Live In Belfast - Irish Tenors
Just a year after their smash breakthrough debut album--itself still riding high in the charts--the Irish Tenors have added another delightfully varied collection to their discography. Live in Belfast again showcases the group's obvious concert charisma from a performance given in February 2000. It's a generous smorgasbord of medleys, traditional numbers, and songs from popular sources (including "Scorn Not His Simplicity," which Sinead O'Connor has interpreted)--mixing nostalgic sentimentality with selections of bittersweet melancholy. Binding the whole together is the unmistakable stylish charm of the Irish Tenors, whether singing in solos or in ensembles. But the biggest surprise for fans already hooked on the Tenors is the introduction of Finbar Wright as replacement for original member John McDermott. Wright's bright, romantic voice easily wins over a potentially skeptical crowd--especially in the dreamy "Isle of Innisfree"--and blends nicely with his colleagues. (McDermott, who had to bow out of the performance due to the death of his mother, makes a surprise appearance to solo in a memorable and touching "The Last Rose of Summer"--given as a tribute to his parents--and to rejoin the Tenors for "Red Is the Rose.") The arrangements by Tenors producer Frank McNamara are played with zest by the Orchestra Warsaw Sinfonia.
1. Dublin Medley: Dublin in the Rare Old Times; Molly Malone 2. Carrickfergus 3. Bantry Bay 4. Scorn Not His Simplicity 5. The Fields of Athenry 6. Star of the County Down 7. The Last Rose of Summer 8. Red is the Rose 9. Lift the Wings 10. She is Far from the Land 11. Ireland, Mother Ireland 12. Green Isle of Erin 13. Percy French Medley: Phil the Fluther's Ball/Come Back Paddy Reilly/The Lay of the West Clare Railway (Are Ye Right There Michael?) 14. Mary from Dungloe 15. Isle of Inisfree 16. There is a Flower that Bloometh 17. As I Sit Here 18. The Kerry Dance 19. Will Ye Go Lassie Go?
1. Dublin Medley: Dublin in the Rare Old Times; Molly Malone 2. Carrickfergus 3. Bantry Bay 4. Scorn Not His Simplicity 5. The Fields of Athenry 6. Star of the County Down 7. The Last Rose of Summer 8. Red is the Rose 9. Lift the Wings 10. She is Far from the Land 11. Ireland, Mother Ireland 12. Green Isle of Erin 13. Percy French Medley: Phil the Fluther's Ball/Come Back Paddy Reilly/The Lay of the West Clare Railway (Are Ye Right There Michael?) 14. Mary from Dungloe 15. Isle of Inisfree 16. There is a Flower that Bloometh 17. As I Sit Here 18. The Kerry Dance 19. Will Ye Go Lassie Go?