CD Review: Essential Irish Drinking Songs and Sing Alongs: Whiskey in the Jar

Various Artists
Essential Irish Drinking Songs and Sing Alongs:Whiskey in the Jar
Legacy
By David Chiu

A great Irish drinking song is the perfect way to top the merriment in a tavern, or any Irish home, on St. Patrick’s Day.Essential Irish Drinking Songs and Sing Alongs: Whiskey in the Jar quite nicely. The material ranges from traditional tunes by the legendary acts the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners to contemporary rockers like Dropkick Murphys (the punkish “The Dirty Glass”) and the Pogues (the live “Dirty Old Town”). The stirring tunes are not surprisingly boisterous, while others, including the immortal “Danny Boy,” sung here by Frank Patterson, evoke the sense of home and tradition that has always characterized the great Irish song and Celtic pride. (I recently spoke to someone of Irish descent from the tri-state area who remembered seeing the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on the Ed Sullivan TV show in 1961 and how much that evoked pride in his roots). This 2-CD set should sit alongside a good corned beef and cabbage meal and a pint.