Leírás
Folk Rock, Blues Rock, Celtic Rock, CD kiadvány, 2013-as album.
From the rollicking welcome of „A Festive Song” to the defiant battle cry of „Watchword of Labor”, „Songs of Freedom” accomplishes the difficult task of making contemporary music out of old revolutionary songs. Far
from the archival preservation of embalmed corpses, the inspired performance of a rocking band turns the
timeless lyrics of James Connolly into timely manifestos for today’s young rebels. As Connolly himself
repeatedly urged, nothing can replace the power of music to raise the fighting spirit of the oppressed.
Giving expression to Connolly‘s internationalism, musical influences ranging from traditional Irish airs to American rhythm and blues are combined here in refreshing creativity. As for the songs themselves, nine have lyrics by Connolly, three were written about Connolly and one, „The Red Flag”, was chosen by
Connolly to be in the original Songs of Freedom songbook of 1907, subsequently becoming a classic song of
Labor. The instrumentation is acoustic: guitars, uilleann pipes, whistles, fiddle, accordion, and Irish harp, as well as drums and bass.
The James Connolly Songs of Freedom Band project is the live expression of Mat Calahan‘s passion and commitment for reviving interest in the life of Connolly, an Irish socialist leader who was executed by the British
in 1916, ostensibly for his role in the Easter uprising. In addition to singer/guitarist Calahan (USA), the lineup included Irish musicians Shirley Grimes (vocals), Joe McHugh (pipes and whistles) and Alan Burke (guitar and vocals) and Swiss performers David Brühlmann (accordion, bodhran, vocals) and Stefanie Aeschlimann (fiddle) as well as acclaimed Swiss blues singer Yvonne Moore, who brought the house down with her stirring interpretation of „The Red Flag”.
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