The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's third album for their own Tradition Records label was recorded and released in 1961 after they had already made their celebrated appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and signed a non-exclusive recording contract with major label Columbia Records. Clearly, they were feeling confident in their musical approach, and this collection of traditional Irish folk songs is enthusiastically performed, with guitarist Bruce Langhorne and banjo player Erik Darling sitting in. One can hear the music's influence easily: "The Work of the Weavers" had helped give a name to a popular folk group years earlier; the tune of "Brennan on the Moor" was borrowed by Bob Dylan the following year for his "Rambling, Gambling Willie," which was slated for Freewheelin' Bob Dylan but not legitimately released until 1991; "The Maid of Fife-E-O" has been much covered (notably by the Grateful Dead) under the titles "Peggy-O" and "Fennario"; and other familiar songs included "The Jug of Punch" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew You." Varying from ballads to up-tempo numbers, and from solo performances to group-sung drinking songs, the album demonstrates the diversity of Irish music. Incidentally, fans of Frank McCourt's best-selling memoir Angela's Ashes will enjoy the song "Roddy McCorley," which figures prominently in the book. (In 1996, Rykodisc refurbished the album and reissued it on its revived Tradition label at a midline price.) ~ William Ruhlmann