''Irish Heartbeat'' is the eighteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and is a collaboration with the

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Irish musical group

the Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...

, released in 1988. It was recorded at

Windmill Lane Studios Windmill Lane Recording Studios (earlier Windmill Lane Studios) is a recording studio in Dublin, Ireland. It was originally opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson and James Morris in premises at 22 Windmill Lane, and it subsequently relocated to its cu ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and reached number 18 in the UK album charts.

Recording

The album was recorded on dates from September to December 1987 and in January 1988. The Chieftains and Van Morrison had met years before at the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

rock festival. They joined up in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

during Morrison's '' No Guru'' tour and afterwards, Morrison and

Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney ( ga, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was parti ...

discussed recording an album together during a walk. They each had a list of songs and reached a consensus to cover two of Morrison's previously released tracks (the title track was one) and the rest from traditional Irish songs. Recalled Moloney:

I think at that time Van was searching for his Irish roots. It was this man of blues, of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and more importantly soul, coming home to his Irishness with The Chieftains and the music we’d been playing for so many years. Musically we were going to meet each other half way.

In October 1987 they performed together at Balmoral Studio in

. The concert was broadcast on St. Patrick's Day in 1988.

Composition

The album consists of eight traditional Irish songs, plus re-workings of the Morrison songs "Celtic Ray" (which first appeared on 1982's ''

Beautiful Vision ''Beautiful Vision'' is the thirteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in February 1982. It continued Morrison's departure from rhythm and blues, R&B at the time, instead favoring Celtic folk and American ...

'') and the title track "

Irish Heartbeat ''Irish Heartbeat'' is the eighteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and is a collaboration with the traditional Irish musical group the Chieftains, released in 1988. It was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Du ...

" (which first appeared on 1983's ''

Inarticulate Speech of the Heart ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'' is the fourteenth studio album by People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1983. Morrison said he arrived at the title from a Shavian saying: "that idea of commun ...

''). "Carrickfergus" is described as "a melancholic air worthy of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

" by critic Denis Campbell. "

On Raglan Road "On Raglan Road" is a well-known Irish song from a poem written by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh named after Raglan Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. In the poem, the speaker recalls, while walking on a "quiet street," a love affair that he had with ...

" was adapted from a poem by

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel '' Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life t ...

and is the story of "a man ensnared by a beautiful

revenant In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French language, F ...

whom he had mistaken for 'a creature made of clay'." In 1994,

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

recorded a live cover of the song "Irish Heartbeat" during his ''

World Tour of Scotland ''World Tour of Scotland'' is a six-part television series – the first of Billy Connolly's "world tours" – originally broadcast by the BBC in July and August 1994. It involves his touring around his homeland for 54 nights during early 1994, b ...

''. The performance was used as the closing theme to the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

series.

Critical reception

''Irish Heartbeat'' received positive reviews from most critics, one of whom called it "some of the most haunting, rousing, downright friendly music of the year". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's David Browne said it has "splendor and intense beauty", while John Wilde from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' hailed it as "a bloody considerable marvel", having "awakened orrison'sroisterous spirit". In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

was more critical and believed that Morrison, suffering a creative block, was "misguided" in his attempt to reconnect with his traditional Irish music roots.''Consumer Guide'', Nov. 29, 1988
/ref> In the annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics poll, ''Irish Heartbeat'' was voted the 29th best album of 1988. The ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named it the second greatest album of the year.1988 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year – NME
/ref> In ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (2004),

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at ''Blen ...

said it showed Morrison in a livelier, more enthusiastic state than on his previous records during the 1980s.

Track listing

All songs

, arranged by

and

, except as indicated.

Side one

Star of the County Down \new Score "Star of the County Down" is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down, in Northern Ireland. The words are by Cathal MacGarvey (1866–1927) from Ramelton, County Donegal. MacGarvey's song was first collected in Herbert Hu ...

" – 2:41 #"

" (Morrison) – 3:52 #"Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta (My Match It Is Made)" – 3:31 #" Raglan Road" (lyrics by

) – 4:43 #" She Moved Through the Fair" – 4:44

Side two

I'll Tell Me Ma "I'll Tell Me Ma" (also called "The Wind") is a traditional children's song. It was collected in various parts of the United Kingdom in the 19th century and again appears in collections from shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In Ireland ...

" – 2:29 #"

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

" – 4:23 #"Celtic Ray" (Morrison) – 3:47 #"

My Lagan Love "My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish air collected in 1903 in northern Donegal. The English lyrics have been credited to Joseph Campbell (1879–1944, also known as Seosamh MacCathmhaoil and Joseph McCahill, among others).''Songs of U ...

" – 5:19 #"

Marie's Wedding "Mairi's Wedding" (also known as Marie's Wedding, the Lewis Bridal Song, or gd, Màiri Bhàn "Blond Mary") is a Scottish folk song originally written in Gaelic by John Roderick Bannerman (1865–1938) for Mary C. MacNiven (1905–1997) on the ...

" – 3:17

Charts

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitar, drums *

–

uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

Martin Fay Martin Joseph Fay (19 September 1936 – 14 November 2012) was an Irish fiddler and bones player, and a former member of The Chieftains. He was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scot ...

–

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

* Derek Bell –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, keyboards, tiompán *

Kevin Conneff Kevin Conneff (born 8 January 1945) is an Irish singer and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and bodhrán player of Irish folk group; The Chieftains. He joined the group in 1976 after contributing to their album '' The Chieftains 6 ...

– bodhran, co-lead vocals on "Star of the County Down", "Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta" and "I'll Tell Me Ma" *

Matt Molloy Matt Molloy (born 12 January 1947) is an Irish musician, from a region known for producing talented flautists. As a child, he began playing the flute and won the All-Ireland Flute Championship at nineteen. Considered one of the most brilliant ...

– flute * Seán Keane –

* Ciarán Ó Braonáin – bass *

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

– backing vocals on "Marie's Wedding" and "Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta" *

Maura O'Connell Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music. Background O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main t ...

– backing vocals on "Marie's Wedding" *June Boyce – backing vocals on "Celtic Ray", "Irish Heartbeat" and "Marie's Wedding"

Notes

References

*Glatt, John (1997). ''The Chieftains: The Authorized Biography'',

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...

, * Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press, * Hinton, Brian (2000) ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary,

External links

* {{Authority control The Chieftains albums Van Morrison albums Collaborative albums 1988 albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Van Morrison