CELTIC MUSIC CD REVIEWS
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
 ATLANTIC STANDARDS
Kitchen Party
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ATLANTIC STANDARDS Kitchen Party
In order to throw an authentic Down East kitchen party you have to include two things; infectious sing-alongs and lively instrumentals.
Kitchen Party has all these ingredients performed by some of the best East Coast musicians. There are 14 excellent tracks with such names as The Rankins, Great Big Sea, Rawlins Cross, The Barra MacNeils, Natalie MacMaster, and the Irish Descendants, to name a few.
You won’t be able to keep your feet still when you listen to Kitchen Party and you’ll definately want to sing-along with the lyrics.
Who said that you have to go Down East to enjoy a kitchen house party? All the music for the party is on Atlantic Standards, Kitchen Party. So, what are you waiting for? Call up your friends, put on your dancing shoes, grab a cold or a hot one, turn up the volume, and let loose East Coast style.
 GRADA Natural Angle
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GRADA Natural Angle
Grada whose name means ‘gradient’ in Irish is a cross-genre of acoustic music, bridging traditional Irish and Appalachian tunes and songs with Americana songwriting.
Grada’s improvisatory relish may seem at an angle to how people think about Irish traditional music, but it’s natural for this quintet.
Members of Grada are: Nicola Joyce [singer and bodhran player]; David Dooey [fiddler and concertina player, and Stephen Doherty [flute and accordion player]. All are from the west of Ireland along with Andy Laking, a non-Irish New Zealander [guitar, double bass and vocals] and Gerry Paul, an Irishman brought up in New Zealand [guitar and vocals].
Standouts on the album include: The Butcher Boy, Bottom of The Hill, Panama, Louis Collins, Salthill Bugalu and 5 Jumps, a set marrying a Danish reel, an original reel by former bandmate Colin Farrell, and a traditional Irish tune.
One song that I have never heard before and really caught my attention was John Riley. This is the story of John Riley who came from Galway town to the United States at the time of the Irish hunger.
When there were no jobs to be found, he joined the U.S. army. Sent to the banks of the Rio Grande, the soldiers were treated bad and paid worse. John Riley along with 200 other mercenaries left the U.S. army and joined the San Patricio army in Mexico.
They were eventually defeated by the Yankee soldiers and beaten. On their cheeks they were branded with hot irons.
John Riley wonders if it matters much if you win or lose, because he is a man who can’t go home and a victim of divided loyalty. The song is sung by Nicola Joyce.
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