Lynn Hilary: "Take Me with You"

Ok, sorry for disappearing for a month. I had to think of what music review to do next, as there are several Celtic CDs I want to do. For now, I'll review the solo album of new Celtic Woman member Lynn Hilary.

Since my first Celtic Woman show was in 2009 (despite discovering the group in early 2006), I was not acquainted with Lynn and her voice very well besides recordings that made their way on youtube. From what I did hear, I thought she had a nice voice though could not stand up to Meav. I still think that way for reasons that I will talk about later. Anyway, it was because of this that I did not buy Lynn's album or listen to it in great detail for a while. However, listening to it on pandora, lala, and youtube, I was convinced it was good and ended up buying it for eight dollars in MP3 form (cheaper than paying $20 for it at a Celtic Woman concert or paying $15 for it on Amazon). And now, on to the review.

" Melody of Life"

The album opens up to a gentle piano piece accompanied by a fiddle and Lynn's quiet voice. It is a very pretty song.

" Swimming in the Barrow"

The pace picks up with this John McGlynn song (it was actually because of this song that I discovered and fell in love with the original). It's nice, but I prefer McGlynn's solo version.

" Erin Beo"

A minor theme of this album is the departure of the Irish to America due to the Potato Famine, and this quiet song is the first out the two to discuss this. The depressing tone of the song turns hopeful and brighter during the chorus. A pretty and haunting piece.

" Sunset of Gold"

This song is a duet between Lynn and Don Mescall, who worked with her on this album in co-writing songs and such. It takes on a more intimate, jazz feel with the guitar, singing about sailing away from the bustle of the world.

" Carolina Rua"

Because Celtic Woman decided not to air their version of this song, I have grown to love this one. Lynn sings about a boy's crush on a girl named Carolina and is accompanied by her guitar. I like this version better than Celtic Woman's because this one captures the air of childhood innocence present in the song, rather than trying to turn it into a "Dulaman" or "Si Do Mhaimeo".

" Annie Watches"

This song, written by Lynn and by Anuna's John McGlynn (who wrote "Swimming in the Barrow"), is a gentle love song.

" What Makes the Sun Set?"

Another lovely jazz song with the piano and electric guitar.

" Take Me with You"

This song is probably one of the prettiest ones on the album and one of the more haunting ones. Once you hear it, you will never forget it.

" Shona Mara"

The immigration theme re-appears on this song about two lovers who are separated when one crosses the ocean and leaves the other behind. A tragic love song.

" Slan Le Maigh"

The only traditional song on the album is sung acapella. A pretty piece and one where Lynn slightly shows off on the high notes.

" Road to Glory"

Lynn picks up the pace with something fast-paced. Sung to the same tune as "Fields of Glory" (performed by The High Kings), this song talks about people searching for meaning in life.

" Angel Doves"

The album closes out with this Mindy Smith cover. It is a quieter piece but has a hopeful air about it.

A big plus about this album is that, which is rare to find, there is not one song on here that I dislike. I do have favorites, of course, but the entire album is beautiful. One thing that I really like about it is that this is pure Lynn, what her style of music is, and it perfectly suits her and her quiet, shy personality. This, to me, is what defines her, and not the songs she has performed with Celtic Woman (as I think they're forcing her into Meav's shoes). I wish they would let her do more of her own style, but I'm not going to go down that road.

I give the album four and a half stars out of five.

Movie Review: "2012"

Last night, my family decided to watch Roland Emmerich's movie "2012", as the previews of world destruction looked pretty cool. In the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a cheesy movie with a script that made us want to give it the Mystery Science Theater treatment.

Basically, the premise is that neutrinos from the sun are making the earth's core heat up and start melting the crust (the science completely escapes me on this), causing the 2012 Doomsday. So, several characters try to survive California falling into the ocean, the Yellowstone Caldera erupting, large earthquakes, and huge tsunamis while battling their own personal demons, largely with family members.

The effects were really cool, which is typical Emmerich, but the story itself was poorly written and at times even seems more like a cut and paste job from other movies like "Day after Tomorrow" and "Armaggedon." You have the typical divorced guy whose kids hate him and his wife wants to get back together, a jerk of a billionaire who cares for nothing except his spoiled sons, the young scientist trying to save the world and instill us with a sense of emotion with his speech about the good in people... I could go on, but let's just say the characters are cardboard cutouts. Even if your characters are typical stereotypes, it could be forgiven if the story and dialogue make up for it, but this sadly was not the case. A common theme, which became annoying quickly, was how most of the characters have family issues ranging from divorce, dead spouses, little relationship with their children, etc... As if a broken family is behind every good story. This is bad writing and has been overdone so many times, only serving to ruin the plot. Not to mention the sappy, predictable dialogue that pitifully tries to evoke emotion but instead makes you want to retch.

The story itself had plenty of potential, to be more than just a film with great effects, but sadly it fell far short of it. I give it one star out of five.

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.