Fire In The Head
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CD Details
Performer: Emerald RoseEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-04-20
Music Label: Emerald Rose
Soundtracks:
- Star of the County Down
- Fire In The Head
- Worlds Wedding
- Drowsy Maggie/Morning Invention/Green Groves of Erin
- Merry Mayfolk
- A Pict Song
- Vampire Girl from Orn
- Summerland
- Call Me Home
- Never Underestimate
- Chicken Raid of Cymru
- Freya, Shakti
- Donald McGillivray
Music reviews of Fire In The Head
Music Review: My favorite ER album so far
Rating: 5 Stars
Anyone familiar with Emerald Rose knows that, good as their recorded music is, it doesn't hold a candle to seeing them live. This cd comes close, though, capturing some of the mad energy that makes their shows such a blast. From the top, then:
1) Star of the County Down: is this the only traditional song on the cd? I think it might be; I'd have to recheck Donald McGillivray. Regardless, I love this arrangement of one of my old favorites. It's a good bit faster than I'm used to (I usually hear this one sung slow and gentle, for some reason); the word "sprightly" comes to mind. The pennywhistle intro sets the tone, not just for this song, but for the whole cd.
2) Fire in the Head: fire in the blood! This song is sheer energy, with a driving beat and someone doing something interesting and complicated on a drum in the background. The lyrics are resonant with myths that I almost know, I should know, but I don't quite. (They're on the tip of my brain, so to speak.) It's tantalizing.
3) World's Wedding: it took me a long time to warm up to this song. I don't really know why; it just never caught me. It was always the one I skipped past when listening. It was the lyrics that finally won me over; I saw them online and was hooked. Then, of course, I had to listen to the song, really listen, so I could learn the lyrics, and of course once I did that I adored it. It's slow and very beautiful, half love song and half paean to the turning of the seasons, with vivid, poetic imagery.
4) Drowsy Maggie, etc.: starts off stately, picks up quickly. If you don't want to dance by the end of this one, get your feet checked. (An aside: I usually don't have the patience for instrumentals. Emerald Rose seems to be the exception to this.)
5) Merry Mayfolk: this is so my Beltaine song! It's upbeat, it's playful, it's funny, and the underlying spiritual message is one I'm awfully fond of. On the surface, it seems to be poking fun at Christianity, and I know there are some sensitive souls that might find that offensive. To me, though, it came across as more lighthearted than mean-spirited - the way you might tease a brother or sister whom you love dearly but who needs to lighten up a little. (Incidentally, that's something I admire about this band. A lot of times I pick up on some thinly- or not-so-thinly-veiled hostility towards Christianity from the Pagan community; I've never gotten that sense from ER's music.)
6) A Pict Song: my fiance's favorite, this song is eerie, intense, and a little unsettling. It's a complete change of pace from everything that came before, and (to me at least) signals that the album's about to get a little different for a few songs. The lyrics come from a Rudyard Kipling poem, and to understand it you have to remember that back in the day, people believed the Picts really were a little people, physically smaller than other races. Keep that in mind, listening to this song, imagining the Picts against the might of the Roman Empire, and you will get goosebumps. The vocal harmonies in this song are haunting and entirely appropriate to the bloodthirsty lyrics.
7) Vampire Girl from Orn: and now for something completely different... This belongs to ER's "random silliness" genre. It took me a couple listens to catch all the lyrics, but when I did they cracked me up! It's just... it's just bizarre, is what it is. As another reviewer pointed out, the way Larry sings the words is half the amusement factor.
8) Summerland: Ok, seriousness now. This song was one of the biggest factors in my own decision to start exploring Pagan ideas; the opening lines about the "long and winding" path makes for a fantastic metaphor, and some aspects of Pagan beliefs are addressed. For me, though, the biggest impact was simply that this was the first time I had ever heard someone just come out and openly discuss Paganism and Goddess-worship as a normal, valid religion. Call me sheltered, but it's true, and hearing the song just gave me one of those forehead-slapping "Oh! NOW I get it!" moments.
9) Call Me Home: This song made my mother cry, but that's because she used to live in Ireland and misses it dreadfully. Haunting melody, lyrics filled with yearning, the sort of song you want to sing while wading in the ocean under a full moon, staring east across the Atlantic.
10) Never Underestimate: A fun song. Never gonna rock my world like some of the others on the album, but it's a good song to boogie across the living room to. Made me giggle.
11) Chicken Raid of Cymru: Know how I said the last one made me giggle? Yeah, well, this one makes me fall on the floor in helpless laughter. It all starts somewhere in Wales... or maybe somewhere in Texas... we're not quite sure. Like so many ER songs, this one is responsible for furthering my education, as after listening to it a few times I had to go research the story of the pigs of Pryderi so I could get more of the jokes (I swear, if I'm going to listen to this band I need to just go buy me a copy of the Mabinogion...)
12) Freya, Shakti: It's "Freya, Shakti," kids. It's "Freya, Shakti" live; what more can you ask for? A great song, a great chant, at once thoroughly reverent and taut with wild, bubbling energy. I love the harmonies (I say that a lot with this band, but then, the harmonies are always good!)
13) Donald McGillivray: Best song *I've* ever heard about the Glorious Revolution, I can tell you that. Now, of course, most people aren't geeks like me and therefore don't get all excited about late 17th/early 18th-century British politics, so it's a good thing the song's good in its own right! Energetic, driven, a good solid foot-stomping and butt-kicking song. That interesting drum is back. And while there are puns, they're less painful than they could have been. Definitely another song for dancing.
(Edited to correct a horrid misspelling. Bad me. *slaps hand*)
Description of Fire In The Head
"Fire In The Head" is the first LIVE CD from Emerald Rose. This CD contains tracks recorded at the Harvest Cafe in Atlanta in fall 2001 before an enthusiastic core audience. In addition to great new renditions of the band's classics such as "Freya, Shakti" and "Worlds Wedding", there is new material, from rousing Celtic instrumentals to the zany tracks "Chicken Raid" and "Vampire Girl from Orn". There's something for everyone on this collection...don't miss it!Folk CDs
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