CLANNAD 2

Even though it would be a couple more albums before CLANNAD officially went pro, Clannad 2 can be seen as the point at which their trademark meticulousness took hold. The production is crystalline and the digital remastering beyond reproach, but it's their discipline and restraint that propels this set of largely traditional fare quite out of the league of most would be rivals of their day. The moods vary from spirited to downcast, but the playing is divine, in particular the flutes and double bass of the Brennan brothers and the harp of their sister, not to mention the haunting vocals and harmonies.

From a progressive aspect we hear less of the jazz influences of the debut, but "By Chance it was", the only track sung in English, is eerie and foreboding, with subtle keyboards courtesy of Tríona Ni Dhomhnaill, whose brother also contributes. "Dheanainn Súgradh" is even more striking, with drums by the great Donal Lunny and an intricate lead guitar and flute duet in the break, offering hints of future directions. " Coinleach Ghlas an Fhómair" is a profoundly melancholic song that sounds like it could have inspired CAT STEVENS' "How can I tell you" , pouring forth run on grief-ridden phrases that apparently touch everyone but the oblivious lover. CLANNAD answers the stereotypical Irish folk group's alternating current of break neck fiddle driven instrumentals and melodramatic yet soporific ballads with lively songs like "An Gabhar Bán" and "Teidhir Abhaile Riú", exquisitely refined airs like "Eleanor Plunkett", and smoldering tunes like "Fairly Shot of Her".

If the debut was a bit scattered in a wondrous sense, Clannad 2 offers a firm yet gentle guidepost for the contemporary Celtic music movement. Its subtle joys and enduring statements, easily eclipsing the pinnacle for lesser acts, are but an elegant step onward and upwards for Clannad.

So, "Clannad 2" pretty much starts up where the debut album left off, even though this album came out in 1975, 2 years later. Back in the 70's , most bands were putting out 2 or 3 albums every year, but Clannad was taking their time, slowly putting themselves into the limelight, but enjoying their freedom to create new versions of mostly traditional Irish music and styles. The core band of 5 remained the same, the siblings Bhronain and their twin uncles. The music remains mostly acoustic with guitar, keyboards with occasional piano, flute, mandolin, harp and everyone having a part in the vocals, but most of them done by Maire Ni Bhronain. There were additional musicians also used for backup, especially another one of the Braonains on the drums with other musicians providing additional keys, guitars, synths, percussion and vocals. As on the previous album, most of the vocals are in Gaelic with only one track in English. Their popularity and move to a more new age style was still a few years away. For now, the music was mostly pure Irish and Celtic folk music done in a traditional way, without the complex violin and orchestral flourishes and synthesized layers. It was pure heartfelt music steeped in tradition, vocal harmonics and just a slight bit of modernization to make things more current.

The album starts with "An Gabhar Bán (The White Goat)". This has the traditional dance sound of Irish music with a nice danceable rhythm established by the instruments and not so much the percussion. Acoustic guitar, mandolin and flute play along with Maire's vocals, and later providing embellished versions of the melody during the instrumental break. "Eleanor Plunkett" is a classic, Irish tune by Turlough O'Carolan, one of Irelands most famous composers and harpists who was also blind. It is a beautiful instrumental rendition done mostly by the harp and later supported by the flute. "Coinleach Ghlas An Fhómhair" is one of my favorite early Clannad songs. It is a slow moving tune sung heartbreakingly beautiful by Maire accompanied mostly by a single acoustic guitar (and a subtle support from keys) that has it's own lovely melody that plays out in the introduction and throughout.

"Rince Philib a'Cheoil" is a definite traditional song with the choruses utilizing a droning harmony. A sparse drumming keeps the lilting tempo, and besides the guitar there is a short flute section. "By Chance It Was" is the only song with English lyrics, but with a heavy Irish sound as the band was not yet compromising it's traditional sound. A slow repeating guitar line plays in support and a simple piano backs that up. The flute embellishes the simple melody in the instrumental break. "Rince Briotánach" starts off innocently with a solo harp and a flute added in later. After passing through the melody a third time, percussion picks things up a bit and other instruments come in and things speed up as it goes along. This instrumental continues to repeat the main melody, builds up and then backs off again to where we are left as we began.

"Dhéanainn Súgradh" starts off with only harp playing melody. After a while, male led vocals and "in-unison" group singing come in. After a few verses, the drums come in and continue to keep moderate time. During an extended instrumental break, we even get some electric guitar and flutes as it morphs into a folk rock track. "Gaoth Barra Na dTonn" is simply with Maire's unaccompanied vocals. "Teidhir Abhaile Riú" has the typical Irish lilt with mandolin and flute with male vocals and a mixed chorus coming in later along with sparse percussion. "Fairly Shot of Her" is a nice, moderate instrumental with harp, mandolin and flute. "Chuaigh Mé Na Rosann" closes the album with the longest track at over 6 minutes. It is a moderately slow track with mostly just Maire's vocals and acoustic guitar and bass. A nice flute solo comes in during the instrumental breaks. Other traditional sounding instruments help support as the track continues.

In my opinion, this album actually steps back a little from the debut as far as the additional of more popular elements, except for the electric guitar in track 7. The sound is more traditional and acoustic with softer melodies overall and a more folkish sound. Of course, we are still far away from the more commercial sound of their popular years and the real Gaelic attitude is prevalent. Again, this is a nice, laid back album, with still no real indication to popularize the sound of the band, yet in doing so, they were laying the foundation for a surge and longing for Irish and Celtic music worldwide.

Donegal's royal family of Gaelic modernism takes a step toward more traditional renderings of their cherished Irish music.

1. "An Gabhar B'n" (3:14) a Gaelic lyric sung over the music of a classic Celtic tune. (8.667/10)

2. "Eleanor Plunkett" (2:49) harp intro before guitar, mandola, piano, double bass, and, lastly, flute and, later, pipe join in to support and carry the gentle pastoral melody. Beautiful; almost lullaby-like. (9/10)

3. "Coinleach Glas An Fh'mhair" (5:46) fancy folk guitar play opens this before the plaintive voice of M'ire Brennan and her brother Ciar'n's double bass join in. The Pentangle influence is pronounced. Very solid, professional. I like the supportive background choral vocalise in the second half. (9/10) 4. "Rince Philib a'Cheoil" (1:50) nice traditional-sounding little ditty. (4.25/5)

5. "By Chance It Was" (5:40) a stripped-down palette with only piano and guitars supporting M'ire's vocal until the first instrumental bridge when flute takes a very pretty, airy, extended solo. The verses following this are stripped back even further with just muted guitar strums from two of the guitars providing the rhythmic accompaniment for M'ire's classic folk vocal. Full weave and flute return for the final section/outro and fade out. (8.875/10)

6. "Rince Briot'nach" (3:14) solo harp opens this one--steel string harp! After 30 seconds over which M'ire has established both melody and pace, other acoustic instruments gradually join in--including hand drums, flute, pipes, and even snare. Sounds very much like Alan Stivell's work. (8.75/10)

7. "Dh'anainn S'gradh" (5:38) harp opens this one, but soon the whole ensemble has joined in and male lead and background vocals enter in a kind of call-and-response format. It feels strange to have M'ire's vocal presence so hidden/almost absent, but the males have very nice voices. Distorted electric guitar takes the most dominating solo in the instrumental passage in the middle. This one must have provoked some controversy. (8.75/10)

8. "Gaoth Barra Na dTonn" (2:33) a cappella M'ire. (4.25/5)

9. "Teidhir Abhaile Ri'" (2:48) more traditional sound palettes and group-vocal arrangements. (8.6667/10)

10. "Fairly Shot Of Her" (2:20) nice harp, full strings (guitars, mandola, harpsichord, bass), and flute weave. (4.5/5)

11. "Chuaigh M' Na Rosann" (6:18) M'ire singing in her native tongue over gently-picked guitars. Piano and double bass join in for the second round and then tin whistle solos in the second minute before the next verse. More of the same rotating twice more over the next four minutes. (8.75/10)

Total Time 42:10

The more close-to-traditional arrangements and constructions of the bulk of this album's songs must have been the band (and record label)'s response/reaction to criticism from national purists. It's nice--with very full arrangements-- but I like it more when they stick to their own directional instincts in terms of the more modern stylization of the music they choose to record. Other than the presence of drums on a few songs and one song with saw-like electric guitar, there is less proggyness in the engineering and production of this album than their debut from 1973. For a prog lover like me, this is a step backward for the band.

B/four stars; an excellent collection of more traditionally rendered Celtic folk songs but not quite the proggy touch that the band's debut album seemed to promise--or that would indicate the direction their future would take. I'm rating this down for this website due to its lack of progginess.