Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 08:48:13 -0600
From: Mark Gonnerman (markg@LELAND.STANFORD.EDU)
Subject: Who's Who/ Planxty
Dylan: There's a group you have here, what's it called, Plankston?
Bono: Planxty.
Dylan: They're great!
Dylan: I'd like to have them. You know Planxty?
I also like Paul Brady a lot.
--
THE BONO VOX INTERVIEW JULY 8, 1984.
(What was it you wanted? #6)
Conducted at the Slane Castle, Dublin, prior to Dylan's show.
***************************
Who's Who/ Planxty
Planxty (planxty being an old Irish word meaning "a tune written for
someone") was formed in 1971 by singer-guitarist Christy Moore with
uillean pipes player Liam O'Flynn, mandolinist Andy Irvine and
multi-instrumentalist/producer Donal Lunny. The musicians revitalized
traditional Irish folk music, and, next to the Chieftains, this dynamic
group became one of the most influential Irish bands of the early '70s.
They broke up (when?) and regrouped for another three-year stint from
1979-82, but then left fans once again high and dry. Both Moore and
Irvine have been called the "Irish Woody Guthrie."
Could someone provide a discography? Any Dylan covers?
--Mark
****************************
>From Geoffrey Himes, "Patrick Street: The Pluck of the Irish," THE
WASHINGTON POST, 27 February 1987, p. C7.
"Someone once said that the Chieftains are pre-Beatles Irish music,"
says fiddler Kevin Burke, "and that our bands are post-Beatles Irish
music. There's an element of truth in that."
The "our bands" that Burke is referring to are De Danann, Planxty and
the Bothy Band, the three great progressive folk groups that blossomed in
Ireland in the '70s. Following the lead of Bob Dylan and the Byrds in
America and Pentangle and Fairport Convention in England, these Irish
bands revitalized folk traditions with the more aggressive rhythms and
lyrics of the '60s.
Unfortunately, the bands proved rather unstable. The Bothy Band broke
up for good in 1979, while Planxty and De Danann have been on-again,
off-again affairs with constant turnover. Now, however, four alumni of
these bands have joined forces as a group called Patrick Street, in hopes
of reviving the tradition of progressive Irish folk bands.
The founding members of Patrick Street are Kevin Burke from the Bothy
Band, singer Andy Irvine from Planxty, accordionist Jackie Daly from De
Danann and guitarist Arty McGlynn from Planxty. They have just released
their self-titled debut album on Green Linnet Records .
[According to Burke,] "Planxty was very influenced by Woody Guthrie and
Eastern European folk music.
"
Burke grew up in London with a family from western Ireland. "At that
time you could hear more traditional Irish music in London than in any
town in Ireland," he insists. "There was just so much of it, both around
the house and in the pubs. Meanwhile, the popular music at school and
around the neighborhood was rock 'n' roll. I kept them very separate in my
head until I was 15 and started seeing the links.
"Someone gave me a Bob Dylan record with a couple of ballads on it,"
remembers Burke, "and I said to this fellow, 'Hey, this isn't so different
from the traditional Irish tunes I know.
'"
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 12:46:00 +0000
(added 14:44:02 +0000 correction of names in Moving Heart. Karl Erik)
From: Tiernan Henry (HENRY.TIERNAN@UCG.IE)
Subject: planxty/paul brady
Now you're all talking!
The bio details on Planxty are pretty accurate, but their musical importance
here was immense. There was a folk revival in Ireland at the start of the 70s
spearheaded by the likes of Planxty, De Dannan and the Bothy Band. Young,
extremely talented musicians, they really did do for Irish music what the
Beatles/Stones etc did in Britain, and what Baez and Bob et al. were doing in
the States. Until then Irish traditional music was untouchable, and wasn't to
be messed about with by the masses. Along come this bunch of upstarts in
woolly pullovers, jeans, and sucking Guinness like it was going out of style,
and they revitalised the music. It was accessible, it was fun, and shit it was
exciting. (Planxty in full swing were a sight to behold.)
The nature of these bands was dynamic however. Christy left Planxty, to be
replaced by Paul Brady, but the band broke up about '77. Needless to say all
the players still appear on each other's releases, and in various combinations.
Brady and Irvine made the gorgeous "Andy Irvine and Paul Brady" album (still
available here and in Britain and the USA -- and I presume elsewhere???), which
has Brady's reading of "Arthur McBride" that Bob so admires. (I posted this
before, but at Slane in '84, Bob met Brady and learned how to play "Arthur" and
"The Lakes of Ponchatrain" from him.) Brady then did a Bob, and went electric
in 1981, releasing the Donal Lunny produced "Hard Station". He's released
several records since, though he's perhaps best known -- and certainly
wealthier -- through Bonnie Raitt's version of "Luck of the Draw". He's on
tour in Ireland in January. And definitely worth seeing live.
Be warned, though, he can be as sour as Van on a bad day.
Lunny, after Planxty, went into production mostly. A multi-instrumentalist,
he's most at home on a bazouki, or behind the desk. He's worked with Brady,
Christy (a friend of God in Ireland), Clannad, Moving Hearts, done tons of TV
work and can also be heard on "Bringing It All Back Home", Philip King's
documentary about the movement of Irish music abroad (it's a still available
double disc, defintitely worth searching out, released on BBC records.
Contains great stuff from Mary Black, Dolores Keane, Costello, Hothouse Flowers
-- doing a simply lovely version of "Ponchatrian" by the way, Luka Bloom, and
indeed Brady and Lunny cooking up the proverbial acoustic storm on Brady's
fiery "Nothing but the same old story").
When Christy left PLanxty he started a somehwhat patchy solo career. Linked
with every movement you could think of, Christy appeared at every festival show
in Ireland. He was with Moving Hearts (more on them in a bit) for a couple of
years, and then his solo career took off. He now pretty much reigns in
Ireland. His shows sell out instantly, and though his albums are really good,
it's in a live setting that he needs to be seen and heard. (The last time I
saw him was at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, several months ago. The Gallery
Press, Peter & Jean Fallon's press, celebrated its 25th birthday with readings
from ten of its poets. The evening was chaired by a jovial Heaney, and Mary
Robinson, the Irish President, gave a moving speech. Christy, introduced by
Heaney, did the music at the intermission.)
Donal Lunny was and still is deeply interested in Eastern European music, and
has recorded several albums with Hungarian artists, in particular.
In the early 70s, there was a band called Horslips on the go. They began as a
strictly trad group but quickly adopted electric instruments. They played
electrified Irish music. The purists didn't approve, but the kids (!) loved
it. And of course, if you were a teen here in the 70s the first show that most
of us were allowed go to see was Horslips.
They were perhaps the main impetus for Moving Hearts. Christy, Lunny,
saxophonist Keith Donald (now chair of the Irish Arts Council), guitarist
Deccie Sinnott (until recently Mary Black's producer and collaborator), uileann
piper Davy Spillane, and a drummer whose name eludes me right now
(yikes). And the bassist was Eoghan O'Neill.
Again, the Hearts had to seen and heard to be believed. Their debut
had stunning version of "Hiroshima Nagasaki Russian Roulette" and Jackson
Browne's "Before the Deluge". Live, they were phenomenal. Christy left aftera
couple of years -- the live buzz never really clicked on record, to be replaced
by (first) Mick Hanly and then Flo McSweeney on vocals. The Hearts fizzled for
a few years, and then shot back with the stunning instrumental album "The
Storm". Find it somewhere.
Let's see now... no Dylan covers at all in that lot (though Christy would on
occasion play I Pity the Poor Immigrant at his shows). And of course, Christy
is big brother to Luka Bloom (aka Barry Moore), and plays bodhran on "The
Acoustic Motorbike".
At this years Galway Arts Festival De Dannan celebrated their 21st birthday
with a great celebratory show. Former vocalists Mary Black, Dolores Keane, and
Eleanor Shanly (whose new solo release has a version of "Tomorrow is a long
time") joined the band again for a wonderful show. (De Dannan are a Galway
band as well.)
Does that help?
As far as I know, all the Planxty and Brady stuff is available still on cd (and
tape), as is De Dannan and the Bothy Band. All the above is from memory, but
if anyone does want a discography I'll piece it together. If you're in the
States, contact Green Linnet, they handle Brady's pre-electric stuff, and
probably Planxty's too (the one to get is "The Well Below the Valley", purely
personal fave though!).
tiernan
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 17:51:11 GMT
From: NAME (scch6114@BUREAU.UCC.IE)
Subject: Re: Who's Who/ Planxty
Message subject:Dylan covers by planxty
In 1983 Planxty recorded an album called Words and Music featuring I pity
the poor emigrant from JWH , with Christy Moore on vocals . Of further
interest Christy recorded Song To Woody on a "solo" album called Prosperous.
However this album is widely regarded as the start of Planxty as the ensemble
of musicians assembled for this album eventually formed Planxty . Other
worthwhile albums by Planxty are (a) the first one simply called Planxty
which features a version of Arthur Mcbride and (b) The Well below the valley oh
Also (c) Cold Blows the Rainy Night. That's all i can think off at The top of
my head. Hope it helps .
Yours
Martin O' Connell
University College Cork,Ireland
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 09:02:41 -0600
From: Mark Gonnerman (markg@LELAND.STANFORD.EDU)
Subject: Re: Who's Who/ Planxty
Well, I must be livin' right! Yesterday morning I posted a "Who's Who" on
Planxty and last night I chanced across a used Planxty CD in a nearby
shop: THE PLANXTY COLLECTION, 1989 (Shanachie 79012). This morning I
find two excellent, very helpful posts on Planxty from Martin O' Connell
and Tiernan Henry (don't miss his excellent "planxty/paul brady" post
below). Many thanks!
THE PLANXTY COLLECTION includes a beautiful "The Lakes of Pontchartrain,"
reels, and other danceable tunes. Excellent musicianship throughout. The
liner notes by Colin Irwin mention the following recordings:
PLANXTY, 1972
THE WELL BELOW THE VALLEY, 1973
COLD BLOW AND THE RAINY NIGHT, 1974
"The third and final album
earned selection as MELODY MAKER's folk album
of 1974, although by the time of its release that autumn, Christy Moore
had reluctantly quit, wanting to spend more time at home in Ireland with a
quieter lifestyle. Paul Brady, who'd been with the much under-rated
Johnstons, was rescued from America to take his place."
--Mark
