this book's existence recently while doing a random amazon search, and I put it on my Christmas list. After receiving it on Christmas, I finished this book by Jonathan Gray in two days. It is largely an easy read, the majority of it being a list of out-of-place objects and places like ancient cities in South America and evidence of ancient space travel.

The book, on the one hand, is interesting and has lots of tidbits not for the faint of heart. I knew about some stuff like ancient space travel and ancient nuclear warfare, but I did not know about the possibility of ancient man being on the moon and Mars, the Black Knight satellite, and widespread supposed underground tunnels and cities. I also found his explanation of monoliths to be very interesting and also in support of the electric universe theory (the theory that the universe is held together by electricity and it explains pretty much everything from meteors, how stars run, and even phenomena like storms on Jupiter and Saturn. holoscience.com is a good place to look, if you are interested, though granted I don't believe in everything the guys are promoting with their theory, but I digress). Pretty much the evidence Gray puts forth argues that ancient man was not hairy and stupid but rather that he was highly advanced, even more so than we are today.

However, I do have some problems with Gray's book. For one thing, he has very few sources. I have yet to check out some of them, but I do take issue with him using Zechariah Sitchin as a source (if you want to be taken seriously, please do not use the writings of a man who believes we were genetically modified by aliens). The lack of sources makes it hard to determine where exactly he got the information and thus makes it questionable at times. I didn't like his theory of how the Ice Age began; here I will say that sadly I think Creationists, though I am in their camp, do not do much research in scientific fields and just like uniformitarians refuse to change their mind or look elsewhere for real explanations. I also thought his interpretation of Scripture was extremely weak. I don't know what translation he used, but some of the words he claimed supported his theories did not make sense at all or just seemed far-fetched; I also do not agree with his view on the Levitical dietary laws being implemented only for health reasons or in his premillenial views that come out a few times in the book. There were a few places where he wrote about events like the night the Flood happened and an ancient nuclear attack that were meant to be dramatic, but I thought they were silly and stupid; it would have been better if he had left them out. At a few points, the book became a bit boring and repetitive, and I think he would have done better not to repeat the same thing a few times. Finally, I think the book should have been edited much better. There were often huge spaces between words, sometimes words were combined like "SumariaBulgaria", on occasion it looked like he forgot to add something under a subtitle, and just in general the formatting and editing was poorly done and pretty noticeable.

Despite these issues, the book was an interesting read and definitely made me think and put things together in certain places, especially because I enjoy learning about things like these when they're not written by a psycho or a questionable source.

I give it three out of five stars.

Joyeux Noel

It's becoming a family tradition to watch the movie "Joyeux Noel" on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. This foreign movie, based on real events, is set in 1914 when British, German, and French soldiers called a ceasefire on Christmas Eve. They exchanged gifts, sang songs, showed pictures, played football, and buried their fallen soldiers. It's a very powerful and stirring movie, not your typical sentimental sap that most Christmas movies are. It's rated PG-13 and has some language, a brief sex scene, and some violence, but it's an excellent movie. I highly recommend it this holiday season.

A merry Christmas to you all!

Hayley Westenra "Winter Magic"

Well, after giving Celtic Woman a heavy critique, I think it's time for a better review for Hayley Westenra's new album "Winter Magic." I must admit, when I first heard the samples a fan posted on youtube, I was far from impressed. However, last week, I was looking on lala and saw that the album had been added. I thought it couldn't hurt, so I listened to it in entirety. This time, I was better impressed and downloaded it.

"The Little Road to Bethlehem"

I'm not familiar with this Christmas song, so it was nice to hear something unfamiliar. It's a lovely song, and Hayley sings it well.

"Carol of the Bells"

When I think of this Christmas tune, I think of it as being upbeat and joyful. Hayley turned it into something slow, and I think she could have done it so much better. She does pick up the tempo a bit, but it doesn't sound as joyful or natural as some of the other songs on her album.

"The Christmas Song"

Hayley's voice sounds very high-pitched here, like she has a cold, but the song itself is lovely. I love the musical arrangement with its intimate, almost jazz-like sound.

"Veni Veni Emmanuel"

One thing that irks me about Christmas songs on the radio is that someone covering a song like this one or "Joy to the World" sings the first stanza for the entire song. Hayley doesn't do that, much to my pleasure. She sings the song entirely in Latin (though she pronounces it as if it is Italian), and the whole orchestra interprets it beautifully, giving it a powerful feel.

" Silent Night"

This has got to be my favorite interpretation of this hymn and one of the highlights of the album.

" Christmas Morning"

Another one of my favorite songs on the album and another that I am not familiar with. Hayley adds joy to this song about children waiting on Christmas morning for the adults to wake up so presents can be opened.

" Sleigh Ride"

Another highlight of the album. Hayley sings this song about two lovers going for a sleigh ride with great joy and as if she herself is going out for the ride.

" River"

I'm not familiar with Joni Mitchell besides Hayley's cover of "Both Sides Now" (which I like). This song is quiet and subdued, yet Hayley sings it well.

" The Little Drummer Boy"

I like Hayley's interpretation of this song with the orchestral accompaniment.

" Corpus Christi Carol"

I've never heard of this song before, but it's very haunting and beautiful. Hayley sings this in Middle English with the gentle accompaniment of the harp.

" All with You"

Hayley herself wrote this love song, and it's pretty. Her voice communicates emotion well, and you can tell she is putting her soul into it. One of the album's highlights.

" The Coventry Carol"

This is a rare Christmas song, as Anuna is the only other group I know to have covered it. It opens up with an Anuna-like Medieval chant that accompanies Hayley throughout the song. Very pretty.

" Winter's Dream"

This is another one of Hayley's compositions, and it has an ethereal feel to it. Another pretty song.

" Peace Shall Come"

The album ends with another song written by Hayley. It has a pop feel to it, yet it still retains power with Hayley's voice.

All in all, this has got to be my favorite Christmas album this season. I like how Hayley mixes in familiar tunes like " Silent Night" with her own compositions and rarer Christmas tunes and also how she ranges from intimate, acoustic pieces to pop to grand orchestral arrangements. The whole arrangement of it all is just stunning, and it all fits together well. My one complaint is that here Hayley does not hit as many high notes as she has on her earlier works like "Pure" and "Odyssey" and that at times her voice is a bit high-pitched then what a fan is used to. Still, this album is beautiful and a worthy addition to any Christmas collection or to that of a Hayley fan.

I give it five out of five stars.