The Irish Country Music Appreciation Thread

Where To

Why does Irish country get such a bad press? It's part of our national heritage. Our parents met at the marquees, festivals and dancehalls up and down the country, half of us probably owe our very existence to Big Tom, Larry Cunningham and Philomena Begley.

On behalf of the young(ish) people of Ireland, I salute the showbands and entertainers that are as much a part of Irish culture as Guinness and Bono.

Who's with me?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJYcn_OMyY0

endacl

Shortest thread ever, methinks.

NegativeCreep

It's horrible.

Duckworth_Luas

Where To wrote: »

Who's with me?

Anyone with taste obviously!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbW69XCv0jc

grizzly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXenuOScA-o

Chuck Stone

Where To wrote: »

Why does Irish country get such a bad press?

Because Irish country muzach deserves bad press Mr Where To.

Where To

endacl wrote: »

Shortest thread ever, methinks.

I'm confident that there a quite a few closet Foster and Allen and Susan McCann on here, we just have to coax them out of their shells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4jVfRLtzlU

Where To

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Because Irish country muzach deserves bad press Mr Where To.

But it's who we are, Mr.Chuck, we shouldn't hate it, we should embrace it.

demanufactured

Speaking as a musician....Irish country music is ****in brutal.

Chuck Stone

Where To wrote: »

But it's who we are, Mr.Chuck, we shouldn't hate it, we should embrace it.

Ah I wouldn't hate it - it just does nothing for me.

It's much bigger up there in the north west - non-existent down here in the deep south for all utensils and porpoises.

Where To

demanufactured wrote: »

Speaking as a musician....Irish country music is ****in brutal.

Brutal maybe, but it's a decent, honest, innocent straight from the heart type of brutal.

landsleaving

Why is it called 'country and western'? I've always wondered that. I picture a bunch of lads watching the Lone Ranger for inspiration when I hear it.

Where To

landsleaving wrote: »

Why is it called 'country and western'? I've always wondered that. I picture a bunch of lads watching the Lone Ranger for inspiration when I hear it.

'Country and Irish' is the genre, it's a mix of Country and Western, and Irish music.

landsleaving

Aha, thanks! My Dad is mad into it and he always said country and western, referring to anything from Joe Dolan to Johnny Cash, so I had no idea.

Where To

landsleaving wrote: »

Aha, thanks! My Dad is mad into it and he always said country and western, referring to anything from Joe Dolan to Johnny Cash, so I had no idea.

Funny you should mention Johnny Cash, fifteen years ago if you liked his music you were automatically an inbred redneck culchie, then he sang with a heavy metal band and suddenly he was the coolest cat in town.:pac:

Damn hipsters.

MadYaker

SV

Just because it's a part of Irish culture doesn't mean that it's not shíte.

It's a part of Irish culture that should die a quick death if there was any musical justice in the world.

landsleaving

Where To wrote: »

Funny you should mention Johnny Cash, fifteen years ago if you liked his music you were automatically an inbred redneck culchie, then he sang with a heavy metal band and suddenly he was the coolest cat in town.:pac:

Damn hipsters.

They don't appreciate his best work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw8uTiSnYk4

Witchie

Its gick. Total gick. My dad was in a showband and they did play some of it but they also played good stuff like Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, Johnny Cash etc.

I so hate that the likes of Nathan Carter and his fuppin Wagon Wheel gets played regularly in the pubs in my town and people get up and fuppin Jive!!! I HATE JIVERS!

Feel so angry right now so you can imagine how I feel when I am in the pubs and said muppet DJs play it but worse still was New Years Eve in my local had a band that play kinda trad style music and they played Nathan Fuppin Carter. I was very close to going over and kicking 10 colours of crap outta them. (I hate most trad too so was not in a good music place that night)

landsleaving

Witchie wrote: »

I so hate that the likes of Nathan Carter and his fuppin Wagon Wheel gets played regularly in the pubs in my town and people get up and fuppin Jive!!! I HATE JIVERS!

Quit jivin' me turkey.

Where To

Witchie wrote: »

Its gick. Total gick. My dad was in a showband and they did play some of it but they also played good stuff like Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, Johnny Cash etc.

I so hate that the likes of Nathan Carter and his fuppin Wagon Wheel gets played regularly in the pubs in my town and people get up and fuppin Jive!!! I HATE JIVERS!

Feel so angry right now so you can imagine how I feel when I am in the pubs and said muppet DJs play it but worse still was New Years Eve in my local had a band that play kinda trad style music and they played Nathan Fuppin Carter. I was very close to goiRock me mamang over and kicking 10 colours of crap outta them. (I hate most trad too so was not in a good music place that night)

The young wans love him up here, I think you should give him a chance Witchie,

Rock me mama like a wagonwheel
Rock me mama any way yo feel
Heeeeyyyyyyyy. . . .

Sing up Witchie

Bad Santa

Where To wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJYcn_OMyY0

According to Big Tom, we're all gonna die from vagina suffocation so.

ProudDUB

Where To wrote: »

Why does Irish country get such a bad press?

Because its shyte. Plain and simple. Authentic American Country Music sung by the likes of Johnny Cash or George Strait is a gift from the Gods. I lived in Nashville in a former lifetime. The real McCoy, sung properly, would bring a tear to even the hardest of grunge/hip hop/heavy metal/hard rock/opera loving hearts. But the music is a part of America's culture. Not ours. Big, big diff imo !

The Irish versions are just watered down, pale comparisons to the real deal that are embarressing quite frankly. The likes of Big Tom and Philomena Begley and Daniel O'Donnell singing Folsom Prison Blues and shooting a man just to watch him die, or about life roping cattle out on the range? Oh please ! How can you you NOT roll your eyes at that? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

The Money Licker

Mostly listen to country myself. American country is where its at

The Money Licker

There doent seem to be a country catagory here. Traditional is the closest

Cungi

Where To wrote: »

... half of us probably owe our very existence to Big Tom, Larry Cunningham and Philomena Begley.

Fuck that shit. I owe my existence to Phil Lynott! Maybe more than i realise. My mam "dated" him.

As for Country, Cash's cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" is a masterpiece

Seaneh

Stop this thread and let me off...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Oiru35dGos

MadsL

Irish country is time warped...

American Country Rock is a very different beast...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usGv0gB2zEU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbaEVA259IE

Greentopia

Where To wrote: »

Why does Irish country get such a bad press?

Because it's woeful sh1te.

And Johnny Cash was always cool. You don't have to be a hipster to know that.

MadsL

Everytime I hear any Irish country I just want to go....


Ladies and Gentleman, Mr Conway Twitty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1fX-FvKW8

Rasheed

Good man Where To, I love it too. From the older ones like Big Tom, Larry Cunningham and Ray Lynam to Mike Denver and Patruck Feeney, it's mighty.

Prop Joe

demanufactured wrote: »

Speaking as a musician....Irish country music is ****in brutal.

OOOhhhh a Musician........you must be sooo learned....:rolleyes:

gobnaitolunacy

The worst form of music is that Irish trad/Country & Western bastardised hybrid so beloved of rural radio stations.

Kill it, with fire!

Dyr

Country n horse****e as they used to say

newmug

You see OP, there's 2 types of people in the world. Appreciators, and non-appreciators. People like yourself and meself are appreciators. We'll always be outnumbered, and there's nothing we can do about it, thats just the way it is.

WesternZulu

I think Mid West Radio in Mayo appreciates country and western enough to cover all of us who think it's s***e!

lukesmom

Wouldn't be to my taste but a family member of mine have made a good living from writing country music songs for philomena begley and others. Had quite a few nice holidays as a kid from royalties so I can't complain too much.

crockholm

Radio Galtee in Limerick/Tipperary was wall to wall irish c&w, it just seemed that all the songs started off with a dun-chit-chit, dun-chit-chit beat, or dung-sh!t-sh!t,
I forget

What the op is describing is what we called Cluchie and Western in our house.

I hate it.

Also hate American Country and Western of the Tammy Wynette kind.

American Country/Country Rock/Country blues though, well, I hate a lot of that too but there are some real gems (MadsL has put up a good few).

Also like some Bluegrass music, which Dolly Parton does really well. Doesn't excuse the rest of her work, but credit where its due.

AnonoBoy

Where To wrote: »

Funny you should mention Johnny Cash, fifteen years ago if you liked his music you were automatically an inbred redneck culchie, then he sang with a heavy metal band and suddenly he was the coolest cat in town.:pac:

What heavy metal band did he sing with?

OP around where I come from there we used to listen to both types of music... Country and Western. Yeee-Haaaawww!

brummytom

Where To wrote: »

The young wans love him up here, I think you should give him a chance Witchie,

Rock me mama like a wagonwheel
Rock me mama any way yo feel
Heeeeyyyyyyyy. . . .

Sing up Witchie

I love that song, it's sung around Manchester a lot.


I can't stand 'Country and Irish' at all though, really. It's all a bit twee and weird for me. A few friends of mine did a tv show with Foster and Allen and said they were a great laugh and swore like drunk pirates, though, which raised my opinion of them.

daithi1970

In fairness, Johnny Cash only really became popular outside of c&w circles
when he released the American Recordings series of albums which featured
songs by non-country singer/songwriters. His version of Hurt is far superior to the orginial Nine Inch Nails version IMO. Now, Foster and Allen or wee Daniel trying to emulate Mr Cash would be at best, hilarious, or completely wojus, as they say out here in the sticks. For what its worth, I think that the Irish Country/Showband scene probably ruined a generation of Irish music...ask yourself, what was the first non-country/showband irish act to be internationally known? My guess would be Phil Lynott or possibly The Boomtown Rats...

daithi

brummytom

daithi1970 wrote: »

ask yourself, what was the first non-country/showband irish act to be internationally known? My guess would be Phil Lynott or possibly The Boomtown Rats...

daithi

The Dubliners or The Clancy Brothers weren't country.

Dyr

daithi1970 wrote: »

In fairness, Johnny Cash only really became popular outside of c&w circles
when he released the American Recordings series of albums which featured
songs by non-country singer/songwriters. His version of Hurt is far superior to the orginial Nine Inch Nails version IMO. Now, Foster and Allen or wee Daniel trying to emulate Mr Cash would be at best, hilarious, or completely wojus, as they say out here in the sticks. For what its worth, I think that the Irish Country/Showband scene probably ruined a generation of Irish music...ask yourself, what was the first non-country/showband irish act to be internationally known? My guess would be Phil Lynott or possibly The Boomtown Rats...

daithi

Rory Gallagher? And Cash would have been classed more as a rockabilly singer back when he started

daithi1970

fair enough, you got me there! I would still hold the opinion that Irish country music held back the development of Irish popular music by its dominance in Ireland up until the mid to late 70's to the detriment of other genres. And both Irish trad and folk music are at least, genuine and original genres in their own right, as opposed to stetson wearing midlanders warbling about jr bloody ewing.....

daithi

castletownman

This brings back memories of going to mass of a Sunday morning and listening to country western affecianado Tony Scott on South East radio blaring out the choons.

I hated those mornings

daithi1970

...or being stuck on a bus going back to college and being forced to listen to Alan Cororan on the driver-controlled radio..hell on wheels!

daithi

gobnaitolunacy

This has turned into a hating rather than appreciation thread.

Still, there's nothing more unwholesome than a piano accordion and drum machine combo. It's like kryptonite for anyone under 50.

Ghost Buster

Where To wrote: »

But it's who we are, Mr.Chuck, we shouldn't hate it, we should embrace it.

Yeah. Along with incest and violence:cool:

Ghost Buster

The Money Licker wrote: »

Mostly listen to country myself. American country is where its at

But dull it down, make the beat as boring as possible and add a cavan or Longford accent and you have Country N Irish.
On a different note why are there so many people with mental handicap and learning difficulties at Country N irish gigs. Seriously. I work in music and entertainment and have noticed this.

SEPT 23 1989

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

drum machine combo.

A drum machine should be played using a sledge hammer