CD Review: Orla Fallon - Distant Shore
I don't often give bad CD reviews, mostly because I don't often really dislike music. I'm pretty open-minded and I can think of good things about almost anything. In fact, I can even think of some good things about former Celtic Woman Orla Fallon's new release Distant Shore. I just never want to have to listen to it again.
By anyone's standards, it's a well-made CD. The production value is high, the talent is evident, and there's nothing that stands out as "wrong." And frankly, I think that Distant Shore has pretty widespread appeal. However, Michael Buble, ankle boots, and shredded coconut also all have widespread appeal, and I wouldn't mind if all of them just went away, either.
When it comes right down to it, I just think Distant Shore is too pretty. I like my Irish music with a proper layer of grit, and I'm just not finding any here. Then again, to call this CD "Irish music" would be like calling Shania Twain's music "country" (as Minnie Pearl rolls over in her grave). No, it is (at best) Celtic-tinged, despite the fact that Fallon has pretty substantial traditional Irish music street cred, having won a number of prestigious competitions as a harpist. And though I can occasionally get behind a good pop record, this one just does very little for me. Have you heard it? What do you think?
Comments
I have indeed heard this CD…over and over again. I completely respect your opinion, even as I have to disagree wholeheartedly with it. I find this CD to be both relaxing and uplifting at the same time. I love the Celtic component, and I can also appreciate how Orla can perform other genres. This CD truly shows off her range of talent, and I encourage everyone to check it out!
I am going to have to agree with Kelli on this one. I purchased Orla’s cd off of Itunes and I absolutely love it.
I agree with Kelli and Cait. Orla has always had a haunting and ethereal quality to her voice . I feel that Distant Shore showcases her amazing talent.
I have to say I completely disagree with you as well. Each person has a right to their own opinion, but as for me, I’ve listened to this CD over and over again ever since I bought it, and I absolutely LOVE it!! There is such feeling in her words and in the music, and it really shows off her range of talent as she explores different styles, yet stays true to her Irish heritage as well. This is one terrific CD!!
I have to disagree with Megan on this one.
I find this CD refreshing, in that Ms. Fallon presents, on her own terms, music which means something to her. Distant Shore is not a CD full of sellable tunes conceived by Record Company pundits for sales purposes.
An extremely varied collection of styles, all done masterfully by singer and intrumentalists alike, Distant Shore is sure to touch ones heart, and for those with the ears to hear Orla’s unique style and grace, is a welcome oasis in a musical desert.
Megan, I’m confused. I agree with you wholeheartedly that Distant Shore is indeed a “well-made CD. The production value is high, the talent is evident”. In fact, it is so fine that it’s the only thing I’ve played at home or in the car in weeks!
It seems your major complaint is that it isn’t Irish enough. If you were wanting Irish, check out “The High Kings” – beautiful, folksy, with the perfect bit of grit! Distant Shore is Celtic, and much, much more! It’s Orla’s ability to cross the lines that makes me want to listen over and over again. Even Celtic Woman’s style is more “World” than “Irish”. So, place it in another category (”pretty” perhaps) but please dont trash it!
Megan, in my humble opinion, you do your readers a disservice by dismissing this album in your opening line. I’m sorry that you don’t consider it to be “Irish Music” or that it is “too pretty”. Maybe you were given the music to review without the liner notes but, if you had read them you would realize that this is a work of love done by a very talented and gracious artist and contains songs and music that have great personal meaning in her life. It doesn’t neatly fall into a specific genre, just as most of our lives are not stereotypical. Orla’s hauntingly, beautiful voice covers a broad range of styles which defy classification. It reminds me a lot of the range of music displayed by Judy Collins over her career, but then Judy can’t play the harp like Orla. Every time I listen to this album I go through a wide range of emotions and it refreshes my soul. There is a lot of garbage out there masquerading as music, but this album contains real music interpreted by a. lady with real talent, and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. I would hope someday when your spirits need a lift you try listening to this album again. I think you will have a change of heart.
Just curious – did you guys actually read the CD review, or just this blog? If you haven’t read the full review, you can see it here:
http://worldmusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/OrlaFallonDistantShore.htm
… I think I’m both nicer and meaner in the actual review, and I’m curious as to what you think.
I missed the link to the actual review, thank you for providing it. After reading the full review, I wouldn’t change my former comment a bit. I certainly understand that others have different musical tastes than I do. If anyone is looking for relaxing, quality music, I hope they look past your review and check out this CD. As you can tell, fan acclaim has consistently been very enthusiastic for Distant Shore!
Megan,
After reading your blog and the complete review i strongly have to disagree with your opinion about this more than perfect album!
Okay, everyone’s got a different taste of music and i more than accept that, but if you have REALLY listened to Distant Shore – with your heart – you should have been able to FEEL what it’s saying.
It’s not only about romance… Yes, most songs are about love, love we apparently haven’t got enough in this world… Love and romance are not the same…
Órlagh’s music is nothing you can put into a category – It’s unique!
i accept, that you were looking for “Irish Music” sorry that you haven’t found it with Distant Shore. i respect your opinion.
Megan, I too missed the link to your actual review, and I’ll admit you were somewhat nicer in the first part of your review, and I won’t deny “Orla Fallon is, as a matter of plain fact, a great singer and masterful harpist, and if you’re familiar with, and a fan of, her work with Celtic Woman, this CD is likely pretty much what you’d expect, and you’ll likely really enjoy it.” That said, it is highly obvious that that is not your “cup of tea”. I, as an ardent Celtic Woman fan find this CD is just what the doctor prescribed to make me reflect on my 67 years of life and find and remember the sweetness that I tend to forget amongst all the bitterness and sorrow. I too stand by my previous comment, and I’d like to add, “Orla, you have surpassed my expectations on this album.”
I must agree with all of you critics that have posted before me. I play this CD all the time and it has become about my favorite. I guess I don’t necessarily have a “favorite ” type of music– I just enjoy beautiful songs from all styles. This CD is exactly that to me!! I,too, think Celtic Women is one of the best groups ever–if not THE best ever and it was there I first heard Orla’s music and fell in love with her wonderful voice– this CD is Orlagh Fallon at her best. I think I would like a list of other CD’s you don’t “Ever Want to Hear Again” so I can increase my library with more wonderful music.
Gary B, might I suggest you give a try to Josh Groban, Celine Dion (especially her French work), Charlotte Church, Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, Sarah Brightman, the Three Irish Tenors, the latest work of Barbra Streisand, and, of course, the inimitable Susan Boyle!
Take care to avoid Karan Casey, Solas, Cherish the Ladies, or any other actual Celtic women performing actual Celtic music – you’ll likely find it much too rough’n'ready, and sometimes they sing about sad things like heartbreak and even death. I just don’t think of Celtic Woman as a band — they’re a manufactured performance group.
Seriously, though — I think Orla Fallon could be a favorite musician of mine, if I liked in any way what she did with her talent. I don’t hear a “diverse” or “multi-genre” collection here — I hear a bland collection of lullabies (some fast, some slow… is that what we mean by multi-genre?) fit for Disney princesses and the 8-year-olds who want to be them.
“Dancing in the Moonlight/I fall into your eyes/Moon and Stars above us/I realize/Love is all around us/Rising up to touch the sky/Lost in each other’s eyes”
I understand that the song is about first love, but it really sounds more like what you imagine first love is going to be like before you actually fall into it, not like what first love really feels like.
Full disclosure: I did NOT read the liner notes of the CD. I seldom do… I think the music should speak for itself.
I do like love songs – try Amadou et Mariam’s “Je Pense a Toi,” or Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s “Hello My Baby,” or the wordless “My Dream of You” by Solas — one of the most powerful love songs I’ve heard in years. I’m not a blaggard, I just don’t like cotton candy clouds and kisses at the ends of rainbows. I write about world music for a living, and when I say world music, I mean the actual musical expressions of cultures that differ from my own, whether traditional or contemporary. Distant Shore *barely* makes the cut on that front. I think Ms. Fallon may be more accurately representing the feelings of your average American midwestern teenager than anyone else with this record.
I wasn’t expecting this CD to be any more Irish than Celtic Woman, but it was billed as such, and I think that actual fans of Irish music are being done a disservice if they expect a rip-roaring fiddles-’n'-harp kind of album. If you like it soft and lovely, it’s a great record. I just don’t.
While I think it is all well and good to advise readers who may be searching a genre by label that this may not be your typical “Irish fare”, those seeking specifically the music of Orla Fallon in order to see what she is up to as a solo artist now apart from Celtic Woman, I suspect will not be disappointed in the least with what they hear from her in Distant Shore. Rather, they will hear a versatility they probably did not know she possessed in hearing her only within the confines of Celtic Woman. Fans of Orla Fallon will be treated to the voice and harp they came to love, plus insights into a broader range of musical talent than they knew her to possess. Nor would they necessarily expect her to explore the full depths of her musical talent and interests in this first solo effort post-Celtic Woman. Her fans look forward to seeing more of those elements in her future albums. Purists of Irish music or of any other genre may be dissatisfied with this effort, preferring instead to maintain themselves in the status of the perpetually disgruntled, on principle.
Megan,
Really nice to reduce Órlagh’s Fans to “average American midwestern teenager”
Just let me tell you that you are far away with your belief – i’m from Europe and i’m certainly NOT a teenager… Most of the Órlagh Fans i know won’t fit in you view as well…
As much as i accept your opinion and as much as i respect it – please stop insulting people for their taste…
i wouldn’t insult you either…
Ohhh and by the way, i love listening to pure Irish music as well as i love listening to Celtic Woman and everthing regarding them…i’m just not making the mistake and put them together into ONE category…
There would be so much more to say…
I am certainly no music critic but I know what I like. I have always loved Irish music because of the truth expressed, the emotions that come through, from love and longing, to loss and hope, to faith and strength. I have also loved many of the singers for their purity of sound and expression. And, all of these reasons are why I love Celtic Woman and especially Orla Fallon. Her voice never over-powers the message and the purity of the song. Her voice is magical and speaks right to my soul. Her voice and her music can bring me to tears or uplift my spirit. I hope everyone who has the ears to hear and the heart to feel this type of music will give this extremely talented and expressive artist the support she so richly deserves.
While I respect a person’s right to their own opinion, it doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. Such is the case with your review of “Distant Shore”. I am hardly a love struck American teenager, but I find the music and arrangements on this CD beautiful and uplifting. Life is difficult enough and we are bombarded by horrible news on TV, the internet,on radio, in the press,etc,etc. What’s wrong with listening to some music that uplifts you and makes you forget for an hour or so what is going on around us? Ms. Fallon most definitely has talent and I feel shows it off splendidly in her selection of material and styles in Distant Shore.
I read that an English music critic stated that Susan Boyle did not have a good voice and that she should not even be performing on stage. Strange that pre-orders for Boyle’s CD out sold the pre-orders of Whitney Houston. Also, when Boyle performed ON STAGE for America’s got talent, the lady received a loud and standing ovation. It would seem that some critics are out of step with the majority of those who recognize talent and good music. With regard to your opinion of Distant Shores, you are not only out of step, as was the English critic of Boyle, you are not even in the same parade. I myself like a variety of music. After playing a CD several times, I move on. I have yet to “move on” from Distant Shores after playing it at least a dozen times.
Bill, I think you’ll find that most music critics – and musicians, for that matter, particularly those who are classically trained as vocalists – were, though perhaps charmed by Susan Boyle’s fun personality and sweet story, unimpressed by her actual singing.
But, alas, as my favorite writer Oscar Wilde once said, “Popularity is the crown of laurel which the world puts on bad art. Whatever is popular is wrong.”
I’m curious – have any of you listened to the Idan Raichel Project’s work? I only ask because that’s world-pop that I really enjoy, and I’m wondering if there is any crossover whatsoever between fans. You can read my review of the latest IRP CD here:
http://worldmusic.about.com/od/reviews/fr/IdanRaichelProj.htm
Megan,
While I respect your opinion, I must disagree with you. Perhaps the cd doesn’t suite your taste in music, but that does not give you merit to completely knock the cd in the first line. I find the cd to be very relaxing and beautifully done. In fact, that was all I listened to for weeks. I am not a love-struck teenageer and I think you will find that a large percentage of Orla’s fans are adult who work hard and appreciate her uplifting music.
Wow! Look at all the action from a bad review… I love it! You should from now on only review musicians you don’t like!
Makes me want to listen to it so I can see with whom I agree WAY MORE than a positive review and no feedback does. Did I use whom right Megan ( I try to every chance I get).
Very interesting.
Ah Megan, you are spot on with your critical instincts but a little out of touch with the majority of your readers.
FWIW, I’m in your corner.
I know everyone has things they like and dislike about music but to right off a whole CD there’s a problem.
Having lived in the British Isle and served with soldiers from all over the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland I would say that most Americans have a set impression of what Irish music is. It is a very narrow view and dose not take in the whole of Irish music.
I love the traditional and I understand the patriotic and rebellion tunes. Just as in America there are whole genres of Irish music. This if anything is a mix of Irish, and Celtic traditional such as Bean An T’I (The woman of the house), Eleanor Plunkettt, Trip to Shanbally, Michael O’Dwyer’s and an old American Folk Hard times the rest would be modern tunes of a contemporary sound. romantic and longing as in my waking world.
I hear enough of the hard down on the world stuff. I like some sugar once in a while. The Celtic Highland songs and the Irish get my blood up and others make me laugh and want to dance.
Do not believe that only young mid western teens would like this music if you do then you are the one out of touch. I would tell your readers to listen to the CD and form their own opinion. They can listen to it on the web before they buy it or down load only those songs they like.
This music is a mix of traditional and modern contemporary. Myself I like to sit and hear some of these songs with my wife and hold her a little closer.
My range of music is from Classical, Folk, Traditional, Celtic, Country Western (which has really changed ) Rock and some Hard Rock. Just because I do not like one song I do not condemn an Album.
To readers of this Blog my advice is listen to some of the songs on the web and if you like them then buy them do not let someone else form your opioion.