''The Woman I Loved So Well'' is the fifth studio album by

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars ...

. Like their previous album, '' After The Break'', the album 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 ...

and released by Tara Records. Co-produced by band member

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

and engineer Brian Masterson, the album was recorded in April and May of 1980 and released on LP in July of that year. It remains in print on CD and in digital form from Tara to date. Like their sixth album—'' Words & Music''—the album features a total of eight musicians, more than any other Planxty album. The core line-up of

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

, Andy Irvine and

Liam O'Flynn Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lun ...

are joined again by

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

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 ...

, who had left the band shortly after the release of '' After The Break'' to join

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 ...

full-time. Newcomer

Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...

joined the group in the studio to play keyboards, as did the

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

/fiddle duo of Noel Hill and Tony Linnane, who completed a short tour of Ireland with the group prior to the recording. The album concludes with an epic nine and a half minute rendition of the ballad " Little Musgrave", which Moore had previously recorded on his self-titled solo album, in 1976. Moore has stated that he first found the song's lyrics on papers scattered on the floor of an auctioneer's in Dublin, although the song had previously been recorded by many artists (see "

Matty Groves "Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended when the woman's ...

").

Track listing

All titles credited to Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Christy Moore and Liam O'Flynn; except where indicated. # "True Love Knows No Season" (song) – 5:29
(Norman Blake) # "Out On The Ocean / Tiocfaidh Tu Abhaile Liom" (double jigs) – 3:20 # "Roger O'Hehir" (song) – 5:33 # "The Tailor's Twist" (hornpipes) – 3:14
(Traditional; arranged by Liam O'Flynn) # "Kellswater" (song) – 4:59 # "Johnny of Brady's Lea" (song) – 6:31 # "The Woman I Never Forgot / The Pullet / The Ladies Pantalettes" (reels) – 4:19 # " Little Musgrave" (song) – 9:38 # "Paddy Fahy's Reel" (reel) – 1:48
(Played on flute by Matt Molloy, with keyboard accompaniment, as the album fades out). On the vinyl album as released “Kellswater” is actually track 3, and “Roger O’Hehir” is track 5, contrary to the sleeve notes.

Personnel

- vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

* Andy Irvine - vocals, mandolin,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

, harmonica *

, guitar, synthesiser *

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 thei ...

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 ...

- flute *

- keyboards * Noel Hill -

*Tony Linnane - fiddle

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woman I Loved So Well 1980 albums Planxty albums