I have been "into" Van Morrison for a few years now and am trying to build up my back catalogue. I bought this Cd with a bit of trepidation as I am not a great lover of the Irish traditional music genre. This however blew me away, The sheer poetry of these songs and the strength and depth of Van's vocals combines with the superb musicianship of the Chieftans to make this one of the favourites on my CD player and MP3 player. If you have not had a listen to this album you are missing out on one of Van the Man's triumphs.
I had this from when it originally came out on cassette. Great combination of Van Morrison's voice with The Chieftain's wonderful playing. Beautiful rendition of On Raglan Road. Quite melancholy selection with a couple of fun and upbeat numbers thrown in. If you like Irish, think you'll like this!
The album Irish Heartbeat Van Morrison,The Chieftains is the best album i ever had after Moon Dance, i am fans of Van Morrison, i got quite alot collections. but this album is extraordinary, i was visit my friend in Belfast last month and he took me to his summer house in Drumahair and he played the Van Morrison cassette the Irish Heartbeat. I love it very much, excellent.
I first heard this music from a cassette on a recent trip to Ireland whilst staying in a farmhouse near Sligo . I had just picked out some music out of a drawer to play on the old stereo system . The music just blew me away - i tried to buy a cd version of it in Sligo but disappointingly was told it was deleted and unavailable . I was advised to look on e - bay which i had never used before ! Having found a few advertised i started my bidding ! Admittedly paying more than i have ever paid for a cd i am so pleased to have it in my collection ! I will never tire of it - it really is music with passion and feeling ! It is very well recorded and features great interpretation by Van Morisson who i confess i had never really been into ! All tracks are classics but Carrickfergus and Marie's Wedding are enchanting and unforgettable !